The Issue of Likable Characters in YA Novels

It was brought up briefly in class the matter of likable and/or relatable characters and how this can effect whether we like a novel or not: if a character is unlikeable (such as Daisy from How I Live Now) or unrelatable (such as the super-intellectual Hazel and Augustus from The Fault in Our Stars) it seems that people in class react negatively and it then negatively effects their response to a novel. I personally found this interesting because many times I like and even prefer unlikable characters in my novels. Unrelatable characters offer me a perspective and experience that I'm not familiar with, which to me, is appealing. Unlikable characters I feel reflect the real-world; how many people are 100% likable anyway? I'm certainly not likable all the time, and characters who are likable all the time do not reflect real teens -- they're moody and volatile.

With all that said, I'd like to direct you all to a wonderful post from Australian book blogger Reyjne titled: "What We Talk About When We Talk About Like." Reyjne tries to untangle why "likability" is a requirement for some readers and what does "likeable" mean? I liked that she drew a distinction between "likeability" and "sympathy," as that seems to be a common thread in my class's conversations about characters being unlikeable -- because my classmates don't like a character, they don't feel sympathetic to them and therefore feel no investment in the protagonist's narrative arc. But Rey makes a great point when she states:

"Here’s the thing: I don’t always see myself as a “likeable” person. There are a lot of reasons for that, and I won’t air them all here. But I struggle daily with both wanting to be liked (there is a firmly-ingrained streak of the people-pleaser in me that runs deep) and being aware that “likeableness” is not something I owe to every single person. ... What I’m trying to say with this is that I’m not always likeable. I’m have emotions and days when I’m as easy to be around as a sack of weasels. And I’m okay with that. Because I don’t think that invalidates my feelings, or my personality as a whole. It’s just one part of me."(emphasis mine)

Reyjne goes on to say that she came to connect with prickly characters because she herself is sometimes prickly and not always likable. THIS, this is articulates my thoughts perfectly on the matter. Yes, sometimes I want to shake a character silly when they make stupid decisions; yes, sometimes their personalities are not the most Warm and Fuzzy, but why do we put this pressure on characters? Why do they need to be likeable for us to sympathize with them and like them as people? Reyjne goes on to say that this is something that seems to be perpetuated in our culture; especially with girls:

"As a teen, it was made abundantly clear to me that I was supposed to supress those emotions that made people around me uncomfortable. Because emotions are difficult and sometimes people don’t like difficult. Especially not difficult girls." 

Does characters need to fit our definition of likeable to be compelling? I would argue not, which brings me back to the point I brought above: being in the mind of someone who thinks differently than me, who's instincts function differently from mine, and who doesn't adjust their personality for those around them and social consumption is something that is compelling for me. I would argue that a character who is unlikeable should not be the basis for whether a book is good or bad, and that we should think of the implications that having these assumptions creates. I get frustrated when my behaviour is monitored and I have to be vigilant to fit into people's notions of likeability, so why should I expect it of my characters?

Anyhow, I find it interesting when people claim to dislike a novel because they think a character is unlikable and the blog post I've based this post off of articulates many of my own thoughts and raises questions that I think are important to engage with when we're considering whether we've liked a book a not, whether we liked the characters.

I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts on this, so if you have ideas/opinions, please shoot them my way!  

Week 12: Conspicuous Consumption and Teen Markets

This week for class, we were assigned to watch the documentary Merchants of Cool, a 55-minute episode from the TV series Frontline (produced by PBS) that is a sort of documentary on how businesses market to teens and the effect that this has on youth culture.

Overall, I found myself enjoying the program; I have never really thought of teenagers in such economic  terms (I recognize that they are a demographic that markets try to tap into, but I didn't realize they were quite so vital to the economy), and was surprised how many people dedicate their lives to market research specifically on teens, and on figuring out what's "cool" at the moment.

The program did a good job at representing teens as critical individuals who are capable of disseminating advertisements and what they watch, highlighting how advertising companies have to always change their marketing strategies because teens pick up that they're being manipulated. This was most evident when the program was discussing the evolution of Sprite advertisements, who went from making fun of traditional advertising models (which initially resonated with teens, but they caught on and turned against it), to becoming an icon within hip hop culture. They also showcase teens who discard the mainstream altogether, such as the fans of the rage-rock band Insane Clown Posse, and they do so in a non-judgmental way (towards the teens -- the bands under scrutiny are treated much more harshly.)

