This week on the Cafe, we thought we'd try a change of pace and open the floor to a general discussion on YA lit. So here's your chance to weigh in and sound off. The topic, from one of our readers:
What genre or subject matter seems to be neglected in today's contemporary teen lit?
What do you think? Let us know in the comments!
32 comments:
I read in a variety of genres, so there always seems to be plenty for me to read, so I can't say I notice anything really lacking, but I have heard recently that there is a dire lack of Boy books--ones that are totally boyish in the vein of Paulsen or Salisbury.
Mary, me, too! I'm never lacking in books.
Miss M seems to crave more science fiction. She's a big Scott Westerfeld fan, but the man can write only so many books a year!
Mar
I'm going to jump on Mary's bandwagon and agree that I believe teen lit is quite diverse where genres are concerned. Also, co-signnig on the lack of boy books.
But I'll add another "missing" link and it's books with more diverse casts. Seems like we have books with either all white, all black, all Latino characters but very few that bring those groups together. I think teen lit is lagging behind its television and movie counterparts on this one. BUT, is starting to catch up.
After all, one of the characters in Traveling Pants was latino.
There's always room for more humor, especially in upper YA. But I also think suspense is an overlooked genre for YA. I'd love more books in the vein of Acceleration by Graham McNamee. Being of the plot-challenged variety, I fully admire the structural ability that goes into crafting suspense and mystery novels. And I think humor is a knack you either have or you don't, and I think both of those points are why we don't see as much of either genre when there is clearly an audience for both.
Paula,
Good point! I think Cynthia did an amazing job including a diverse cast in TANTALIZE. And in my forthcoming trilogy, I hope to accomplish the same thing. I'm also including teen characters who are a combination of many ethnicities, like my own kids.
Religion. Teens are seeking, questioning their parents' faith or lack thereof. Why isn't this reflected in novels?
Justice issues. They want to change the world, confront THE MAN, serve the poor. Not just gossip in cliques or shop at the mall.
But I agree with the humor point, too. You've got to explore heavy issues while retaining and employing the capacity to laugh at yourself.
I find that mysteries tend to be underrepresented. I've read a couple of Alane Ferguson's forensic YA mysteries but haven't really seen much else.
My favorite boy books this year: FIREGIRL, HEADLOCK, SAMAURI SHORTSTOP and some others...I also just read GRIEF GIRL, and I found it both haunting and real - a memoir - not too many teen memoirs, and I already know several teens I'd like to give it too. And yes, humor...I think we need more humor - absolutely. I'd actually like to write a YA that is sympathetic to the parents raising a particularly annoying YA...wishful thinking, maybe or maybe not. Great new YA Cafe, Mar.
All best
Kerry
So many good comments. I know there has been a lot of talk about "boy books" and "guys read" and all, but perhaps people have been so busy talking that very little was actually written.
Younger teen boys I know have recently been looking for historical fiction, and, in particular, WWI and WWII fiction. Let me tell you, there is very little. There's a lot about the homefront, internment, and the holocaust. Not much about anything else, or from different viewpoints. Ken Burns has a new documentary coming out on WWII, and I think we'll see a new wave of interest in this era, also fueled by the sad fact that we're losing those who lived through it. And when that renewed interest hits in the fall, there won't be more than a handful of YA books on hand.
Also, I am continually asked for mysteries at the library where I work. I feel like I have many MG suggestions, and tons of adult suggestions. But YA? Not so much. Acceleration is a great example of the kind of book I'd like to be able to hand to teens. I'd say that about 80 percent -- no, make that more like 95 percent -- of the time I take them over to the mysteries in the adult fiction collection.
Linda,
That makes total sense about a need for more mysteries--especially since mid-grade aged kids STILL read Nancy Drew and have found great newer mysteries like the HANNAH WEST series. So when these kids are a little older, they've already developed a taste for mysteries.
And doesn't EVERYBODY love a good mystery/suspense novel? I know I do.
Mar
What's missing?
Well written real genre books.
It seems that the kids who read both adult & YA go looking for specific areas in the adult, and I think it's because they cannot find it in YA. (Not that it isn't there...but there isn't enough.)
What I mean: mystery. A straightforward, there's a crime, solve it mystery. No ghosts, just a real honest to goodness mystery.
