I feel like I’m joining the 21st century, participating in a blog. I am an author of numerous books for young adults and children: The Life History of a Star, Hiroshima Dreams, White Magic, Aftershock, and Walking on Air, among my favorites. They’re generally humorous or poetic books about serious subjects like war, the use of religion to control and abuse, living with mentally ill parents, the pitfalls of urban destruction and renewal. Aside from writing, I teach other writers in the MFA program in writing for children and young adults at Hamline University.
I agree with Peter Johnson (in his blog) that there’s not much difference between adult and young adult literature in terms of literary quality. The only real difference is in the characters. Teen characters are a pleasure to write because teens are more emotionally direct (in your face), more insightful about the behaviors of the giraffes and monkeys in the jungle (yeah, I mean people), and more devoted to their relationships (rather than upward mobility, or to be kinder, the survival mode that hard working, multi-tasking adults can be forced into.) In other words, teens haven’t yet joined the game that requires of so many of us adults, a certain measure of repression and good behavior. This also adds an element of danger to their existence.
When writing for kids or teens, there’s more freedom. Teen books often push the envelope of reality in books like Holes, Feed, and His Dark Materials, and the genres: fantasy, sci-fi, horror etc. The forms that any literary agent will tell you are verboten for adults, like epistolary novels, diaries, verse, and multiple voices, are fine for teens.
A few of my favorite adult exceptions: Kurt Vonnegut, Mark Twain, Stephen King, Wicked by Gregory Maguire.
Of course, there are adult novels featuring children or teens. One of my favorites that you may not know is The Quick and the Dead, by Joy Williams. Williams is a brilliant writer with a comically cynical approach to humanity (Williams has received mail that makes fun of her name). What seems to place this novel about three teenage girls in the adult category is the complete lack of redemption for the characters. Or maybe it’s her place of prominence in the adult literary world. Like The Quick and the Dead, her short stories also feature teen characters (fierce and hungry), and what a merciless lot they are. For those with a love of satire and craft, I highly recommend her.
So many books, so little time. Off to Minnesota.
