What The Kids Are Into
An appreciation of Young Adult literature
When I worked at Sports Illustrated Kids, there were two questions I’d get when new acquaintances heard about my employer:
Do you do a kids’ Swimsuit Issue? (To which I’d look at them quizzically and reply, “Is that the kind of thing you’re into?”)
Do you just dumb down “regular” Sports Illustrated?
While I could recognize the first question as an attempt (albeit an extremely bad one) at humor, I always bristled at the second. The idea that writing for kids was somehow “less than” didn’t just offend my ego as a writer. It also went against my experience as a reader.
Adolescence is when we’re at our most impressionable. And the books, music, TV, and movies we consume during this time are enormously sticky. They often end up becoming important touchstones that influence us in both overt and subtle ways as adults.
Yet while popular culture (rightly) deems it acceptable to hold children’s books from the likes of Dr. Seuss and Maurice Sendak in high regard. The same esteem is (wrongly) not bestowed upon young adult books. That is truly unfortunate because some very good writing gets overlooked.
I have started reading more YA works for a couple reasons that aren’t entirely attributable to my desire to be known as a “man of letters.” (Seriously, how good of a title is that?) For one, I have children who are of that age and I’ve found that reading the same books is a good way to connect and bond. (You’re welcome for the free parenting tip.)
The other reason, which is somewhat more nefarious, is to pad my stats. Each year, I set a goal of reading 20 books—and this year I decided to go for 25—and YA books are a great way to add volume.
Neither of those reasons would be enough to get me to read the books, however, if the books weren’t actually good.
Adolescence is when we figure a lot of things out about ourselves, hence the “coming of age” nickname. We try on different identities and see which ones pass the vibe check. The thing is, that evolution doesn’t really change that much as we get older. It just gets more complicated. YA books have an ability to strip away unnecessary pretense and dive straight into the heart of the matter. This can provide an unvarnished insight into the human experience—regardless of age.
As the field of YA authors has become more diverse, it’s also provided more books that directly relate to what I went through as a teen and pre-teen. I named my first cat Apollo after a character on Battlestar Galactica because I thought he looked vaguely half-Asian like me. (I think he was just a tan Southern Californian.) Today, I don’t have to sniff around the periphery because there are stories that are more reflective of my experience.
If you’re looking for a place to get started, here’s a list of YA books that I’ve really enjoyed lately:
The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton: This one’s probably on the Mount Rushmore of YA books, and is still worth a read even if you’ve seen the Coppola movie.
Ghost, by Jason Reynolds: This is the first in Reynolds’s Track series (the whole thing is worth your time) and tells the story of boy who finds his way through running.
Warriors Don’t Cry, by Melba Patillo Beals: Beals was one of the Little Rock Nine, the group of students that integrated a high school in Arkansas. Her memoir of that time makes a moment we all learn about in history class feel much more personal and visceral.
American Born Chinese, by Gene Luen Yang: This graphic novel weaves multiple POVs into a single narrative and does an amazing job describing the Asian-American adolescent experience.
The Adam Friedland Show
The Adam Friedland show spun out of the now-shuttered, cult-followed “Cumtown,” with two of its three original members (the third, Stavros, left after finding individual fame). The new show is one of the funniest and smartest things on the internet. Adam’s interviews with Chris Cuomo and Dave Portnoy are some of my favorite YT interviews of recent (I skip the intro and just get right to the interviews) —Andrew
Barry Can’t Swim at The Lot Radio
I’ve shared a few mixes in here over the years that I think would be universally enjoyed, regardless of music taste. This one fits squarely in that prompt. I wasn’t familiar with Barry before this set, but he mentioned this was a “change up from usual to play a bit groovier, dig a bit deeper and just generally spin the kind of tunes I would if I was playing in my own living room.” I’ve listened in the gym and in my living room, both great. —Andrew
Mark Rothko exhibition at Fondation Louis Vuitton
I was lucky enough to piggyback on my wife’s work tip and went to Paris last week and had the chance to attend the massive Rothko retrospective at the Vuitton museum. It is one of the most memorable exhibitions I’ve ever seen. First of all, it’s massive, taking over the entire museum. But what’s truly remarkable is how the pieces seem to act like a tractor beam that sucks you in and leaves you mesmerized. —Justin