Romance. In adult romance, there is happy ever after; in teen, your heart is broken. Part of that is, I think, the whole coming of age thing; but I do wish for more straightforward happy ending romance. And it's why I see teen girls constantly going to the adult romance section. They want the happy ending.
I'd also say humor; and while we all know humor is tough to write, teens come in and want escape but want it to be good escape. Especially humor for boys.
I'll keep thinking....
What *I* would like to see is some YA realistic fiction that's clean--no sex, no swearing. I'm 16 and like to read about characters my age, but there sure aren't many 16-year-old-protagonist books that are clean. At least not that I can find... I usually have to stick with fantasy if I want a clean YA book.
Mysteries, YES.
(EXAMPLE: The ten books in the Body of Evidence series by Christopher Golden and Rick Hautala rock, and I am sad that more than half of them have gone out-of-print.)
Stories that AREN'T dated - Hardcover releases riddled with just-released technology and brand-name clothing can be out-of-date by the time the paperback editions come out a year or two later! - and that could happen NOW just as easily as ten, twenty years ago.
(EXAMPLE: The Creek by Jennifer L. Holm)
Liz said: "Romance. In adult romance, there is happy ever after; in teen, your heart is broken."
Erin said, "I'm 16 and like to read about characters my age, but there sure aren't many 16-year-old-protagonist books that are clean."
The most compelling evidence I have to support both points is the near cult-like status Stephenie Meyer's Twilight has achieved among my 8th graders in the last two months. Ten years of teaching, and I have *never* seen a group of diverse girls so riveted by one title. It's unabashedly romantic (but no sex), and as one young woman said, "It doesn't have a huge mean girl plot -- I'm so sick of that! We're not all mean." (My review here) We need more Jane Austen-esque novels for the YA age.
I'd also like to see more YA books that deal with a teens' religious lives as a primary theme (without it being either too anti-religious or a niche book for a "Christian" bookstore). My students are in perennial conversation about Hebrew School, Greek school, CCD, confirmation classes, youth groups -- last week several were talking about what a perfect "afterlife" would look like -- spurred by one girl's reading of Lovely Bones (I told them to pick up "Elsewhere" and get back to me). It's part of their lives that is not well reflected in their reading.
Can I third or fourth mysteries? I'm looking for a CHRISTOPHER KILLER/ACCELERATION type book, not (forgive me) Joan Lowery Nixon. I want to give kids a mystery that has real tension and suspense, with a crime that has some serious heft to it. Most YA books don't talk down to teens, but for some reason, YA mysteries tend to try to soften the edges too much.
I agree that we need more humorous books, and we need boy books that aren't necessarily about sports or war (though yes, more war stories would also go over well). I can also agree with more diversity. I'd especially like to see books with kids of different cultures/races just hanging together because they're friends, without it necessarily being significant to the storyline that one of them is X and most of the others are Y.
I'd like to add another big old "yes" to diversity; especially where diversity isn't the point. I hope you know what I mean: not that the main character is a token, but that the main character is of Asian descent, or Native American, etc., and of course that infuses the book & what happens in the book, but at it's heart the book is mystery/ romance/ coming of age/ whatever.
I'd also like to add my voice in support of Miss Erin's. Yes, there are kids out there swearing up a storm, etc., and Nick and Norah reflects their lives, etc.; but, there are also kids out there like Erin (happy birthday, btw!).
I went thru highschool with kids whose big curse was h.e.double hockey sticks. And in case you say, oh, that's not kids today.... It is, for some kids and teens. They want the challenging stuff -- or stuff that wasn't written 20 years ago -- but they are not comfortable with extreme language & sex.
I am not saying, of course, to censor; but I am saying that audience is out there. I think that is why a book like Hattie Big Sky has such huge popularity.
I hear the demand for YA mysteries all the time, all over the place. And here it is echoed again and again. The market for it hasn't diminished over the years. Why do you suppose it's such a hard niche to fill?
I agree with Liz, and others, about the need for mystery/suspense novels that are well-written. I also agree with Paula and others who talked about the need for more diversity. I think that we could use more books written from the perspective of minority characters (ethnic, sexual, cultural and other minorities). Not books ABOUT being a minority, just books about mystery or romance or coming of age, in which the character happens to not be straight, white, and American.