The narrator's epiphany near the end of the program resonated with me as well: marketing/advertising and youth culture creates what he calls a "feedback loop." Market researchers observe teens and try to produce things that teens will be willing to pay money for; teens in turn are affected (to a degree) by this, which shapes their culture; market researchers then in turn research that. As critical as teens can be, it's foolish to ignore that they are affected by marketing, whether for better or for worse. There are always going to be some who will go against the grain, but even they are affected by marketing -- they just react to it in a different way. In this regard, everything that teens do is a response to the marketing they are inundated with every day. So it raises the question (which is brought up at the end of the program): can teens have their own culture? Something that is truly and 100% their own? After watching Merchants of Cool, I don't have an answer, and it's become one that is incredibly hard to answer.

Of course, the program isn't flawless -- after watching I did a quick Google search about the program in search of its IMDB page. What I found was a whole webpage dedicated to discussing the program. One of the pages was an interview that Frontline had with about a dozen teens who watched the program to see what they thought. The first two questions and the answers given highlight how the teens who watched it felt they were not given enough screen time -- they were being told all this stuff about their culture from adults who are just trying to profit off of them. If you want to read more of the interview, click here.

The merchants of cool. Dir. Barak Goodman. Perf. Douglas Rushkoff. PBS Video, 2001. Film.

REVIEW: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (audiobook)

Title: The Fault in Our Stars
Author: John Green
Narrator: Kate Rudd 
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Genre: Contemporary/Realistic
Length: 7:19min (6 discs)

Summary: Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.

Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning-author John Green’s most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

Review: YA Master John Green has done it again by bringing readers (young adult or not) a story that raises the bar for YA fiction.

This book has been touted as: "a book about cancer without being a Cancer Book."  This is largely true, but it was sometimes to the detriment of the book, as Hazel's narration liked to remind readers often how much her and Gus's story was NOT about their cancer, an odd bit of hand-holding in a novel that respects and trusts its readers with pretty much everything else. However, I cannot deny that this is a book that defies the Cancer Book "genre."

How does it do so you ask? It manages this feat with the amazing characters. One of the most common complaints I've ever/read about this book is that its teenage protagonists are too "smart", and that teens who do not relate to Gus's existential musings, or Hazel's ability to quote poetry on command feel "inadequate", but I believe that's not giving teens enough credit. Hazel and Gus may be smart, but readers never forget they're teenagers: Gus plays video games and reads vacuous novels based off said games; Hazel loves America's Next Top Model and describes Gus as "hot." Furthermore, presenting teens with potentially challenging ideas such as heroism, existentialism, what it means to live a 'meaningful' life, etc. is something I think (some) YA should aspire to, and should not make concessions on.

To go back to the characters, I loved the humour Gus, Hazel and Isaac all brought to the story. Their gallows humour may not sit well with everyone, but it breathes life into these characters. What really hits this story home however is how Green presents their humanity, even in the face of their death. There are no heroic fights against cancer or characters who keep face despite the fact they're dying. No, Green shows us characters like Gus's last girlfriend, whom he didn't even want to date during the last stages of her cancer because her brain tumour made her say horrible things to him. This honesty about disease and what it does to people, and the respect that the text clearly possesses for people with terminal illness, in that it gives them life outside of their disease, is what makes this book special.

Some minor complaints are that it did have some moments that were a little too saccharine; I'm thinking specifically of Gus and Hazel's date at the restaurant in Amsterdam when people would randomly toast them, or the applause they receive when they make out in the Anne Frank House. Otherwise, this is a moving love story between two teens who, as Hazel would say, "have a touch of cancer."
 
Since I listened to this as an audiobook I do not want to make some notes about the narration. By and large, it was very, very good. It's not surprising that this title received an Odyssey Award (an award given by the ALA for Teen Audiobooks). Rudd's reading is impeccable and she gives each character a distinct voice and way of speaking (though I found her rendition of Isaac to be a nasally.) She brings a lot of emotion to these characters, whether they're being funny or somber. 

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Green, John. The fault in our stars. New York: Dutton Books, 2012. Print.

Week 10: Censorship in YA: A Closer Look at Weetzie Bat

This week for class we are taking a closer look at the issue of censorship in young adult materials. We were assigned to read either Monster Walter Dean Myers or Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block. I chose the latter, and will be approaching it from two angles: pro-censoring it, and anti-censoring. (For the record, I'm anti-censoring all the way.)

