It seems that literature has given way to modern forms of entertainment. But is literature getting worse or just being pushed out of the way?
I decided to read a modern novel written for adults. The book I chose was The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier. I choose to read an adult book because as an adolescent I have read a lot of teenage novels and therefore thought I would compare them to an adult book. This novel was amazing! This is because it is faster paced.
After reading this book I realised that it’s not that literature is getting boring but that books written for teenage girls are not up to date. What is written in books no longer interests us and because of this I find that most girls of my age resort to reading novels aimed at young adults. This is rather worrying as they usually contain violence, drugs and sex.
Another issue is that if young people read books, they are usually outcast and given labels by popular teens, such as “boffin” and “teacher’s pet”. Obviously these are not labels you want to carry around with you and therefore either you don’t mention that you read novels, or you discuss it openly but expect to be branded!
If I was an author I wouldn’t bother thinking about kids, but would write about students, aim for students. Then I’d be sure to get it right! Sarra Manning’s books in my opinion hit the nail straight on the head. They are perfect examples of what young people today need from literature.
It’s not that I think that movies are bad, but they do seem to take over from letting us use our imaginations. In some ways this can be good like when you’re too tired to read but are in need of some good drama. But more often that not I think film scripts would be more impressive if they were written as novels. This is because your interpretation of a story is very different to the person next to you and your imagination will take you places that films can’t. And a book lasts longer!
So, it’s not that books are getting boring but that teenage literature is no longer suitable for their audience, and therefore teenagers find other ways to combat boredom by using the internet, playing video games and watching TV.
This story was produced by Samantha Chanudet-Denny, 13, and published on the Reach for the Sky website.