Thanks for starting this discussion. It's great to hear everyone's input on this important topic.
Fairly light-hearted, humorous books with African-American characters for the younger end of the YA spectrum. I work in a school library where our population is 98% African-American, so that is a big concern for me. Walter Dean Myers and Sharon Draper, while wonderful, can only take you so far. There are a lot of great new African-American authors being published now, like Coe Booth, but their books seem to be rather heavy, and for older YAs. Sharon G. Flake's books have a lot of humor, as well as drama, and are very popular with my middle schoolers. More like that, especially with male characters, would be great. Also, more fantasy and science fiction with major characters who are African-American. There are some, but there is certainly room for more.
There is a huge market for mystery novels for teens and very little out there. There are horror thrillers and gore fest kinds of things, but almost no real mysteries once you get past Nancy Drew. I don't mean suspense, but detective stuff, like Nancy Drew and Sherlock Holmes. Most of the teens looking for that stuff have either read Holmes or want modern mysteries. I can't figure out why no one is writing them.
Kudos on the request for historical fiction boy books! We need somthing like treasure island - an action adventure - maybe some fantasy woven in. At least that's my bag and my drive.
Detective Fiction - Veronica Mars did it for TV, someone can do it for YA literature
Happy Endings - Being a teenager sucks, but there are good points every now and then. And there are teenagers who enjoyed high school
Hard Science Fiction - Westerfield does a good job, and so does Monica Hughes, but these are more soft sciene than hard. Where are the rocket ships and time travelers? Where are the creepy futuristic worlds extrapolated from the tech we have today? There's Feed, but not much else.
And yes, I'm actively seeking all those things.
I'd have to say clean YA books, too! At every store I visited last year, the staff told me parents are constantly asking for clean YA books with a positive message.
Boy books definitely are lacking, too. I have heard this statement many times this past month.
I’d like to see a little less teenage angst…there are HAPPY teens out there. I just know there are! Yes, the teen years are full of issues and life-changing decisions and I have always been glad that there were books out there to support teens in need. But there are kids who love (and respect) their parents, like school, want to do "good," don't drink, swear, or have sex and THEY want to read about characters who mirror their lives.
Air Jordan Shoes, Nike Jordan Shoes, Nike Air Jordan Shoes,Jordan Whoesale.
Nike Shoes: Shoes like Air Jordan Shoes, Air Jordan, Nike Jordan Shoes, Nike Air Jordan Shoes, Jordan shoes, and many other Wholesael Nike Shoes are reviewed.
Today, the Microsoft-owned in-game ad agency said that it has signed an exclusive multiyear agreement with Blizzard. Azerothians opposed to seeing in-game ads in their localworld of warcft goldwatering holes need not worry, however, because the deal is limited to Blizzard's Web sites and Battle.net,the game maker's online-gaming hub. Terms of the deal were not announced, but Massive did note that the agreement is applicable to users in the US, Canada, Europe, South Korea, and Australia.
buy wow gold
Massive also said today that it would be extending its aforementioned deal with Activision to encompass an additional 18 games appearing on the Xbox 360 and PC.cheap wow goldThe agency didn't fully delineate
情趣用品,情趣用品,情趣用品,情趣用品,情趣用品,情趣用品,情趣,情趣,情趣,情趣,情趣,情趣,情趣用品,情趣用品,情趣,情趣,A片,A片,A片,A片,A片,A片,情趣用品,A片,情趣用品,A片,情趣用品,a片,情趣用品
A片,A片,AV女優,色情,成人,做愛,情色,AIO,視訊聊天室,SEX,聊天室,自拍,AV,情色,成人,情色,aio,sex,成人,情色
免費A片,美女視訊,情色交友,免費AV,色情網站,辣妹視訊,美女交友,色情影片,成人影片,成人網站,H漫,18成人,成人圖片,成人漫畫,情色網,日本A片,免費A片下載,性愛
色情A片,A片下載,色情遊戲,色情影片,色情聊天室,情色電影,免費視訊,免費視訊聊天,免費視訊聊天室,一葉情貼圖片區,情色視訊,免費成人影片,視訊交友,視訊聊天,言情小說,愛情小說,AV片,A漫,avdvd,情色論壇,視訊美女,AV成人網,情色文學,成人交友,成人電影,成人貼圖,成人小說,成人文章,成人圖片區,成人遊戲,愛情公寓,情色貼圖,成人論壇
情色文學,色情小說,情色小說,色情,寄情築園小遊戲,情色電影,aio,av女優,AV,免費A片,日本a片,美女視訊,辣妹視訊,聊天室,美女交友,成人光碟
視訊聊天室,聊天室,視訊,,情色視訊,視訊交友,視訊交友90739,免費視訊,免費視訊聊天,視訊聊天,UT聊天室,聊天室,美女視訊,視訊交友網,豆豆聊天室,A片,尋夢園聊天室,色情聊天室,聊天室尋夢園,成人聊天室,中部人聊天室,一夜情聊天室,情色聊天室,080中部人聊天室,080聊天室,美女交友,辣妹視訊
Today, the Microsoft-owned in-game ad agency said that it has signed an exclusive multiyear agreement with Blizzard. Azerothians opposed to seeing in-game ads in their localworld of warcraft goldwatering holes need not worry, however, because the deal is limited to Blizzard's Web sites and Battle.net,the game maker's online-gaming hub. Terms of the deal were not announced, but Massive did note that the agreement is applicable to users in the US, Canada, Europe, South Korea, and Australia.
