YA POV Question

Ginger Writer · Mar 10, 2012

Hey, guys!

I'm just thinking about what point of view to use for the series I might work on as my next project. I'm considering straying from my usual 3rd person to a multiple 1st person POV.

Have there been any YA (especially fantasy) books that used multiple 1st person POVs that you can think of, and did it work? Thanks a bunch!

Sage · Mar 10, 2012

I can't think of any fantasy off the top of my head, but I'm pretty sure that Across the Universe (SF) is two first-person POVs, and also Gone Gone Gone (contemporary - out next month) is too (but it's been a long time since I read GGG).

As someone who writes dual first-person POVs from time to time, I suggest switching only at the chapter breaks and doing so consistently, so that it's easy for the reader to catch the rhythm and know when to expect the POV switch. Also, I suggest reading the novel out loud to get an easier sense of whether you've made the voices different enough.

alicereckless · Mar 10, 2012

Well, the first one that comes to mind for me is Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater (PNR). It is quite popular and balanced the first-person POVs of a girl and her werewolf LI. Unfortunately, they read like the same person, except one recited song lyrics a lot.

Across the Universe by Beth Revis is a more recent (sci-fi/romance) book. It's been really well-received and while I had some problems with the book, it did a good job of distinguishing the female/male POVs personality-wise.

Ginger Writer · Mar 10, 2012

Sage: Yeah. If I were to do this, I'd emulate Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, I believe it is, where each chapter is from a different character's POV and that chapter is titled with that character's name. (I think this is the book I'm thinking of.) At any rate, I'll have to check the both of those books out and see how they worked.

Alice: I'm really going to have to check out Across the Universe, then. And avoid having the only difference between the voices be song lyrics. Heh.

Thanks guys!

eyeblink · Mar 10, 2012

Jenny Valentine's The Ant Colony has two first-person POVs.

TudorRose · Mar 11, 2012

I've seldom seen it done well. Too often the voices just aren't different enough.

The one time I've seen it done brilliantly is in the 2nd and 3rd books in the Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness. The voices are very distinctive. In book 3 one of the narrators is an alien creature called a "Spackle", and his completely different way of looking at the world really comes through in his voice.

Genre-wise it's a sci-fi-fantasy-dystopian-western mash-up and unlike anything I've ever read before :Hail:

Ellielle · Mar 11, 2012

A pretty recent (dystopian, not fantasy, though) YA release with dual 1st person POVs is Marie Lu's Legend. I thought the voices were a little too similar for me to say it was done really well (both were supposed to be super smart teens), but the POV consistently switched every chapter, so I could pretty much keep up with who was narrating. Plus, at least on my kindle edition, the font switched between them too.

missesdash · Mar 11, 2012

An example that didn't work: FORBIDDEN

amschilling · Mar 11, 2012

James Patterson's "Wizard and Witch" series switches between two 1st person POVs. Always at chapter breaks and with labels, so you know who's talking.

Netz · Mar 11, 2012

missesdash said:
An example that didn't work: FORBIDDEN

I agree.

thebloodfiend · Mar 11, 2012

missesdash said:
An example that didn't work: FORBIDDEN

Let's not speak of that.

A few that have different voices (because two different authors wrote them, though I can't stand them):

The Future of Us
Nick and Norah
Eli and Naomi
Dash and Lily
Will Grayson, Will Grayson

A few that kind of work with only one writer, but I won't be the champion for them because they're rather "meh" (by "meh" I mean average to really, really bad):

Jumping Off Swings
Perfect Chemistry
Return to Paradise
Two Way Street
How to Save a Life (really good apparently)
Love is the Higher Law (I've heard that it's good, but I've never finished it. The girl POV leaves things to be desired).
Gone, Gone, Gone (not bad)

Windcutter · Mar 11, 2012

Ellielle said:
A pretty recent (dystopian, not fantasy, though) YA release with dual 1st person POVs is Marie Lu's Legend. I thought the voices were a little too similar for me to say it was done really well (both were supposed to be super smart teens), but the POV consistently switched every chapter, so I could pretty much keep up with who was narrating. Plus, at least on my kindle edition, the font switched between them too.

