From: Lynn Rutan <lynnrutan_at_charter.net>
Date: Mon, 09 Aug 2010 09:59:39 -0400

Sally - I think you make an excellent point about optimism. I know it is something I appreciate as an adult reader but more importantly I think teens appreciate finding at least some books that offer a more optimistic view of the future. The world they are inheriting has so many grim difficult issues that they will have to cope with. They know this all too well.

I think it is also important for us to remember that teens like to read for escape and enjoyment just as much as we do. I think there is a place for that type of science fiction as well. We all want sf that examines important themes but sometimes we just want a great escapist read. I don't think that necessarily means that the book can't have depth but books that offer a sense of excitement, the enticing exploration of unknown possibilities and the pure fun of imagination are what I think many teens are looking for in books. Good sf is such a natural genre for providing this reading experience for teens.

There are a huge number of adult books that do this sort of thing as many of you have suggested but what I'd like to see is to have many more of them written for teens and I just don't understand why that isn't happening very often compared to the spate of dysopian books.

I've probably belabored this issue far too much so I'll sit on my typing fingers for a while ;-) Thanks for everyone's input.

Lynn

Lynn Rutan Librarian Bookends: BooklistOnline Youth Blog Holland, MI lynnrutan_at_charter.net
Received on Mon 09 Aug 2010 09:59:39 AM CDT