But first, a short summary of Weetzie Bat:

Weetzie Bat is the story eccentric high-schooler Weetzie who wears old taffeta dresses, Indian headdresses, and is head-over-heels in love with the glitz and glam of Los Angeles. One day she meets Dirk, and the two set out on a quest to find their perfect Ducks (aka boyfriends -- Dirk is gay.) One day, Weetzie receives a magic lamp and wishes for Dirk to have a Duck and for her to meet her Secret Agent Lover Man, and a house for all of them to live in. Weetzie receives all these things, but does it mean happily ever after? 

Written in poetic prose, Block takes readers on a journey through a magical and slinkster cool incarnation of L.A. as Weetzie explores friendship and love.

Pro-censorship stance: Weetzie Bat's content could be viewed as some that is not appropriate for its teen audience. Throughout the course of the novel, the characters in Weetzie Bat engage in: sexual activity, underage drinking, drug use, homosexuality and pregnancy out of wedlock. Suicide and AIDS are also discussed. Weetzie's alternative lifestyle of living with two gay men alongside her lover may also incur a negative reaction from patrons, as well as Weetzie's decision to have sex with both Dirk and Duck to conceive Cherokee, thus giving Cherokee "three dads." A concerned parent may find all of these issues that the novel tackles to be too mature, or too difficult for a child or teen.

Anti-censorship stance: There are many teens who live, or participate in alternative lifestyles. Many teens are gay and need literature that represents them in a positive light. Dirk and Duck's homosexuality is presented as normative, a small towards supporting gay rights and equality. It's also a fact that many teens (13-18 years) / young adults (19 and up) become pregnant out of wedlock; they need a support system, not to become a pariah or shunned from society, and this book is representative of this lifestyle without condemning it. Presenting alternative lifestyles in a positive way is not a gateway to encouraging teens to participate in said lifestyle, but does provide people who do literature that they can relate to. It is important to consider the experiences of all teens. There is also the undercurrent message of loving oneself and self-respect (p. 24-25) when Dirk and Weetzie are experiencing abusive relationships. Though the passage is brief, it's important message to important on young adult readers.


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You may have noticed that I have not touched on the quality of the writing or the plot, but I do not think those are issues that patrons would seriously consider when challenging a book; they are likely to be much more concerned with content and how said content will affect impressionable readers.

Block, Francesca L. (1989). Weetzie Bat. New York: Harper & Row. 

REVIEW: Anatomy of a Boyfriend by Daria Snadowsky

Anatomy of a Boyfriend (2007)
Author: Daria Snadowsky
Publisher: Ember
Genre: Contemporary/Realistic Fiction
Pages: 272 (trade paperback)
Series: Anatomy #1 (a sequel, Anatomy of a Girlfriend was released just this year.)

Summary: "Before this all happened, the closest I'd ever come to getting physical with a guy was playing the board game Operation. Okay, so maybe that sounds pathetic, but it's not like there were any guys at my high school who I cared to share more than three words with, let alone my body.

Then I met Wes, a track star senior from across town. Maybe it was his soulful blue eyes, or maybe my hormones just started raging. Either way, I was hooked. And after a while, he was too. I couldn't believe how intense my feelings became, or the fact that I was seeing—and touching—parts of the body I'd only read about in my Gray's Anatomy textbook. You could say Wes and I experienced a lot of firsts together that spring. It was scary. It was fun. It was love.

And then came the fall."

Review: For class this week, our theme is "Sex in YA Lit." Anatomy of a Boyfriend initially stumbled in its execution and the sexual content felt contrived, but by the end, Snadowski gained her footing and this read like a genuine and heartfelt exploration of first love and sexual exploration.

Our story is set in Florida, from the first-person perspective of teen girl Dominique Baylor. The novel chronicles her throes in first love as she meets and falls for track star Wesley Gershwin and the tribulations that come with their relationship as explore and experiment with sex. 

Initially, I found this book to be unconvincing as far as being an authentic look at how teens think about sex. Dom's conversations with her best friend and her thoughts about sex felt like an adult trying to imitate a teen instead of actually embodying a teen mindset. Snadowski did, however, capture the feelings that come with a first serious crush very, very well: the awkward conversations and silences, the wondering and agonizing over whether the feelings are reciprocated, etc. did feel true to life and incurred reminiscing on my part of similar experiences I had as a teen.

