I'm not sure about other genres, but YA seems to have a lot of controversy surrounding it, not including the general question made by many cynical adults of whether it's actually any good. I mean, between people complaining about sexual assault, the usually less than extensive diction, lack of characters that are completely out of their mind by circumstance, and the supposedly weak plot, people find a lot to complain about.
I've noticed a reoccurring issue lately and it's a bit bothersome to me. Twice in a matter of three days, I found posts talking about authors being treated poorly. First, it was a post about Cassandra Clare, author of The Mortal Instruments, among other things and how some fans treat her over the death of her own characters. Two days later, John Green, which I believe is enough of a household name at this point that I don't need to name off any of his work.
When Cassandra Clare spoke about it, she seemed to think dehumanizing was something only female authors dealt with, but crazed fans aren't the only things that can lead to this problem, which became apparent to me when I ran across a Buzzfeed article about John Green. The article seems to be missing now, unfortunately, but the gist of it was some girl was basically calling him a pedophile... for writing YA romance. Kind of absurd, really.
Outside of that, I've seen a plethora of other authors get nailed for not drowning their characters in mental disorders from the ordeals they've witnessed and gone through. It's totally bizarre to me.
As for the matter of it being any good or not, that's completely subjective. But... I don't think the length of words should really be taken into account. Who was it that said, "Does he really think big emotions come from big words?" Right. I believe that was Ernest Hemingway. How can someone judge an author or book's value by things like this? Some of the most hauntingly beautiful stories I've read have been YA. Big words don't carry big meaning. Description, voice, style, and a good story are what make the book.
"But the plot is over done. How do they keep pedaling this crap out?" What plot isn't over done? How many books, movies, video games, and comics are there out in this world at this point? And tell me, please, how any story can be entirely unique at this point. A story having similarities to others is inevitable at this point. That doesn't break the story, though. It can still be a completely enchanting tale. The only one's complaining are the people that think YA is strictly for teens.
I just think people really need to give YA authors a break. There's enough hate in this world already and so much disdain towards a book genre is a waste of energy.
