Teens are people too (they really are, I checked)
A lively discussion from the last post! I have a couple of thoughts. First, I just want you to know that if that comment about young adults books and writers had appeared just about anywhere else but the New York Times, I wouldn't have commented on it. I really don't like to dig up and muck around the negative. But because it appeared in what is considered one the best newspapers and the most important book review in the country, I thought (like oodles of other bloggers) that some counter voices needed to be heard. Besides, it was just too plain silly. For me it even trumps the arrogant silliness of that Wall Street Journal article from 2006. Yes, by all means, let's make sure our children NEVER fall into a comfort zone with reading! We must make sure that even their summer reading is at least 100 years old! Is it fun? Do they enjoy it? Then it must be BAD! (you'll forgive me a few sarcastic sentences, yes?)
Second, I wanted to address all you lovely teen commenters who were irked that adults don't think you can think for yourselves. I completely respect you for being informed about current events and appreciating great music and anything that an adult might. But I want you to know that if you only ever read Tiger Beat magazine and gossip about hot guys, you're still valuable people and worthy of respect. I don't think a teenager must understand typically adult matters and do typically adult things to be respectable. It's complete arrogance from adults that would insist otherwise. You are in a different stage of life than an eighty-eight-year-old NYT reviewer (I'm guessing on the age), you have different perspectives, different interests, different thoughts. And you are important. You are vital. There are as many different kinds of teenagers as there are adults, and you have as much right to your thoughts and experiences. Adults can learn from you, and you can learn from adults, and that makes the whole world more interesting. It always bothered me when in action movies or books, the writers would turn women into men in order to make them powerful--i.e. give them a sword, put them in pants, make them more aggressive and other typically male traits. Sure, one woman like that makes an interesting character, but all of them? Can't a woman be feminine and still be powerful? In the same way, I'm bugged that a teenager would be expected to act and think like an adult in order to be considered powerful, or interesting, or valuable.
K, stepping off the soap box now and slowly backing away.
I turned in a draft of Bayern 4 to my editor last week! Man, that was a bugger. It's still only a second draft. And it's bad. Very bad. But there's progress at least! So in the meantime, I'm back to working on my second adult book, the actor and the housewife. Unfortunately, it is going to be longer than austenland. In fact, it's looking like it will be as long as the goose girl, which so far is my longest book. I think books shouldn't be one word longer than they need to be (a judgement, I realize, that is horrifically subjective in execution). I like nice, tight stories. And as my books tend to get shorter and shorter, I'm clearly getting less and less patient with rambling. But this book takes place over a ten year span, and it really needed lots more stuff. And there's a ton of dialog, which will make it in page length seem even longer than it is. I'm looking forward to getting back to it. Stephenie Meyer read it a few weeks ago for me and gave me some great feedback that I'm anxious to apply. It was incredibly kind of her. Now Caralyn Buehner is reading it too. That will make three people that have read it before Dean. Usually he's the first. But he's a little gun shy with that genre, I think. Cutie. I really, really like him. (Don't tell, K?)