Where the writing really shines, in my opinion, is in Snadowski's descriptions of the sexual acts Dom and Wes commit. In the article Are Romance Novels Harming Our Teens (which was also assigned reading this week), one of the criticisms leveled against Romance novels is "their potential to create unrealistic expectations in their readers which may lead to relationship problems in real life" (despite there being romance in Anatomy, it isn't a Romance novel, but this argument could still be leveled against it); I would argue that Anatomy does exactly the opposite of this. The sex scenes, while certainly explicit, were far from sexy. Snadowski says it best in her Q&A at the end of the book, where she states that she was seeking not to condone sex, but to demystify it, and I think she has accomplished this wonderfully. Part IV of the book, which heralds the end of Dom and Wes's relationship, was also very well written and captured the overcharged emotions that accompany being dumped.

Our main characters, Dom and  Wes, are both realistic and would likely be relatable to many teens in how normal they are. Snadowski mentions in her Q&A that she is surprised at how many boys actually enjoy and relate to her novel because they see themselves in Wes, in that he's a normal highschool guy instead of a caricature of a hunky jock, or a supernatural creature like Edward Cullen. Dom and Wes both have interests and aspirations, they have families whom they love (Dom has her complicated relationship with her grandmother and Wes has a soft spot for his family pet) and it is these traits that make them fully realized people that teen readers can hopefully relate and sympathize with.

From a reader's advisory perspective, this novel could be a challenge. While I think that it depicts teen sex in a realistic and healthy way, it is still very explicit and this might scare away not only teen readers who may not be emotionally equipped to deal with it, but also parents. With that in mind, it would be necessary to exhibit caution when recommending this. However, if teen or parent patrons are looking for gateway literature to YA novels that deal extensively with teen sex, this is a great place to start.

Overall, while it had a shaky start, I warmed up to this novel considerably by the time I was done. The writing was largely serviceable, but sex scenes were wonderfully un-sexy and the feelings represented during the emotionally charged scenes were authentic and reminiscent of  my own teen experiences. 

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Snadowsky, Daria. Anatomy of a boyfriend: a novel. New York: Ember, 2008. Print.

BOOKTALK: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Our class assignment this week was to make a "booktalk". For this unfamiliar with what a booktalk is, here's a basic description from Wikipedia:

"A booktalk in the broadest terms is what is spoken with the intent to convince someone to read a book. Booktalks are traditionally conducted in a classroom setting for students. However, booktalks can be performed outside a school setting and with a variety of age groups as well. It is not a book review or a book report or a book analysis. The booktalker gives the audience a glimpse of the setting, the characters, and/or the major conflict without providing the resolution or denouement. Booktalks make listeners care enough about the content of the book to want to read it."

Me and my partner for this assignment, Avery, decided to do ours on a favourite we both share: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins which you can view above. Take a look, and I hope you enjoy! 

REVIEW: Wet Moon vol. 1: Feeble Wanderings by Ross Campbell

Wet Moon vol 1.: Feeble Wanderings 
Author: Ross Campbell
Illustrator: Ross Campbell
Publisher: Oni Press
Genre: Contemporary / Realistic Fiction
Pages: 184
ISBN: 9781932664072

Review: For class this week, our primary readings were graphic novels. The other selections were Smile Raina Telegemeier, American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang, Skim by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki and Black Hole by Charles Burns. I was fortunate enough to be able to read all of these titles, but I decided to focus on Wet Moon, as it was my favourite reading of the five.

The Story: Wet Moon takes place in a fictional southern U.S. town of the same name and largely follows the life of Cleo Lovedrop and her group of friends. There are some secondary characters who are featured as well: Myrtle, who works at a video store and encounters Cleo and her friends, and Fern, a young Asian woman living in a mansion in the bayou who is clearly interested in Cleo (though it's not clear why at this point.) 

There is no plot perse; the plot consists of Cleo and co.'s every day lives. There's gossip, and parties and the woes of moving out of home and starting community college. At first this turned me off somewhat.. I was wondering what the point of everything was. But the more I became acquainted with the characters, the more I found myself immersing myself in these characters lives. There are also several threads introduced in this first volume that are not resolved by the end, leaving readers with something to look forward to in future ones. For example, what is the deal with Cleo and Vincent? Why is Fern interested in Cleo? How is Myrtle going to be incorporated into the plot? 

