YA and Book Trailers

I am sure most of you have heard about the Wall Street Journal article "Darkness Too Visible" that basically slammed the YA genre. I wanted to post a much different blog post (mainly one with swearing and rants) but decided to give myself some time to cool off. They also posted another article slamming book trailers.

If you somehow managed to miss this please see the two articles -

Darkness Too Visible

The Insane World of Book Trailers


It seems that the Wall Street Journal is just bashing YA novels without really taking the time to do proper research. Have they heard of Anna and the French Kiss by the lovely Stephanie Perkins? The Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot? Not every author that writes YA focuses on the dark. There are plenty of novels that are on the lighter side. These were sadly not even mentioned.

I would also like to bring up the fact that YA novels that were published years ago also were quite dark. Lord of the Flies anyone? The fact is that death, suicide, addictions, rape, etc. exist in the world. It's more important that we don't ignore these topics and get people to talk about the issue. I love that a lot of these books (really I mean the authors) take the time to provide hot line numbers, support websites and other information for people to get help if they are suffering. This wasn't mentioned in the article either.

I also don't know about most readers, but reading the same style, or type of book would get a little boring after awhile. I like that I can have a wide variety to choose from that includes both light and dark. I am not always a bubbly happy person and yes, my entertainment choices reflect that. There are times that I want to be challenged, be made to think and be left with something after I read a book, and other times I want to lay on a beach with something light and girly.

The trailer issue to me didn't really make sense either. The whole point is to get people talking, buzzing and wanting to learn more about your book. If an image, a video, or synopsis does that I don't think it's a bad thing. Shouldn't every tool possible be used to encourage EVERYONE to pick up more books? It seems like a no- brainer to me. I am going to post some amazing trailers that I do think helped get the book out into the public.

Trailers -

Room by Emma Donoghue




This simple, yet highly effective trailer has made me want to grab a copy of this book. I am not so patiently waiting to get my hands on it from the library. I know this book is not YA but they slammed all trailers so...


Wither by Lauren DeStefano



This tells you in such a brief time what you can expect from this novel. I think it captured it perfectly.

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare



One of the first book trailers I watched. I thought it was so unique and different. It give you the feel and mood of the novel.

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi



As if I wasn't excited about this book enough. This trailer has made me even more curious and has made me want to read this book even more.

In closing, I just wanted to say that I could not have been more proud when I saw #YASaves trending on Twitter. There are times that I am in awe of this book community I recently become a small part of, and that was one of them.

What do you think? Can you think of any trailers or books that go against what Wall Street Journal is proclaiming? Leave them in the comments and I will check them out!