buy wow gold
Massive also said today that it would be extending its aforementioned deal with Activision to encompass an additional 18 games appearing on the Xbox 360 and PC.cheap wow goldThe agency didn't fully delineate which would fall under this deal, though it did call out Guitar Hero: World Tour, James Bond: Quantum of Solace, and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,buy wow items as well as games in its Tony Hawk and AMAX Racing franchises.Shortly before Activision and Vivendi announced their deal of the decade,wow power levelingthe Guitar Hero publisher signed on to receive in-game advertisements from Massive Inc for a number of its Xbox 360 and PC games. A bit more than a year later, Massive is now extending its reach to Activision's new power player, Blizzard Entertainment.buy wow gold from our site ,you'll get more surprises!
buy wow gold,cheap wow gold,WoW Account,wow gold,buy wow gold,wow power leveling,Cheap WoW Account,wow gold,wow gold,world of warcraft gold,cheap wow gold,world of warcraft power leveling,world of warcraft gold,buy wow gold,Buy WoW Account,buy wow gold,wow power leveling,ffxi gil,ffxi gil,world of warcraft power leveling,wow gold,World of Warcraft Account,buy wow gold,sell wow gold,wow power level,wow gold for sale,power leveling,,wow power level,WoW Accounts for Sale,wow gold for sale,power leveling,cheap wow gold,wow power level,buy cheap wow gold.
WoW shares many wow gold of its features with previously launched games. Essentially, you battle with monsters and traverse the countryside, by yourself or as a team, find challenging tasks, and go on to higher cheap wow gold levels as you gain skill and experience. In the course of your journey, you will be gaining new powers that are increased as your skill rating goes up. All the same, in terms of its features and quality, that is a ture stroy for this.WoW is far ahead of all other games of the genre the wow power leveling game undoubtedly is in a league of its own and playing it is another experience altogether.
Even though WoW is a wow gold cheap rather complicated game, the controls and interface are done in buy warhammer gold such a way that you don't feel the complexity. A good feature of the game is that it buy wow items does not put off people with lengthy manuals. The instructions cannot be simpler and the pop up tips can help you start playing the game buy cheap world of warcraft gold immediately. If on the other hand, you need a detailed manual, the instructions are there for you to access. Buy wow gold in this site,good for you ,WoW Gold, BUY WOW GOLD.
