Being a Grown-Up is Overrated

So, over Christmas Break, I tried reading some grown-up books. And let me just say, being a grown-up is overrated.

Sure, they were good. But, short of Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol, they weren't exactly addicting (as any good YA fantasy book will turn out to be) and they were depressing. I read Push, which the movie Precious is based on:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5FYahzVU44

Wow. I mean, it was a crazy powerful book. I read the entire thing during a car ride from Ohio to home after Christmas. And I'm sure I absolutely drove my bf crazy because, like a good YA fan, he was devoutly listening to "Uncle Jim" read HP 5. And I kept hitting the "off" button to say, "You will not believe this," or "this is unreal!" and reading him sections of Push. But holy crap was it sad. And while it has an inspiring and uplifting message, fact is, it was still horrifying. Because you KNOW stuff like that happens in real life. Worth reading, but definitely not the same as a geeky guilty pleasure fix.

Right before that, I read The Time Traveller's Wife. Going into the holidays, I thought, hmm... maybe I should try some adult fantasy romance instead of geeky YA. And, it was a good book. But gritty, and painful , and although you see it coming and everyone in the world says, "It's sad, but SO good," well, it's sad. And for me, that sad was hard to get past.

You see, I think why I love YA fantasy books so much is because, frankly, I live in the real world. I work in a tough field, I've had my share of real-life problems and I've watched others go through so many more. When I read a book, I want to escape. To go somewhere the problems CAN'T be real. While I would love to actually live at Hogwarts (I think I'd be an excellent candidate for the post of Muggle Studies Professor), it's not like I'm truly concerned about Voldie popping up in my daily life. But the emotional struggles in "grown-up" books, no matter how far-fetched the book's plot, well, I would rather ponder the eternal struggle of good and evil than abuse or poverty or fertility or heartbreak or loss. No thanks. I'll deal with real-life's problems as they come and when I inevitably have to as a real-life grown-up. But in the mean-time, I'll happily read about my fantasty world's where the problems are real enough to make you can, but not real enough to haunt you in everyday life. Example? Grace's love of werewolf Sam and the perils of the pack's survival a la Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, which I'm half-way through and thoroughly enjoying (review to come).

And if you must read a grown-up book, I suggest the aforementioned The Lost Symbol. The audio version is great, and I'm loving the narrator. Totally worth the CADL wait (I believe I was 110th in line when I signed up for it months ago). It keeps me engaged and wanting more on CD, so I'm certain the written form is a page-turner. If you liked any of Brown's other books (The DaVinci Code or Angels and Demons) you'll enjoy this one, and if you haven't tried him yet, I'm finding this book much more accessible and way less religion-y than The DaVinci Code. So, maybe being a grown-up isn't ALL bad!