Then All Genres are Flawed
Genre is important. Thanks to it, readers know in which section of the bookstore they have to search for the book that they want, publishers know how to sell the book, and writers get a better idea of what their audience might be expecting. In other words, genre provides a method of organization. And organization is necessary –even if it gives me a hard time sometimes. However, all genres come with rules and limitations. You wouldn’t write a horror novel the same way you would write a romance novel, would you? But are these limitations bad? I don’t think so. They are not exactly strict limitations. After all, good stories are those who appeal to a broad audience no matter the rules of their genre. A good writer knows when to stick to the limitations of the genre and when not to stick to them.
With that said, I wish there were a secret formula writers could use in order to identify when to break genre rules so that I could explain it. However, there isn’t such a thing –or if there is I need to find it. The rules of genre are broken as the writing happens, like so many other things. Actually sometimes the genre itself is set as the writing happens, or as the editing happens. What’s really important is that the writer enjoys the story he is writing. If he doesn’t, no one else will. Most of the time, writing consists on trusting ones instincts. After all, in the world of fiction there are a lot of contradictions.
Yet, keeping these facts in mind, there is a common misconception among some writers and critics. For some reason, there is the belief that some genres have too many limitations, and that these limitations are somehow flaws. More specifically speaking, a lot of people believe that Young Adult fiction is “limited” because it is directed to a specific audience. However, this so called flaw is one that all genres are guilty of and it is up to the writer to break past it. The same way a Mystery writer can find a way to attract a reader that prefers Fantasy, a Young Adult Fiction writer can find a way to attract an adult reader. Now, I’m not saying that attracting an adult audience should be the main aim of a Young Adult Fiction writer, but it is possible for him to do so. Therefore, Young Adult Fiction is no more restricted than other genres.
To prove my point, I’ve chosen some of the most common “limitations” of Young Adult literature according to critics from the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and some other journals and/or forums, and explained them here from the point of view of a Young Adult writer, me.
1. The teen language:
For some reason the way teens talk is sometimes considered to ruin dialogue in books. This can be true, if it’s overdone. There is nothing worse than the over use of “cool” and “awesome” or of made up slang word that makes sense to no one. Adults hate it, but so do young adults. If anything, the rightful usage of teen language is as much of a challenge as the rightful usage of grammatical mistakes made by an uneducated character or the rightful usage of flowery language used by a prolific character.
Of course teenagers speak differently from adults, but not always, and not all teenagers do. If the slang is overdone, the book will have harsh critics among all types of readers.
2. Immature characters:
Honestly, these are existent among all type of literature, starting with the indecisive Hamlet, going to the young Pip, and, yes, including some of the Young Adult Fiction main characters. But the characters are only immature if the writer decides to make them immature. Being young, the characters are destined to make mistakes of “young people,” but adults are also destined to make mistakes in adult fiction, else there would be no plot and the characters would be unrealistic.
Suzanne Collins’s Katniss in the Young Adult novel The Hunger Games is a teenager who has had to grow up faster than she has had time to. She has had to take care of her sister and of her mother ever since her father died. Hence, her character is quite mature for her age and is capable of acting like an adult. Realistically of course, she is still an indecisive and naïve teenager at times, but if she weren’t she wouldn’t be believable. Holly Black’s Cassel, the main character of the Young Adult series The Curse Workers, is another character that has had to grow up fast because of his situation. His life is constantly contrasted with the “normal” life of his friends. Cassel does make mistakes and think as a teenage boy, but he is a teenage boy.
I don’t really see how having young characters makes a book “flawed.” Young characters, like adult characters have many dimensions that when used correctly can make a great plot. And in order make a character believable, a Young Adult Fiction writer must do the same amount of research about their characters as any other fiction writer. After all, teenage characters can also have interests that the writer knows nothing about. In a story I’m currently working on, my main character is very interested in fencing and in sword collecting. He is only seventeen but he grew up with a father who loved swords so he knows more about swords than a lot of people do. When I began my story, I knew nothing about swords and I’ve had to do a lot of research.
3. Sexual themes and other adult themes cannot be included:
In Sarah Dessen’s Dreamland, the main character Caitlin finds herself in an abusive relationship. She falls for a drug dealer and she starts smoking marijuana. She has sex with this boy. Also her sister runs away from home with a guy instead of going to Yale. I’m not sure about you, but these themes seem very adult directed for me.
Dessen presents these themes in a very explicit manner. She also utilizes foul language when necessary. She does not, of course, describe explicitly the sex scenes, but she does describe very well some strong “make out” sessions between Caitlin and her boyfriend, Rogerson. And she does not hold back from saying the word “sex,” which some people tend to believe is prohibited among Young Adult books.
The themes are also presented in a very serious manner. Caitlin isn’t some silly girl who just “bumps” into her situation. The story evolves slowly. There is something off in Caitlin’s relationship with Rogerson from the very beginning, but still, the first time he hits her it is shocking. It’s even more shocking how she remains in this dangerous relationship. At the same time, however, one can understand why she does not leave Rogerson and tell her family about her situation.
Adult themes can be presented in Young Adult Fiction and they can create and impact. The best way to figure out how is simply by reading these books. Some parents may argue against the themes. Censure isn’t the key, though. A lot of these themes are situations that teenagers do encounter, and parents should be talking about them. Besides, the classics that kids are reading in school do talk a lot about sex and violence.
4. It’s always dark:
What does this even mean? How do you define dark? Perhaps a better word is “violent” or “depressive”? If that is the case, then critics who claim this have not read that many Young Adult books. Sarah Dessen’s The Truth About Forever doesn’t have any violence in it, despite the fact that her Dreamland does. There may be some mention of teens drinking in The Truth About Forever, but this theme is lightly presented. It’s shown as a reality and it is not the main focus of the book. Young adults do encounter alcohol in their lives; there is no way of hiding this. Neither is the book marketed as “dark.” It has a white cover with a flower in front. The main character Macy is trying to get over the death of her father, and even though she is grieving in the beginning, she undergoes a transformation that is far from dark. No violence is involved. Actually, her father died of natural causes.
Also there is the case of Rick Riordan. His series Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Heroes of Olympus and The Kane Chronicles, may be classified Young Reader books, instead of Young Adult books, but they are directed to teens ages 12 to 17 so they fit here. His novels do include fighting scenes, but they are not dark. His writing is characterized by the fact that he mixes myths, fantasy, action and comedy. I can hardly think of a fighting scene in which Riordan has not included a smart comment which makes me stop and laugh, only to later keep me reading because I need to know what happens next. I can’t see how these books could be classified as dark.
Again, the book is only dark if the writer makes it dark.
5. Keeping “teens” interested sometimes leads to “poor writing”:
This last “limitation” is the biggest myth of all, because it sums up all the other myths of Young Adult fiction. There is some poor writing among Young Adult books, just like there is some poor writing among all other genres.
Just like every writer, someone who writes Young Adult fiction must undergo a long writing and editing process. He must do research. He must sit long nights staring at the computer screen. He must think about the appropriate words. He must capture the readers. He must have a strong plot, a good start and a great ending. He must know his strength and his weaknesses. Aside from that, he must stand the comments of people who do not want to take the genre seriously often just because of the way it is marketed. We all know that plenty Young Adult books are marketed as books that contain sexy guys and beautiful girls. However, not all, and I’m sure that not most, of the Young Adult books are about sexy guys and beautiful girls. A lot of the books are about situations teens suffer daily, or about other life realities. Take all the books mentioned above as good examples.
Good writing is not limited to just adult fiction. Young readers and adult readers alike appreciate good writing.