The characters, following the realistic style of the plot, are realistically drawn themselves. Who hasn't experienced the angst and cynicism that Cleo exhibits? Or the nervousness of moving out and having to live with strangers? The supporting characters are equally vivid and brought to life, and also represent a wide swath of young adult experiences (alternative lifestyles and glbtq most prominently.) 

The Art: Campbell's art style is what initially drew me to this title. I loved Campbell's clean lines and attention to detail (especially in the clothing and styling of the goth/punk characters.) I also loved that the characters presented a breadth of body types. One of the stereotypes of comics (though this is more akin to superhero comics) is the idealized and fetishized versions of women's bodies that are often presented, with the large busts and perfect hourglass figures. This is not the case here: we have characters like Cleo, Myrtle and Mara who are on the rounder side, alongside characters like Tilby who have narrower frames. 

The great things about graphic novels is the interplay between the images and the words, and sometimes it's the images that say a lot more than the words. Wet Moon has many pages where there is absolutely no text; there is so much subtext, so much left unsaid that must be inferred from the images and Campbell's pulls off this feat wonderfully. For example, no explanation is given about Cleo's behaviour around Vincent, but the recurring image of her putting her hand to her stomach, and then subsequent scenes of her shown spinning in front of the window in the moonlight can give readers a pretty good idea of what may be going on. In this way, Campbell truly embraces the graphic novel format and it is this subtlety that made me fall in love with it.

Reader's Advisory: From a reader's advisory perspective, I am curious how this graphic novel would resonate with teen readers. I think that older young adults (17-25 age range) would relate to the characters and the plot of the story. The characters and their interactions feels like it was ripped right out of real life and transplanted on the page. But the story is very understated, which may appear slow or pointless to some readers. Readers must also be adept visual readers, as much of the story is not found in the words, but the pictures, and a lot is left unsaid that can only be inferred from the visuals.

Overall, I loved this graphic novel and would not hesitate to recommend it to young adult readers (though I would be cognizant of the points I listed above). The amazing art, and the authenticity of the characters and their relationships drew me in, and there are several threads left unresolved that have made me want to come back for more.

REVIEW: House Party by Eric Walters

House Party (2007)
Author: Eric Walters
Publisher: Orca Soundings
Genre: Contemporary/Realistic Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 102 (pocket paperback)

Summary: As the new girl in a strange town, Casey is trying desperately to fit in and make friends. When her parents leave town for the weekend, her friend suggests she have a house party. Casey is reluctant to go along, until she realizes maybe this is the answer to fitting in and making friends--and getting back at her parents. They invite a few people and then a few more, using msn and text messaging. Hundreds of people show up and things get out of hand. Casey is in more trouble than she thought possible and now she must decide whether--and how--to do the right thing. 

Review: This week, my YA class was assigned to read a title published under the Orca Soundings imprint. I had no prior knowledge of this publisher before, but after reading this title I've discovered that this is an imprint that publishes novels for presumably reluctant readers, often featuring some kind of "issue" driving the plot. In this case, we have our main protagonist Casey, who's lying to her mother about staying at a friend's house while her parents are away on a trip and caves under the pressure of aforementioned friend to throw a party at her now-empty house. 

It's hard to properly review this book because it sets out to be a specific kind of story and it does so. This book is short, the language is simple, there's a lot of dialogue, and the action moves at a clipping pace. Was it riveting? For me, personally, not really. But I'm also not the intended audience. I am curious how reluctant young adult readers would receive this. Since the majority of the novel is dialogue, it stays pretty focused on the plot and doesn't bother with too much description which I think is a good way to approach enticing reluctant readers -- in my experience, oftentimes they feel drowned in the details or their minds wander when there's too much description. The clipping pace due to the short length of the story should also hopefully keep them hooked; there's no meandering here. 

What does bother me about this book -- and this whole imprint actually -- is that it appears to be reverting back to the "issues book" trend that was so prevalent in the '80s. Every book in Orca Soundings deals with some kind of heavy teen issue and it is the focus of the story at the expense of all else. There's no character development, the secondary characters are flat and are present merely to fill in specific roles and stereotypes, and the moral lessons are about as subtle as a hammer to the head. Do reluctant readers need to be talked down to and have merely shocking issues thrown at them to entice them to read? I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with this kind of fiction, nor is there anything wrong with reading and enjoying it (I'm trying to be conscientious of being judgmental of what others read after our class discussion from two weeks ago when we discussed award winners) but surely we can present reluctant readers with more quality literature while still adjusting to their reading needs?

