Out of the Mouth of Babes...er, teens! Blog questionaire

Hi Fellow Lovers and Writers of Young Adult Fiction,

For one of our upcoming blog postings on the OPWFT blog, we're taking to the streets, so to speak, to speak to real teens about what they want out of the YA they read. A real one on one with our target audience. We love and adore our Twifties, but they're a cut above the regular teen--their creative gifts sets them apart, and we want the average Joe consumer!

So, here's what we're asking of you. What questions do you have about plot, characters, setting, conflict? Wanna get some answers about that maybe edgy or risque SNI or WIP you've got? Wanna get their take on the biggies out there like Dessen, Rowling, Meyers, or how they feel about the "it" books? There's no question too big or too small, so please don't be afraid to ask. We wanna hear from you....so ask away!

You can rep me, PM me, or you can post your question(s). I will give all the questions we receive to the group of 14-18 year old males and females. Then when the interview is up and ready, I'll post the link.

Here's an early thank you for all your help and support!

Stunted said:

This may be a hard question to get answer to, but I'd like to know why teenagers who don't read don't read.

I'd also like to know how stylized teens of different ages like it--would they rather read a book like Twilight which, without it's fantastic element, wouldn't feel like real life at all, or would they rather read a book that actually feels like real life like Invisible? That's probably a hard question to answer too.

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Stunted,

Fantastic questions! I will be happy to pass that on, and as an English teacher, I'd like to hear individual responses to the "reading" factor....

Thanks for stopping by and asking!

spamwarrior said:

That's a fascinating idea!

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Thanks Spamwarrior!

The Kidd said:

Trying not to go off-topic, but I really agree with History Chick. The kids today are put through the wringer. I think the Accelerated Reader program was a bad idea because it forces kids to read. Also, think about some of the required reading. Great Expectations? Yes, it's literature but what teen wants to read it? It’s like saying "Hey kids, this is a what books are like." so naturally when they see another one they want to scream and run.

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Good point. Trust me, I taught middle school for six years before moving up to high school. AR is a heinous program.

I'm fortunate in 9th grade b/c they like a lot of the reading: Night, Tuesdays with Morrie, Of Mice and Men,....next year I'm teaching 11th grade as well, and I'm not even sold on The Scarlet Letter!

Thanks for stopping by and giving your input....I'll try to find a way to morph it into a question.

Skye Jules said:

I remember before I even got involved with the Xtreme, I did an article about why teens don't read (just to show the editor my writing), and most of them said it was boring and stupid and a waste of time. One of them even said, "Why would you want to read when you have television?" And then I started pondering his statement and realized in a way he was kind of right. A lot of teenagers read crap books that don't even stimulate their minds. It's the same thing as watching television.

It's good that teenagers are reading, but most of the time I don't even understand why teachers are so bent on just merely accepting the fact that teenagers are reading. They should want to encourage teenagers to read stimulating books--not necessarily classics either, but books you can tell that make you think, and usually the summary is enough for me to determine whether or not the book is going to make me think for even a second. Frankly, if you're going to read something like Gossip Girl, and you only read books like that, you might as well just turn on the tele.

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Hey Skye Jules,

What part of GA are you from? You can rep me if you want....