I love YA and I love fantasy. Each has different elements that when brought together, complement each other perfectly. So here goes. What I love about YA and fantasy.

Fantasy

No Rules. In fiction, the writer is bound by the reality of the world we lived in. In historical fiction, the characters must travel within the broad strokes laid out in the annals of history. Science Fiction is restricted by technology, both imagined and real.

Not so with fantasy. Fantasy is limitless. You can create anything in any time and any place, going wherever your imagination will take you. There is no need to follow social or cultural norms, or even the laws of physics. When writing fantasy, the writer is truly free.

Scale. Fantasy can be as big or as small as you want. It can take you to a new world, or even several worlds. An epic myriad of cultures, locations and realities are there to be discovered. Exploration is a huge part of fantasy and there is no genre that does it better.

Equally, fantasy can be grounded in reality, with just a hint of the supernatural. It is the spice that takes a story from good to glorious.

Truth. Although fantasy is at its very essence an exercise in imagination, to me, there is a level of truth to the genre that others cannot match. In the very act of stripping away what is real, we are left with the core of the human condition. Even in another world, the issues that are explored match those of our own, and the contrast between the two in setting and culture only serves to highlight what is similar.

Myths, Legends and Folklore. For me, the cultural heritage of the world is a reflection of our collective consciousness. Folklore and mythology constantly return to the same stories, the same imagined constructs, despite the divide of time, space and culture.

Take Cinderella for example. That story began with the tale of Rhodopis in 7BC, echoing throughout time all over the world until it became our modern day Cinderella. It is even part of our lexicon, "a Cinderella story" used to described the sudden and deserved elevation from poverty.

Fantasy weaves mythology into itself. It pays homage to these ancient stories that have stayed with species throughout history. Stories that are built into our DNA and our subconscious will recognize and celebrate. It perpetuates them and elevates them, and I think that's beautiful.

Young Adult

It's For Everyone. For teenagers, the YA genre is perfect. It deals with the same issues they have, with characters that they can see themselves in. But they are not the only readers of YA fiction.

Adults remember being a teenager, perhaps more clearly than any other time in their lives. After all, these are the formative years that shaped them. Many will feel like they never really "grew up". I certainly don't. They can easily identify with younger protagonists and even feel nostalgia.

Equally, many children aspire to be more mature. They want to experience the world the way that their older friends and siblings do. For them, reading YA is a way of living vicariously through the characters and learning what it is like to be a young adult.

Characters Grow. In many genres, the older character has already established themselves. James Bond is who he is and never changes. Crime fiction's hardened detectives will often remain that way. Their experiences can teach them something new, perhaps even change their perspective, but they rarely actually change and grow.

Not so in YA fiction. More often than not, there is an arc to the character's journey as an individual. They do more than learn, they become. Knowledge is internalized. Opinion turns into instinct. It is the formation of a person in its rawest and truest form and the reader grows with them.

It's Open Minded. The YA mindset is not one that is firmly established. Cultural norms can be subverted. New ideas are encouraged. Authority is not recognized. Freedom is paramount.

Identity, sexuality, mental health, drug abuse, familial struggles and death are all themes that are explored without judgment. The reader is not told what to think. They make their own mind up.

I hope you all enjoyed reading this blog post :-). If you liked it, please do vote! Don't forget The Novice is out in stores now, and The Inquisition comes out in May, 2016!

This post was originally shared on foreveryoungadult.com