I was also annoyed by the short instances of fat-shaming.  Casey notes that her friend is only "plump" and not "fat", but also berates her for liking sweets and baked goods, and notes how she has a "weight problem" and is always trying to lose a few pounds. Considering the short length of this novel, every detail is important and has an impact, so I was annoyed that this is how Walters chose to characterize Jen. What was the point? It had no bearing on the plot whatsoever, except maybe to highlight that Jen was insecure, but this could have been accomplished in a number of different ways.

 Overall, I wasn't particularly impressed with this title. While it's largely inoffensive and serviceable, the fat-shaming and the less-than-subtle moral lesson deterred from being able to enjoy it for what it is. While the simple writing style and the large amount of dialogue could potentially hook reluctant readers, the morally-driven plot felt too condescending to the intended audience. I like to think that there's a way to present more quality literature to reluctant readers without having to resort to "issue novels" to grab their attention, but maybe I'm being too idealistic? Am I being too snobby? I'm not sure, but I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts!

Week 4 Reading Responses: YA Awards

This week in my YA class, colleagues of mine will be presenting a seminar on "Awards and Competitions for YA Material." We were assigned to read two articles: one of the prestigious Printz Award, and the other on the blogger-run Cybils award, but I will be focusing on the former.

The article, "A New Literature For a New Millenium? The First Decade of the Printz Awards" is an overall look at the winning and honour titles for the Printz Award, an award given to books that are not necessarily popular, but fulfill the award committee's requirements of "literary merit." I take some issue with this stipulation, or rather, the wording of it. On the one hand, I love that YA books are being recognized as having "literary merit" (whatever that is -- it is never explicitly stated in the article, though the overview of the winning and honour titles is supposed to give readers an idea of what this entails); I'm tired of telling people I read YA and they think that I'm merely reading "easy" literature. I'd like to play The Book Thief in their hands and see how "easy" YA is.

On the other hand though, this stamp of "literary merit" has an elitist undercurrent to it that rubs me the wrong way. It's like saying "if you don't read these books, you're not reading 'real' YA literature", and I wouldn't be surprised if this is alienating to some readers of YA (whether they be young adult or not.) Perhaps the Printz committee has more strict guidelines as to what "literary merit" is, but in my experience, I know this can mean different things for different people -- I wonder if this is a problem for the committee at all.

With all this said, I don't want anyone to think that I think the Printz Award is bad. I actually love the award and have discovered  many amazing titles because of it. I wish there was a way to outline that it's a prestigious award without using the words "literary merit" (though I don't have any ideas of my own. Anyone have any thoughts on this?)

Week 3: YA Firsts - Seminar Reading

This week is class will be our first round of seminars. To prepare for them, our classmates assigned us some readings to do our their topic (our two topics this week are 'Finding Out About YA Material' and 'Trends in Contemporary YA Lit'). One of the seminar readings in particular stood out to me: Karen McCoy's "What Teens Are Really Reading." In this article, McCoy tries to peg which YA novels among the slew that are published every year are going to have "staying power." To do this, she turned to school and public librarians.

This article peaked my interest for two reasons. First off, I am curious why McCoy would turn solely to school and public librarians for her survey. On the one hand, I do understand that she is trying to decipher which YA books are likely to pass the test of time so that they can be incorporated in library collections, but I still wonder why she decided to disregard the audience these books are aimed to. One could argue that teens are more susceptible to current and hot trends and that librarians may have more foresight in what will remain popular or become staples of YA. But do librarians really know that much better? I'm still undecided.



I also wondered how librarians are to balance the line between choosing materials that are popular and follow current publishing trends versus 'important' works that may continue to impact YA. The top 20 list that McCoy presented at the end of the article did not seem representative of 'important' YA to me, despite her initial claim that she was looking for books with 'staying power.' This is merely my own personal opinion, but it looked to me like the list comprised solely of books that were popular at the time. I am not opposed to commercial fiction and I do not think that a YA book has to be an award winner to be deemed 'good' to pass the test of time, but this list was still lacking, for me, in books that are and have been made staples in YA. The only book I would argue that will potentially pass the test of time is The Hunger Games.

