YA Board School Books

Squirrel on a Ledge · Oct 4, 2017

Pardon the typo in the heading!

A lot of YA novels seem to be set at boarding schools. Does this make that setting popular or cliched? I have a hard time differentiating, and I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts.

Maryn · Oct 4, 2017

(Thanks for the explanation, since my first thought was, Board books? They're for babies!)

I'd say it makes it both popular and a cliche. It's real handy for the author, of course, since placing the characters in a boarding school means there are no parents to closely monitor them, only a house parent who's clueless, can be duped, or is overwhelmed. It leaves the characters free to do what you want them to do if they can leave the school undetected, too.

Of course, few real-world teens know boarding school realities, so it's possible the author can alienate them. Or make a mistake that those kids who do attend such schools catch.

Like anything else, it can work if you do it really well. Go figure, huh?

Debbie V · Oct 6, 2017

Do it well and twist it to make it your own.

ambmae · Oct 7, 2017

Tropes aren't necessarily bad. The secret is finding your own unique angle.

Kalyke · Oct 8, 2017

I've never been in a boarding school but I would think that it may be a way to get a large group of kids together and without much adult supervision to go through the plot of a novel. Since I have never been, I would not know exactly how they are managed (house mothers or other supervision).

YA Board School Books

Squirrel on a Ledge

Maryn

Baaa!

Debbie V

Mentoring Myself and Others

ambmae

Kalyke