I actually snickered when Day thought something along the lines of "June is just like a female version of me"--why, yes, she is. Still loved that book.

Mandiloo322 · Mar 11, 2012

Sage said:
As someone who writes dual first-person POVs from time to time, I suggest switching only at the chapter breaks and doing so consistently, so that it's easy for the reader to catch the rhythm and know when to expect the POV switch. Also, I suggest reading the novel out loud to get an easier sense of whether you've made the voices different enough.

Another vote for this, as a reader. I don't think I've ever encountered this idea in YA fantasy, but I would like to.

Edit: Remembered that "Old Magic" (Marianne Curley) as well as her Guardians of Time trilogy all use alternating POV's between a male and female MC. It's been long enough since I've read them that I can't remember if the voices were very different from one another.

BriarRose · Mar 11, 2012

So far as YA goes, the Knight and Rogue series by Hilari Bell switches between two 1st person POV. It was a bit confusing at first, but once I got into the rhythm, the switches worked. The two narrators were substantially different in their speaking patterns based on their social class.

If you're going to do this, you just have to make sure you have your two MCs' voices distinct and consistent. The same goes for how often (or not) you switch between the two.

Stiger05 · Mar 12, 2012

The dystopian "Crossed" by Allie Condie does dual M/F POV. It's the sequel to "Matched". I didn't think she pulled it off that well though, but it could just be the beginning of the book threw me. The first book is completely in the F MC's POV. Then, without warning or tags or anything, the second book starts with her LI's POV, then the next chapter switches back to her and it alternates this way for the whole book. Neither voice was particularly distinctive so I started all sorts of confused and never got in a rhythm.

little_e · Mar 12, 2012

All that matters is if you do it well.
But it sounds easy to get confused.

IrisFlower81 · Mar 12, 2012

If you're going to do it, make sure the voices sound like a variety of different people. I'm cautioning you about it because one of my completed novels was originally written in dual 1st person POV. I ended up changing it to singular 3rd person POV, because no matter how hard I tried I could not get the damn voices to sound like two separate individuals.

Just something to think about.

Mandiloo322 · Mar 12, 2012

Seems that the consensus is dual POV's are difficult to pull off well. I wish you the best of luck! I really think it would be interesting in a fantasy environment.

wampuscat · Mar 13, 2012

GLOW is light SF and has two POVs (one girl, one boy). It is 1st person as well, though it is past tense rather than present. The switching of POVs doesn't seem to follow any sort of logical reasoning. It's not 1 chapter Waverly, 1 chapter Keiran, etc., nor does it seem to be chronological in the POV switches. I don't really care for the seeming randomness of that. But I haven't finished the book yet, maybe there's a some reasoning tied in later.

Also, I'd say that as a reader, if I'm not invested in both characters and storylines, multiple POV can be a problem. I tend to get disappointed when I get to the next chapter and it's the character/storyline I don't care about. It leads to skimming, and sometimes I'll stop reading for that reason.

Sage · Mar 13, 2012

For some reason it's okay with me if 3rd person POVs alternate at scene breaks, rather than chapter breaks. Maybe because it's easier to clue the reader into the POV (with names instead of "I")

Mayfield · Mar 13, 2012

Pieces of Us has 4 POVs: three in 1st person and one in 2nd. There's also a novel called Nothing (not the brilliant Janne Teller Nothing, a different one) about a boy dealing with bulimia and it's interspersed with chapters from his sister's POV (although these are in verse). Both these books are contemporary YA, though, so maybe not what you're looking for.

MysticPunk · Mar 19, 2012

My writing coach gave me good advice about this. She said most writers who use multiple perspectives don't ever get deep enough into any one character to create a really strong story. Think about limiting your perspectives to just the essential characters and you'll probably make a better read.

Because of this advice, I split my story into two novels and am enjoying the rewriting a lot more than I usually do. You really do get a deeper understanding of the various people.

YA POV Question

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