I Laughed Until I (fill in the blank): Humor in YA literature

Yesterday, we had a great discussion on #readYAlit Twitter chat about humor in young adult literature.  It's a nebulous genre because humor can mean something completely differently to one person than another. 

Is humor universal?  That was one question that was tackled in our chat.  Genders, experiences, and type of humor are different elements of humor that play an important part in that question.  There is guy humor and there is girl humor.  How each gender approaches it can be wildly different and how authors use it can reflect those differences.  That isn't to say either gender can't read humor that relates more to one than the other...it's just the appeal may lean toward one side more than the other.

And then there's humor that's found in serious books.  One participant wrote that humor is needed in YA literature to balance the realistic lives in fiction that can be dark and dangerous.  I have to be very careful about what I read so that I'm not focused on realistic fiction because of an incident that took places several years ago.  After booktalking, a student mentioned that it was depressing and she wasn't interested in any of them because of the mood I created with the titles I talked about.  And that student was RIGHT....so now I find as many different genres, and include humor in it. 

There are many different places online to find titles about humor that could help out any library and those wanting the "fun" side of YA lit.  If you genrefy, does it have it's own genre or it is part of each major genre (one librarian on the chat had an EXCELLENT answer to that one!)? Would you include humorous titles with those darker novels where humor peeks in every now and then (think John Green)?  Those are questions that I believe are more personal decisions, but the great thing is the exchange of ideas our chat last night held. 

And if you need a title list, never fear!  Here are a few resources you can use:

Ebsco's Novelist of Humorous YA Fiction by Tom Reynolds

YALSA's Genre Guide to Young Adult Humor

Humor in YA Fiction Flowchart

And then there is that often looked over section where you can find MANY humorous titles: Non-fiction (and dewey)!!  Here's my list of non-fiction/dewey I've read that I couldn't help but chuckle and sometimes outright laugh at:

The Stupid Crook Book by Gregory Leland

Cake Wreck: when professional cakes go hilariously wrong by Jen Yates

How They Croaked: the awful ends of the awfully famous by Georgia Bragg

How They Choked: Failures, flops and flaws of the awfully famous by Georgia Bragg

Visit Sunny Chernobyl: And other adventures in the world's most polluted places by Andrew Blackwell

Historical Heartthrobs: 50 timeless crushes from Cleopatra to Camus by Kelly Murphy

I’m Down: A memoir by Mishna Wolff

We Should Hang Out Some Time: Embarrassingly, a true story by Josh Sundquist

Emily the Strange graphic novels by Rob Reger

Happy Bunny Books graphic novels (?) by Jim Benton

Well...Kinda Zombies Part Two: YA books not quite, but nearly about zombies

Eat, Brains, Love by Jeff Hart HarperTeen, 2013

Jake is a slacker who'd rather sit in his basement and play video games.  He doesn't get out much, but one fateful night, he does and meets a hot, sexy barfly.  It's by no way going to form a lasting relationship, more like a one-night stand.  But it's definitely a girl and night that will change his world....forever.

Amanda sparkles down the halls of high school.  She's one of those beautiful girls people want to stare at but know it's rude to.  Her self-confidence is obvious, but people question why she would date a meathead like Chazz, who's more into skipping school and working out.  She's getting tired of the whole relationship.

Cass is a loner.  She had a few friends in high school, but had the opportunity to work for a secret division of the FBI, known as the NCD (Necrotic Control Division).  She has some unusual gifts they are tapping into, and the NCD relies on Cass to track down zombies.

Their worlds will collide when Jake and Amanda manage to eat most of the senior class and then run.  They are fugitives looking for their next meal (anyone say pervert alert?)  And it's during this time they come to terms with how this zombie thing works.  Throw what you think you know about zombies out the window.  Cass has been tapped to find these crazed killers while the FBI creates a cover story, but little do they know that when Cass steps into the mind of Jake it's more about stepping into a romantic fantasy than tracking a killer.  She's falling in love...with a zombie?

Jeff Hart writes a hilarious and gut-wrenching (yeah, I did it....pun intended) book about teens, zombies, men in suits and a possible cure to this whole mess.  When reading it, I couldn't help thinking about the crazy guy in the Greenpeace Santa commercial (you have to check that out!), the Walking Dead, crazy Indians in war paint and scalp necklaces, and creepy fed agents wearing bowties.  I triple dare you not to laugh through this immensely well-written and much needed hilarious horror genre!   Hart definitely changes the definition of zombie that you'll have never read before into something extremely interesting and unexpected, which makes this book such a great read. The only thing that worries me is this was never published in hardcover.  PLEASE write the sequel!  I need know what happens in Iowa!  Highly recommended

If you like then, then you'll like:
The Infect by Sean Beaudoin
Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride
Soul Enchilada by David Macinnis Gill
Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

If you need help with library signage...

Take a look at this hilarious video!  The music is cheesy, the signage is great!  I got a kick out of it :)  Can't say that librarians are nothing short of creative!!