Two sentences into your future, I am going to use some words that cause uncomfortable and anxious feelings in me.
I will print them in red, so you know what they are.
Over the past few days, I have found myself involved in several conversations about new trends in YA literature.
Every time someone starts to talk about trends in YA (especially at conferences), I can almost feel humidity from showers of Pavlovian salivations among aspiring authors who suddenly come up with brand-new OMGWIPs.
You know what OMGWIPs are.
They are Facebook statuses, usually.
Now, lots of people are talking about Paranormal Burnout and the renaissance of realism.
Blah.
I will tell you the current trend: Good shit.
At NCTE, one of the panels that I was on dealt with this idea about YA "returning to its roots" by focusing on realistic characters and story arcs. Thankfully, the moderator of the panel began the introduction of the discussion by stating that realism in YA was not a "trend," that it has always been an essential feature of all American Literature.
This is very true. The fear and misunderstanding that underlie the outrage of editorial writers like Meghan Cox Gurdon express a two-pronged condescension of sorts: First, that there is an absolute content limit that can be measured as far as subject matter is concerned; and second, that "too much" reality (which frequently equates to bleakness) in literature is a bad thing to expose young readers to.
In fact, on a librarian listserv I have been voyeuristically following, the current topic is exactly that: Is there too much reality in current books for kids, from picture books and chapter books through Middle Grade and YA titles?
Um.
What do you think?
In the coming few days, I want to visit this idea of Realism in literature (not as a trend), and if there is such a concept of "too much" of it going on.
9 comments:
Good post Andrew. I have a hard time with any black and white classification in literature like "too much realism". There's something to be said for allowing shades of grey to seep into our work and for accurately portraying a reality to readers that they can identify with - even if it does seem bleaker or less idealistic than some might want. Besides, teens are smarter than people give them credit for. I don't think it's impossible or even unusual for them to decide what they, as a reader, are capable of handling. When I was a teen, there wasn't the abundance of YA for critics to complain about or attack the "realism" or "darkness" of. . . so I read Stephen King. I'm sure a lot of us did - and we all survived.
The real (sorry) problem? Too much reality in reality. In reality everything is messed up, and difficult, and impossible to manage or adjust to. The idea that the shards of that finding their way into books is a problem? Is crazy. Problem = that kids are abused, not that people write about it and acknowledge it, for instance. That's where reality is just way too much.
Too much realism? I think that's a bit like too much MCS.
As in: THERE IS NO SUCH THING.
Also, did you hear Elena talk about her OMGWIP idea? The one about the Mermaids whose top halves are Werewolves? We should make that the new YA trend.
Do you mean it's not reality that I will meet this awesome vampire dude, marry him, turn into a beautiful woman, have an awesome sup-up vamp child, live forever without a care? Oh and save the world too. Really? And I also thought everyone lived like Beaver Cleaver and had awesome parents that never fight or hit.
Geez, did I really use awesome three times.
Now, Picasso was a realist, right? I just want to make sure I have the genre "pegged" down.
also, the word ver. is lewdpube.
The one thing that I do not like about trends is how they cause certain topics to be overdone. For example, if you walk into a store that sells books (but is not a bookstore), you will most likely see row upon row of vampire books. There are plenty of other good books out there, but you would not know that from these stores.
You made that shit up, Jon.
Can I get on a soapbox?
Yeah? Okay, here goes:
"Reality" in books is honestly a ridiculous thing to debate, and only something either non-readers or poor readers think to discuss. The simple truth is that literature is one of the best ways to explore "reality" from different angles, viewpoints, and worlds using stories as a model. Plain and simple, a novel is a story. Any story worth reading (and reading and reading and reading) is the story that does the best job conveying whatever sense of "reality" it presents.
For example: My story is that of a princess in a foreign land who desires to be a boy. Not because she wants to fight wars or obtain magical prowess, but because she wants to know what it feels like to be a boy. Plain and simple. This is the story I present to you. Throughout the course of the novel, it is my job as the writer to continually delve deeper and deeper into this princess's singular experience, and by doing so, relate to whatever readers might pick this book up.
The "reality" presented here is going to vary largely from the "reality" of a story, say, about a boy who is beaten to death only to come back as a supernatural baddie (vampire, werewolf, zombie--take your pick) and watch as the ring leader of the gang that killed him goes after the love of his life.
Two different "realities." One will inherently be darker than the other. Maybe. But, any good book will present whichever "reality" as comprehensively as possible.
Too much realism?
That is stupid.
No, wait. That is my knee-jerk reaction.
"Too much realism" in "YA" is like in the movie AMADEUS when the emperor told Mozart that his opera had "too many notes."
Yeah, one of those wtf moments.
I've said it before and I'm going to keep saying it:
Childhood is a 19th century invention. It's a good one, as it helped create stuff like more education and child labor laws.
But crossing over to preciousness and protecting kids from truth expressed in art is not just wrong, it's dangerous.
Fighting this "trendspeak" is part of the Revolution.
I am glad you are bringing up uncomfortable stuff. Not that that's new.
I just want you to know how much I appreciate it.
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