Historic vs. Modern Day Settings in YA Novels

As long as the story is good kids don't care. Look how popular the American Girl series is, and those all take place is other time periods.

Now, resonating with the kids is a big deal and this is key to getting them to relate to your work. But you can do that with the problems they face, emotional issues common to the age group, stuff like that, even though the setting isn't modern day. My niece loves hearing about how we didn't have CDs growing up, and that cable only worked from 8pm to midnight every night -- and that is was ONLY HBO! <gasp> She finds all that "old-fashioned stuff" a hoot.

I have two words.

Libba Bray.


....does that count, since it's a name?

Historicals are generally considered a tougher sell in YA, but as others have said, Libba Bray and similar writers have bucked that trend. So it can be done.

The big question is, why are the books set in that time period? If the story is essentially contemporary/timeless, you might be better off setting them in the here and now. But if you have a strong historical setting that really works to drive your story and set it apart, I say go for it.

I think that respected publisher you speak of has just narrowed down its chances of happening upon a really great work that will sell squillions. Teenagers, just as children and adults, are interested in different things. If it's a well-written and engaging story, someone will continue reading. Possibly many someones!

Danthia said:

and that cable only worked from 8pm to midnight every night -- and that is was ONLY HBO! <gasp>

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wait, SERIOUSLY???

That's insane....

The Luxe has been selling like crazy at my bookstore. It's like Gossip Girls, only Victorian.

Valona said:

I appreciate all your comments.

I have one other thought to add. What about "American Graffiti" and "Grease," or stories by S.E. Hinton, and others of a similar genre. Was there a reason those story were set in the 1960s? Couldn't they have just as easily been set in modern day? Yet, they work. Why?

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Those movies were about what it's like to be a teenager back then, the whole setting and whatnot. That was their whole point. When I watch those movies, the actual character's stories are secondary to the time period. Some things are written about the setting.

....

My favorite books have historical settings. I don't know why. If two books have the same basic story but one takes place in say, medieval Germany, guess which one I'm going to read.

I really don't care about a lot of modern settings, especially ones that focus so much on high school. Even when I was in high school...I was reading historical fiction YA more than anything.

In fact, historical fiction YA is actually a whole lot better than adult historical fiction. The adult stuff is usually not character-driven, as YA tends to be. Tends to be more about the times or some royal intrigue or what have you. I like the characters, and growing up in different time periods.

Just my preference.

S.E. Hinton's book The Outsiders was published in 1967. So it was contemporary, not historical. It's just stayed really popular because it's an amazing book.

But I don't think you should avoid setting a book in the 50's or 60's. If that's what you want to write, I'd say go for it. 50 years ago is historical to most teens anyway. And there have been some great books published recently that are set in that time. Check out Rex Zero and the End of the World, by Tim Wynne-Jones.

reenkam said:

wait, SERIOUSLY???

That's insane....

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<sigh> You make me feel old now, too. Yeppers, that's what it was And our "remote control" was a box with buttons attached to the TV with a cord.

And this was only, like 25-ish years ago? How times have changed.

I have no idea if this idea holds any validity at all, but I'm throwing it out there...

Most teens know someone who lived through the fifties and sixties so maybe it doesn't feel as removed as, say, the 1700's or the Victoria era. Perhaps it feels too recent, even if it's not?

Super-up-to-the-second trends and styles and slang will be moved on to something else by the time you get your book written and published. Sometimes an illusion being modern works best, while essentially remaining timeless.

I'd suggest reading a whole bunch of currently-hot YA and see how the experts do it.

And go see Juno, in theaters now. The writer made up all the slang, I'm guessing because slang really does change all the time. "Cool" is pretty timeless, but not much else is. Writing is often about illusion, and making things seem real when they're not.

And reading a whole lot of current YA won't hurt

The last YA book I read was set in 1962.

Valona said:

One respected publisher I'm aware of advises writers to give the kids cell-phones and bring the story up to date. She says kids don't want to read stuff that doesn't resonate with them and their world directly.

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Not so! My historical novel is set in the medieval period and was purchased specifically for the older YA market. It was well accepted by that group, nominated for a young readers choice award and remains in high school reading programs. No cell phones, not even any teens in the story. That is only one publisher's opinion. It is not shared by ALL publishers.
Linnea

Two recent YA novels - David Almond's The Fire Eaters and Stephen Baxter's The H-Bomb Girl - are set in the early 1960s. The former has the Cuban Missile Crisis going on in the background, while the latter is set in Liverpool and has the Beatles making an appearance.

My agent, who reps only YA and kids, has been saying over and over again that he wishes someone would send him a book set in the 60's or 70's.

Valona said:

Thanks everyone.

Over the weekend, I thought a lot about what everyone said to me, especially my crit group. After a lot of consideration I've decided to keep my novel, "Sweet Revenge," in the mid-1960s. I think the Viet Nam war and hippie angle will actually help the plot. It will help today's youth, and perhaps youth in the future, to better understand the turmoil we had to deal with when I was a youth back then.

It will take some work, but thinking about it, it probably won't be all that much work. I can sprinkle in the historic bits here and there fairly easily.

I appreciate everyone's help.
Paul

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Historical

The historical YA market seems to be growing quite a bit right now. Good luck!

Valona said:

TrishD,

It looks like we're crossing paths on a couple of boards, but I'll give the same answer here as I did on the other board.

I appreciate everyone's comments on this.

Inasmuch as I don't have any REAL reason for setting my books in the 1950s or 1960s, aside from that it was what they grew up with and know best, I probably do need to bring at least one of them up to modern day. The other I can probably tie into Post WWII and Korean War days. I've been resisting making this change because I'm not IN with the current trends, styles, slang, and so forth.

Does anyone have any suggestions about how to get educated, then go about the revision process?

Thanks again,
Paul

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Have you considered getting a part-time/volunteer job that puts you in touch with teens? At a school library? After-school program? Big Brothers/Sisters? Or the mall? I think the best way to learn would be to observe students for yourself.

Valona said:

Thanks everyone.

Over the weekend, I thought a lot about what everyone said to me, especially my crit group. After a lot of consideration I've decided to keep my novel, "Sweet Revenge," in the mid-1960s. I think the Viet Nam war and hippie angle will actually help the plot. It will help today's youth, and perhaps youth in the future, to better understand the turmoil we had to deal with when I was a youth back then.

It will take some work, but thinking about it, it probably won't be all that much work. I can sprinkle in the historic bits here and there fairly easily.

I appreciate everyone's help.
Paul

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Debra Garfinkle wrote a book that takes place in the 1970s called "Stuck in the '70s." It's a comedy about a modern day student who gets sucked back in time. You might want to check it out.