Someone mentioned it on Twitter and I googled the article. You can check it out here. I do believe smoke was coming out of my ears.
WHAT THE HELL IS THE POINT??
Dan Brown, the author of The DaVinci Code. said the new version will be "abridged" in length and it will be more "appropriate for readers in their early teens."
Teenagers can handle longer books. Dan Brown also talks about wanting to inspire younger readers. Here's a thought: DON'T CONDESCEND TO THEM.
If the book is good, people can (and will) handle the length.
Let's think about the other part: apparently Dan Brown (despite the fact that both of his parents are educators) is under a couple of mistaken impressions:
1) He believes that people who read YA aren't intelligent enough to read Adult Fiction
2) He believes that the only people who read YA are teenagers.
WRONG.
Teenagers are smart enough to read long books.
WRONG.
Teenagers are smart enough to read long books.
Teenagers are smart enough to handle "inappropriate" material (whatever that means)
Teenagers are NOT the only ones who read YA. I read YA all the time, but I have also read The DaVinci Code.
What do you think of this news?
He's just trying to capitalize on a revamping of his book and reaching more readers. It's all about business. But no, the book was awesome and doesn't need to be abridged or dumbed down.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Julie. It's all to get more sales.
DeleteBut I also agree with your point, Cynthia, that people should lighten up and not freak out when teens want to read "adult" books.
Julie, I have no doubt that is true to some extent. He is just looking for more publicity and trying to capitalize on the fact that so many people read YA. But no one needs a new version. Crazy. Kate, I read more adult books as a teenager than I do now and I could handle it. People just don't give teenagers enough credit.
DeleteSounds like a shameless bid to re-market the book. Other than that, what you said, Cynthia, 100%!
ReplyDeleteSo very true Wendy!
DeleteHonestly, I think it's because YA is such a hot market right now. Literally EVERYTHING is getting adapted to YA, even my favorite video game series (because yes, no problems with this). But I think it is all for the money, not actually "for teens". :(
ReplyDeleteValerie, that is sad but you may have a point. It still makes me mad though. That is funny that a video game series is being adapted for YA. That makes slightly more sense than this does. And by "slightly," I mean "a lot." :)
DeleteThis is total BS and I completely agree with you. There is NO need for there to be a "YA" version of this book, at all.
ReplyDeleteThanks Eva! The thought of it just makes me so mad!
DeleteThis is ridculus! Sounds to me like he's just another adult author trying to cash in on how popular YA is right now. Like, sorry dude, if I wanted to read your book I would have. Dumbing it down for YA is not going to make me read it! There is no need for there ever to be a "YA version" of anything! Honestly, this makes me so irritated and I hadn't even heard of it before your post!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, 100% Cynthia! Lovely post as always. =)
So true Shay! I am so glad you agree with me. I think anyone would read it if they wanted to, regardless of whether they are teenager or adult. No one needs a new version to want to read it. Crazy.
DeleteYeeeeeah, I only just heard about this and it's absurd. The worst part is Dan Brown obviously has no idea what a teenage-creature is. I mean, I wasn't a teenager THAT long ago...so even as an adult now I totally know what I read/handled/liked as a teen. And if I got a whiff of someone "abridging" anything, I would've been out of there. And if Dan Brown doesn't even know his audience, why is he writing for them???? *warning bells go off*
ReplyDeleteSo true Cait!! BIG TIME WARNING BELLS! I think the worst part was that he used the excuse of his parents being educators. If his parents were good educators, wouldn't they know this is a bad idea? This is just craziness all around.
DeleteSooo ... is it still going to have a man as the MC or will it be a teenager? I just wonder how young he's aiming for ... 12/13? I don't know, I'm conflicted since I don't know all the facts. I was reading Stephen King and stuff when I was in 6th grade, but I can see a lot of younger teens shying away from a book about a grown man like this. I mean, Harry Potter is a long book, but it's still about kids in school. I just don't know what to think about it yet. lol.
ReplyDeleteChristy, that is a good question. Since the article stated the plot would be the same, I assume that means the main character will stay the same age. He just mentioned adjusting the length and making it more "appropriate." I do want to know what that would entail, but I still just think it's a bad idea. Hopefully he will release more information about it though. :)
DeleteI haven't read Dan Brown but I agree with you. Plenty of teens have read it already without any problems! It's just a ploy for more sales...which I hope fails, haha. ;-) I saw The Martian in the YA section of my bookstore recently and I didn't think anything of it until I saw the sticker. Something like "Now for YA! Inappropriate language removed!" I rolled my eyes. Because teens totally don't know or use the eff word, right?
ReplyDeleteSo true Baggins! That's sad, but I am sure money is a motivating factor. I didn't even know that about The Martian! That is crazy. I loved The Martian and would think nothing of kids reading it. If a person reading that book had never heard the curse words used in that book, they have probably lived under a rock . . . and I am not even sure they would know that this book exists. Ha.
DeleteIt's just so condescending. His parents are educators, does he not realize teens read Shakespeare and literary novels in school, never mind what they read on their own time. It's like he's saying "I know you read Macbeth, but I don't think you understand how complicated and deep my own novel is in comparison. Let me dumb it down for your young brain." And I'm not a professional writer by any means, but it just feels lazy and greedy to take your already successful novel and try and resell it as something new for another audience. If you want to write a YA book, then write one. Don't try and recycle what you already have.
ReplyDeleteLiselle @ Lunch-Time Librarian
Liselle, YES! That is such a great point. If students can handle Shakespeare, they can definitely handle The DaVinci Code. Other commenters have mentioned it is probably for money and I agree. He knows YA books have a huge fan base and he wants to capitalize on that. But like you said, he should just write one!
DeleteYep, this is pretty much just pure marketing. The fact is, there are some younger readers who wouldn't have read The DaVinci Code but would read a YA version (especially if he makes the characters younger). I don't necessarily think it's a matter of what's appropriate as much as it is what appeals to a subset of younger readers. I haven't read The DaVinci Code, so I don't know how I feel about the appropriateness, but I actually still (after saying all that) agree with you that it's weird and unnecessary to rewrite the book for a YA audience. Why not just write a NEW book for YA audiences? He has no other ideas?
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Nicole, yeah it is a total marketing ploy. The problem is that he isn't making the characters younger. He isn't changing anything about the plot. He is just making it shorter and maybe leaving out some stuff he thinks is inappropriate. I don't even know how that would appeal to YA readers more than the original one. I think this comes down to money and that's it. He wants to tap into that market. Sigh. So weird.
DeleteI thought this was pretty ridiculous as well, given I actually read and loved the Davinci Coded when I was a teenager. Little does he know that many YA readers aren't teenagers, and teenagers aren't going to buy his book!
ReplyDeleteJeann, so true! Yeah, I was an adult when I read the book and of course, I read mostly YA now. I don't think he understands the YA market or he would realize that a lot of adults read it.
DeleteThis is so STUPID. And clearly a marketing ploy, and a bad one at that. Who comes up with this stuff? Also, my dad made me read David Copperfield when I was 10, which I am still pretty salty about obviously, and while I hated it, I read it. I will never understand this need to be condescending and patronizing to kids, and then bitching at them when they aren't "driven". Well, stop throwing watered down books and participation trophies at them then. End rant. Love this post though, I am glad you said something about it!
ReplyDeleteShannon, oh yeah it's a big time marketing ploy. It smacks of a desperate attempt to make more money off of the same book. I loved your rant and totally agree! You are so right! Participation trophies are stupid and so are marketing ploys like this one. I actually read even more adult books as a teenager than I do now. And yes, a lot of those were classics that weren't "watered down." So insane.
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