All in all, I wasn't particularly impressed with McCoy's efforts. I understand what she was trying to do, but I don't think she managed to accomplish it. Her survey completely disregarded teens and the list she compiled only seems to be comprised of 'popular' and 'commercial' fiction which I doubt will have staying power. I said earlier that it could be argued that librarians may have more foresight in disseminating what will be 'important' in YA fiction, but McCoy's list only showed me that librarians are just as susceptible to trends as anyone else.


McCoy, Karen. What Teens Are Really Reading. School Library Journal, 58(1): 32-34

9364 Week 2: Reading Response #1

For this week's reading response, I decided to focus on Claire Snowball's article “Teenagers Talking about Reading and Libraries."

What struck me the most about this article is that it appeared to focus on something that I feel has always been obvious to me: teens have a wide array in reading tastes and reading habits. Too often I find people make broad assumptions about the reading tastes of teens (the most common of these has been, in my personal experience, “boys are often reluctant readers” – assumptions about reading habits and tastes in teens often seems to hinge on gender, a myth that this article thankfully dispels, I think.) The findings of the focus group described in the article demonstrates that making these kinds of assumptions is pointless because no teen fits into one mold; there are certainly commonalities to be found, but from what I understood, there was no trends that occurred throughout all or even most of the participants.

There were some smaller trends, such as non-readers admitting that they would reading some books, but only if it dealt with subject matter they were interested in. Again, this only highlights the breadth of taste that teen readers have, as well as highlighting the variety of habits. I also appreciated the discussion on the variety of materials teens will read, and how the author never demeans the reading of magazines or the Internet – they present it as a legitimate material for teens to be reading, and I think that teens should be encouraged to read no matter the format. The fact that many people only perceive the reading of books as ‘legitimate’ reading is highlighted by many of the participants who described themselves as non-readers by in actuality read a lot of magazines.

The focus on teens’ reactions to reading graphic novels was also of interest to me. Oftentimes, graphic novels are perceived as gateways to reading for young reluctant readers, but this article, in continuing with the running theme of variety in reading habits and tastes, debunks this common myth. There was a broad range of reactions to graphic novels, reflecting the variety of reading habits and tastes in teens. You can’t categorize or compartmentalize them; just as many reluctant readers in the study were not interested in reading graphic novels then those who were, and vice-versa with avid readers.

Librarians should make note of this wide variety of reading preferences in teen readers and use it to help with collection development. If librarians make broad assumptions about teens and what they read, it could hinder their collections and potentially drive teen readers away. By focusing on having variety in their collections, they could potentially attract all kinds of teen readers and help break stereotypes about teens and their reading.


Works Cited:

Snowball, Claire. 2008. “Teenagers Talking about Reading and Libraries.” Australian Academic and Research Libraries 39(2): 106-18.

9364 Week 2: Teens, Reading and the Library - YA Book Review

Our second assignment for week 2 of my LIS 9364 class was to find a review of a YA book from a professional or mainstream source and then provide a critique on it. My critique was influenced by the criteria presented by the CM Magazine and VOYA's Reviewing Guidelines.

The review I chose to critique was Kirkus's review of Just One Day by Gayle Forman (click the link to be directed to the review), a new title which has been released just this week.

The first thing that struck me about this review was that it initially appeared to not have a complete bibliographic description. At the top of the reviewing one can find the title, author, recommended age-range, and links to websites that sells the book. However, there was no ISNB, publisher, publication date, page count or price. It took me awhile to notice that the aforementioned information was included at the bottom of the page, and not at the top with the rest. Most book reviews that I have read keep all this information together (usually at the top of the page), so I am slightly surprised that Kirkus formatted their review in this way. To me, it makes more sense to keep the bibliographic information all together in one place. However, I can see how having some of the information at the bottom I suppose can keep the top of the page from appearing cluttered.

I found the review-proper to be much more informative. Despite its brevity, it conveys a lot of information about the book and paints a fairly clear portrait of what the novel is about. The synopsis of the plot that the reviewer provides is not overly long and provided useful information such as the genre of the novel (it is clearly a contemporary novel), literary conventions used (it is described as a "coming-of-age novel"), and prevalent themes (the reviewer discusses the novels use of Shakespeare as a vessel for exploring identity). There is some criticism leveled against the book, but it is stated clearly and succinctly and may help readers judge if the novel is a good fit for them (reluctant readers may not be willing to wait out what the reviewer felt like was a slow beginning to experience a satisfying conclusion).

