Writers tackle complicated issues such as AIDS and prostitution, and younger readers are eager for more.Young-adult literature continues to be one of the most vibrant parts of the industry, even as authors and publishers increasingly tackle subjects that once were considered taboo.
Thanks to the success of the Harry Potter series, fantasy books are wildly popular with teens, but young people also want edgier reads, and their demands have influenced the business.
"Fantasy [books] take you out of this world," says Ximena Gomez, 14, of Denver. "But I like to read about teenage problems -- things that happen with kids my own age."
A recent book she liked is It Happened to Nancy by Beatrice Sparks. In it, a 14-year-old is date-raped and infected with HIV.
Such a plethora of books on adult subjects wouldn't have been on shelves 20 years ago, says Suzi Fischer, who buys for the Bookies in Denver. "Sticky subjects like sex, abuse, gay relationships and drugs. Some publishers are pushing for the gritty subjects just because it gets noticed. But people are asking for it. It's needed in today's world," where kids grow up much faster and get much of their information from television.
Another popular teen book is Candy by Kevin Brooks, a story about a young boy who falls for Candy, a seemingly innocent girl he must rescue from prostitution and heroin addiction.
Such books, says 14-year-old Marissa Rodriguez of Denver, show how hard life can be. "It teaches you lessons and responsibility," she says.
The topics may shock some, but teenage years are all about exploration. Literature asks teenagers to question the world around them, and it has been doing that for years, says Jennifer Brown, children's reviews editor for Publishers Weekly.
Probably the first teen book to push the boundaries, she says, was I'll Get There, It Better Be Worth the Trip, by John Donovan. The book, published in 1969, dealt with homosexuality. Judy Blume wrote about a first sexual encounter in Forever in 1975, and in Weetzie Bat, published in 1989, Francesca Lia Block's "magical writing made issues of homosexuality and premarital sex more natural," says Brown.
These writers helped pave the way for today's authors to explore these issues.
"The books are acceptable now, and the authors are treated with a respect those first writers couldn't get," Brown says.
Author Julie Anne Peters of Lakewood, Colo., is happy to be "given an opportunity to write about subjects we couldn't have five years ago. Somebody should be telling these stories."
Two of her early books looked at middle-school "geeks" and the friendship that developed between two girls -- one "normal" and the other who led a "punk" lifestyle.
When her publisher suggested Peters write a lesbian love story, she says, "I had all these fears that I'd be blacklisted and banned. I thought it would be career suicide. I thought it would be such a small niche market."
But when Keeping You a Secret was published in 2003, says Peters, she received hundreds and hundreds of e-mails and letters.
"They said: 'I've never seen myself in literature,' " she says.
Her next book, Luna, also was groundbreaking -- the first written about a transgendered youth. It was nominated for a National Book Award.
"Teens have always gravitated to adult books because there hasn't been much available. That's really changed in the past decade," says Judy Bulow, book buyer for the Tattered Cover in Denver.
But "there is a backlash" to what some publishers have been printing, she says.
Last year, Rainbow Party, a book about teen oral-sex parties, also received a lot of media attention for its explicit content, but sales were low.
"Buyers and librarians are looking for a change, the 'clean teen,' where a character is more of a model for teens. Publishers are getting the message, and in the next year, we're going to see some changes," Bulow says.
She isn't suggesting that hundreds of Nancy Drew clones suddenly appear. Instead she expects well-written, thoughtful explorations of issues that allow teens to see themselves in the pages.
from The Orlando Sentinel
No comments:
Post a Comment