young adult themes

ejwriter · Nov 19, 2008

hiya! i'm new around here (only my second post), but i have a question for you YA writers.

i read a lot about people defending the dark themes of drugs, violence, sex, death, etc... in YA, and i totally agree.

my concern is whether agents/publishers are interested in books without those themes. i am currently working on a YA novel that is definitely not a bubble-gum teen book, nor is it any kind of fantasy or love story. (very generically put, it's about struggling teens)... but it doesn't go to the extremes that some successful YA has lately (i.e. there's no cutting or drugs or rape, etc...)

when i think of comparisons to what i'm writing, only movies spring to mind (goonies, breakfast club), no books. i'm wondering - is there a market for YA novels along those lines?

Shady Lane · Nov 19, 2008

Aaaaabsolutely. Sounds like most of my stuff.

(those aren't themes, btw. themes have verbs. "death" is not a theme. "people die too early" is a theme. just lettin you know)

Claudia Gray · Nov 19, 2008

There are plenty of books in the vein you describe. Just like adult literature, YA has both dark, edgy offerings and lighter, more slice-of-life offerings. I suggest spending a little more time checking out the YA section to see the wide range of possibilities.

ejwriter · Nov 19, 2008

i should say elements then.

so, what titles come to mind in that middle ground between gossip girl and crank?

i spent a whole saturday recently planted on the floor of the YA section of my favorite bookstore and found myself sitting between 2 stacks of (non-fantasy, non-romance) books that seemed either very light or very dark.

Danthia · Nov 19, 2008

Totally. Publishers are looking for great books they can't put down. How you write that great book is entirely up to you

The Gallagher Girl series by Ally Carter is a great example. Fun adventures, some serious stuff, some light stuff, a great mix. Same with Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson books. Johh Scalzi's Zoe's Tale is good old-fashioned sci fi YA. Susan Beth Pfifer's Life As We Knew It and the sequel are serious, but don't rely on drugs or sex to work. Just the possible end of the world. Most fantasies don't use sex or drugs, and fall into the middle area of light and dark. More light vs dark.

Tons more, but those are just what I think of by glancing at my bookshelves

Shady Lane · Nov 19, 2008

An Abundance of Katherines

The Year of Secret Assignments

Flipped

Where the Kissing Never Stops (God, I love this one)

Doing It (edgy but not dark)

Paper Towns (though I haven't finished it yet)

so so so many more...

ejwriter · Nov 19, 2008

awesome. thank you. i'll take a look at those titles.
alaska was the only green book i picked up, so i didn't see that katherines and paper towns might be less dark.
you're all so helpful! thanks again.

bethany · Nov 19, 2008

I'd rate Sarah Dessen as pretty in between the gossip girl and the edgy upper YA.

Shady Lane · Nov 19, 2008

bethany said:
I'd rate Sarah Dessen as pretty in between the gossip girl and the edgy upper YA.

**shudder**

bethany · Nov 19, 2008

Shady Lane said:
**shudder**

and also there's this book called Handcuffs. Joking, joking. yeah, not for 12 year olds. No.

eyeblink · Nov 19, 2008

Finding Violet Park by Jenny Valentine (known as Me, The Missing and the Dead in the US)

How I Live Now and What I Was, both by Meg Rosoff (older-end YA, but not especially explicit)

The Opposite of Chocolate by Julie Bertagna (teen pregnancy theme, or is that too heavy?). She's also written a post-climate-change SF series (Exodus and Zenith) but I haven't read them yet.

young adult themes

ejwriter

lurk & learn

Shady Lane

my name is hannah

Claudia Gray

ejwriter

lurk & learn

Danthia

Shady Lane

my name is hannah

ejwriter

lurk & learn

bethany

:)

Shady Lane

my name is hannah

bethany

:)

eyeblink

Barbara says hi