a片,成人網站,美女交友,美女視訊,a片,成人網站,美女交友,美女視訊,a片,成人網站,美女交友,美女視訊,聊天室,美女視訊,聊天室,美女視訊
成人網站,成人影片,av女優,h漫,成人網站,成人電影,a片,色情,成人影片,色情,成人電影,色情,h漫,成人影片,成人電影,免費A片,色情,成人電影,成人影片,免費A片,色情,成人網站,情趣用品,免費A片,成人網站,色情,a片,成人影片,情色,免費A片,微風成人,情色,成人影片,微風成人,av女優
成人網站,色情網站,av女優,色情,成人網站,成人影片,成人電影,av女優,a片,成人網站,成人網站,成人網站,成人影片,av女優
色情,h漫,sex,情色,a片,成人網站,成人影片,av女優,色情
h漫,sex,情色,辣妹視訊,080視訊聊天室,美女交友
情色視訊,哈啦聊天室,ut聊天室,聊天室
美女交友,美女交友,美女交友,視訊辣妹,視訊辣妹,視訊辣妹,視訊聊天室,視訊聊天室,視訊聊天室,成人交友,成人交友,成人交友,視訊美女,視訊美女,視訊美女,聊天室,聊天室,聊天室
成人網站,av女優,成人網站,a片,成人影片,成人電影,h漫,成人電影,色情,成人影片,色情,免費A片,成人影片,免費A片,情色,微風成人
美女交友,美女交友,視訊辣妹,視訊辣妹,視訊聊天室,視訊聊天室,成人交友,成人交友,視訊美女,視訊美女,聊天室,聊天室
美女交友,美女交友,美女交友,視訊辣妹,視訊辣妹,視訊辣妹,視訊聊天室,視訊聊天室,視訊聊天室,成人交友,成人交友,成人交友,視訊美女,視訊美女,視訊美女,聊天室,聊天室,聊天室
a片,成人網站,av女優,h漫,成人影片,免費a片,情趣用品,色情,微風成人,情色,sex,成人電影,聊天室,美女交友,辣妹視訊,視訊聊天室,成人交友,美女視訊,聊天室,美女交友,辣妹視訊,視訊聊天室,成人交友,美女視訊,成人網站,情色,情趣用品,色情,sex,免費a片,h漫,av女優,成人影片,a片,微風成人,成人電影,聊天室,美女交友,辣妹視訊,視訊聊天室,成人交友,美女視訊,聊天室,美女交友,辣妹視訊,視訊聊天室,成人交友,美女視訊,成人電影,成人網站,情色,情趣用品,色情,sex,免費a片,h漫,av女優,成人影片,a片,微風成人,聊天室,美女交友,辣妹視訊,視訊聊天室,成人交友,美女視訊,聊天室,美女交友,辣妹視訊,視訊聊天室,成人交友,美女視訊
a片,a片,a片,a片,a片,av女優,av女優,av女優,av女優,成人網站,成人網站,成人網站,成人網站,h漫,h漫,h漫,h漫,成人網站,成人網站,成人網站,成人網站,免費A片,免費A片,免費A片,免費A片,成人影片,成人影片,成人影片,成人影片,成人電影,成人電影,成人電影,成人電影,免費A片,免費A片,免費A片,免費A片,成人電影,成人電影,成人電影,成人電影,色情,色情,色情,色情,成人影片,成人影片,成人影片,成人影片,成人影片,微風成人,微風成人,微風成人,微風成人,色情,色情,色情,色情,情趣用品,情趣用品,情趣用品,色情,色情,色情,色情,成人影片,成人影片,成人影片,成人影片,情色,情色,情色,情色,打卡鐘,跳蛋,持久液,色情網站,黃金回收,借錢,植牙,牙醫,成人網站,成人影片,av女優,色情,h漫,情色,sex,黃金價格,黃金,黃金買賣,黃金存摺,鑽石價格,鑽石回收,鑽石買賣,當舖,辣妹視訊,080視訊聊天室,美女交友,情色視訊,哈啦聊天室,ut聊天室,聊天室,打卡鐘,火鍋吃到飽,創業加盟,賺錢,吃到飽麻辣鍋
cheap wow gold
cheap wow gold
cheap wow gold
cheap wow gold
cheap wow gold
cheap wow gold
cheap wow gold
cheap wow gold
cheap wow gold
cheap wow gold
wow gold
wow gold
wow gold
wow gold
wow gold
wow gold
wow gold
wow gold
wow gold
wow gold
buy wow gold
buy wow gold
buy wow gold
buy wow gold
buy wow gold
buy wow gold
buy wow gold
buy wow gold
buy wow gold
buy wow gold
world of warcraft gold
world of warcraft gold
world of warcraft gold
world of warcraft gold
world of warcraft gold
world of warcraft gold
world of warcraft gold
world of warcraft gold
world of warcraft gold
world of warcraft gold
Post a Comment