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Edgy YA fiction
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From: JDUPRAU at aol.com <JDUPRAU>
Date: Thu, 22 May 2003 00:54:36 EDT
In a message dated 5/21/03 8:28:27 PM, luc at meadowdance.org writes:
<< Many of the really successful YA and Middle School books these days seem to be very dark to me, even if they steer clear of sex, drugs, etc. .... is it just me, or are these generally more doomful than older stories like The Chronicles of Narnia or A Wrinkle In Time?>>
This seems true to me, too, and I've wondered about it. Specifically, I'm curious about post-apocalyptic stories, of which there seem to be many these days, my own book (The City of Ember) included. What could be darker than books that postulate a vast disaster that more or less ends civilization? In some ways, it seems horrible that we should be writing about such a subject for children. But on the other hand, it's clearly on people's minds--and has a powerful fascination. And of course when one world ends, another--sometimes better-?n arise, so the picture is not necessarily one of total doom. Still--the subject is definitely dark. Is there any research on this, I wonder--on when people started writing these books, and on the effect they may have on children?
Jeanne DuPrau THE CITY OF EMBER Random House, 2003
Received on Wed 21 May 2003 11:54:36 PM CDT
Date: Thu, 22 May 2003 00:54:36 EDT
In a message dated 5/21/03 8:28:27 PM, luc at meadowdance.org writes:
<< Many of the really successful YA and Middle School books these days seem to be very dark to me, even if they steer clear of sex, drugs, etc. .... is it just me, or are these generally more doomful than older stories like The Chronicles of Narnia or A Wrinkle In Time?>>
This seems true to me, too, and I've wondered about it. Specifically, I'm curious about post-apocalyptic stories, of which there seem to be many these days, my own book (The City of Ember) included. What could be darker than books that postulate a vast disaster that more or less ends civilization? In some ways, it seems horrible that we should be writing about such a subject for children. But on the other hand, it's clearly on people's minds--and has a powerful fascination. And of course when one world ends, another--sometimes better-?n arise, so the picture is not necessarily one of total doom. Still--the subject is definitely dark. Is there any research on this, I wonder--on when people started writing these books, and on the effect they may have on children?
Jeanne DuPrau THE CITY OF EMBER Random House, 2003
Received on Wed 21 May 2003 11:54:36 PM CDT
