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I find myself in a pensive mood as the Chicagoland area is expected to get hit with another 4 to 9 inches of snow later today. It's also Friday and I've had a very busy week at work. I was looking over my very large reading stack and got to wondering about the holes in YA literature. As you may have noticed, I tend to ask this question from some of my authors in my interviews because I do think there are some glaring holes that need to be filled. So, I started to ask myself "I wish there were more books about..." Below are some of my wishes and I love to know what yours are too.
I Wish There Were More Books About..
- GLBT teens who are main characters and just are
- Multicultural fiction that feature young adults from other continents beside North America and Europe.
- Male protagonists that are featured in books other than sports, science fiction, or fantasy
- Ethnic minority kids who don't fall under their stereotypes and are the main characters
- Strong female characters in realistic/contemporary fiction who aren't boy crazed and or desperately seeking to become popular.
- A paranormal romance without a love triangle and/or a creepy, stalker-like love interest.
- A paranormal romance where the heroine doesn't give up her own identity and interests for the sake of her love interest. Actually, this could go for realistic fiction too.
- Smart romance books that have depth and appeal to both male and female readers.
- Dystopian novels that doesn't regurgitate the same themes from Brave New World or 1984
- Retellings of other popular classics that are not from Jane Austen's works or Pride and Prejudice in particular. I think Jane would be with me on this one.
- Retelling of other myths besides the Greek and Roman
- High fantasy books that are YA appropriate so I can offer them to teens at my public library
- Interracial romances that don't end up in tragedy and/or constantly trying to defend themselves to others in their community.
What about you? What would you like to see differently in YA? What are you tired of? Let's discuss!
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I think you've said EVERYTHING I would say! Great list! Seriously! I'm looking for more GLBT books myself.
Word. I agree with ALL THE THINGS! I also wish there were more YA books with normal looking people. And by normal I mean maybe they're a little chubby, and have bad hair, and have acne problems, and probably have brown eyes because not everyone out there has green eyes YA lit.
Rum, I can recommend a title to you that fits wish list item #3 - Half-Brother, by Kenneth Oppel. This book has won so many awards that it's quite overwhelming. Right now it's on the Red Maple nominee list and my students are loving it.
I am with you on so many of these!! I'd love to see some more YA books set in places outside the U.S. (more in Canada would be nice!) And yes, we really don't need any more modernizations of Pride & Prejudice XD
Yep, there are so many here that I agree with! Seriously, where are all the high fantasy YA books?
I completely agree with this list. Also can we have books that maybe don't have a forced romance element ?
A definite yes to more GLBT stories and more male protagonists. I think I only read two male protagonists this year and one GLBT book and I've easily read 150 or more books this year. That's kind of sad! It could be too that they're out there and I just didn't find my way to them, but they're definitely fewer and far between I think.
Great thoughts, Im with you on the love triangle and more fresh ideas in the Dystopia lit.
You know, my editor and I were just talking about this. I was arguing (read: whining) about not enough racial/sexual diversity in YA especially. And she said, "If you don't like it, put your pen where your paper is." So I am, and I did totally agree with her--writers have a responsibility to readers to present ALL walks of life, and that includes lifestyles that we might not subscribe to, but should give the same amount of attention to as those we do ascribe to.
Smiles!
Lori