I was reading the wonderful blog, A Chair, A Fireplace and A Tea Cozy and found this link to an essay by Mary Pearson. She’s the author of the sci-fi YA novel, The Adoration of Jenna Fox. A book that I read last year and really enjoyed.
Her essay, What YA Lit Is and Isn’t, talks about the misconceptions of young adult literature, why she writes YA, and who should read it and the responsibilities of the genre.
Two excerpts stood out for me:
“I am not writing it as “practice” so I can one day write an adult book (I am asked that a lot.) Young adult books are not a lesser, watered-down version of adult books. They are not any easier or harder to read than adult books and they are certainly not any easier to write. They are just different.”
“The bottom line is that YA books are not meant to raise children. They are everything any adult book is. They are entertainment. They are a place to see ourselves. They are a place to get lost for a few hours. They are a place to make us think and wonder and imagine. They are a place to evoke anger, disagreement, discussion, and maybe tears. Books have no other responsibility than not to make the reader hate reading.”
I get this a lot when I tell people I’m a writer (probably why I don’t volunteer this information any more). When I tell them I write for kids and teens, I see their eyes glaze over and then lose interest in the conversation. Then of course, the follow-up question will come up: “When will you write something that I can read?”
I have always found this period in a person’s life to be the most fascinating. It’s where personalities and life outlooks can be formed. More than that, this type of literature can help a teen understand the vast landscape of emotions, situations, circumstances, and consequences.
Do we have a responsibility to “protect” kids and teens? As parents, absolutely. For me, as a writer, the only responsibility that I have to a reader is to tell the most truthful story that I can. It is in the truth where most lessons can be learned. Not through preaching and thin-veiled morals. We should give the YA reader more credit than that.
You should definitely go and check out the essay and also read the comments as well.
