Reasons Why We Love and
Hate Series: From a YA and Marketing Standpoint
Winter breaks can
sometimes be very productive. After reading over ten books, I came across a
common trend that I’ve noticed before, but never really thought in depth about.
Series. Why are they always happening? Why does publishing one book and just
being done seem so taboo? I will be discussing this, mostly from a Young Adult
(YA) standpoint. I’ll sandwich the good and the bad.
Reason 1:
Loving that Journey
Who doesn’t want to follow
the same characters as they grow and change? While some readers search for
their identity and figure out what’s right for them, the characters in series
are following a similar path. It’s nice to be able to turn away from the real
world and read about lovable characters. It’s worth the thousands of pages and
hours of time put into the reading experience.
Also, many series have
tons of action. The Hunger Games by
Suzanne Collins, of course, is an example of this. As readers, we are sadistic.
We read further to see what Katniss would go through in a second Hunger Games. We
follow the journey of how she volunteers as tribute and then builds her
strength, overcoming death numerous times. Without all her fighting and
resilience, Katniss’ story would not be as engaging. Collins throws us into a
world that readers know they probably wouldn’t survive, so they continue the
journey until the end of book three to see how she overcomes, or if she will
even be able to.