The review is written in a clear and concise style that appears to largely fit into VOYA's guidelines (it avoids use of the first person, it uses the active voice, etc.) which makes it easy to read and gets its point across with as little as possible. I appreciated how much the reviewer was able to convey with so little, and I think potential readers will be able to fairly gauge whether they think this novel is worth their time. It provided a insight for myself which I will be taking into consideration when I get around to reading the novel myself (which I plan to do.)


Works Cited:

"Kirkus | JUST ONE DAY by Gayle Forman." Kirkus Reviews. N.p., 1 Dec. 2012. Web. 9 Jan. 2013. <https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/gayle-forman/just-one-day/>.

9364 Week 2: Teens, Reading and Libraries - Depiction of Youth in the Media

This week, my class was assigned to look at a piece of local news concerning young adults and to comment how they were depicted and how this could potentially affect youth services in libraries.

The piece of news I chose to scrutinize was a succinct article in the London Free Press titled "Accused teen a Lucas grad" (which can be read here.) I was initially drawn (though not necessarily in a good way) to the short, perfunctory title that was very vague, but still manages to make it clear that a 'teen' has been 'accused' of something. Having previously read Anthony Bernier's article Representations of youth in local media: Implications for library service, I felt that the title reflected the typical negative depiction that youth receive in the media which Bernier describes as "depicting supposed epidemics of violence, crime, drug abuse, mental illness, and immorality among young people" (159); this lead me to want to read the article proper, to see how the journalist would describe the Lucas graduate and to see if it further reflected the realities that Bernier outlines in his article.

The article never explicitly makes any judgment calls about Michael MacGregor (the young adult in question), but it still manages to perpetuate the stereotypes Bernier details in his study. The article states that "[t]hough many students had heard of the horrifying case, and knew MacGregor’s name, few of those asked knew him well", then proceeds to mention one that one girl on the school property (who is smoking no less; even just the inclusion of that minute detail is telling) that MacGregor was "nice" and "has a nice family" and finally concludes with MacGregor's disturbing behaviour on a social media site in which he discussed "violent sex acts and fantasies about rape and torture" with his 31 year old female partner. These details are presented as factually as possible making them appear objective on the surface. However, presented in this order, the article is implicitly stating that while MacGregor may have appeared to be non-threatning and even "nice", it was a facade for his unstable mind and violent behaviour. Overall, the article perpetuates the stereotypes of youth that are so prevalent in the media: they are prone to violent crime.

So what does this all mean for YA library services and policies? Bernier lists several ways in which these depictions can be harmful. If librarians and library administration hold these negative prejudices against youth it could negatively influence library policies. This is seen in the Californian library incident (detailed at the beginning of Bernier's article) which restricted youth from visiting the library between certain times because the staff did not want to tolerate their behaviour (this very same incident occurred at a  library in my hometown which was situated across the road from a local high school, so this is a problem that is potentially wide-spread.) By enforcing these kinds of rules, libraries risk alienating youth which in turn could impact the availability of resources for youth in the libraries; if teens are not going to the library, it makes it harder to justify creating resources and services for them. The sensationalism of the media can potentially hurt youth services offered by the library and is something that all librarians should be aware of and to consider critically. 


Works Cited:

Bernier, Anthony. 2011. Representations of youth in local media: Implications for library service. Library & Information Science Research 33(2): 158–167

O'Brien, Jennifer. "Accused teen a Lucas grad ." The London Free Press. N.p., 7 Dec. 2012. Web. 9 Jan. 2013. <http://www.lfpress.com/2013/01/07/accused-teen-a-lucas-grad>.

Introductory Post

Hi there! My name's Michelle, and this is my YA blog. But first, a little background:

I'm currently a student enrolled in the Masters of Library and Information program at Western University in London, Ontario. I've already completed my first semester and will be starting my second this coming Monday. One of the courses I've enrolled in this semester is the LIS 9364: Young Adult Materials class. We are required to keep a blog, where we are to post reading responses and anything else of note that we think is relevant to either YA, librarianship, or both.

With that in mind, the kind of things you'll find on this blog will be school related, and probably links to discussion about things going on in the field of YA and youth librarianship. I may also post book reviews of YA titles I happen to read over the course of this semester.

I do already run a book blog over on LiveJournal, where I have been sporadically (my posting has declined considerably because of school) posting book reviews, though it's not exclusively YA, which you can find here.