Tuesday, November 13, 2012

What The Rest Of The World Doesn't Get About YA

For as long as I've been writing YA, there have been articles in various publications in which the journalist scratches their head and asks, "Why is YA so popular?" There have also been those articles decrying the "darkness" of YA or the "stupidity" of YA or whatever is the flavor of criticism for the week.

Truth is? These articles never really bother me. Because I know they're missing the point. I know they don't quite see the big "secret" standing right in front of them. But I get why YA has exploded, why it's important, and today I want to talk about that and how being a YA author has personally affected my life and the lives of those around me.


We're a little mangy here, but this is a picture of my little sister and me at a writer's retreat last year. Yes, I have a 13-year-old sister. She was born when I was a teen myself, at the end of my freshman year in high school. But despite the age difference, Pika (I nicknamed her Pikachu as a baby and still tend to call her that) has always had a very special place in my heart. She is such an amazing, strong, vibrant girl—I am the proudest big sister ever (of all my siblings, really, but this one is about Pika).

And this is the story: My sister did not like reading in elementary school. It was a chore, not a pleasure. My mom would make her do her required minutes each day, but my sister had never fallen for a book. Middle Grade just didn't strike her fancy for whatever reason (I was the same way at her age, actually.).

When she was 11, my dear friend Kiersten White debuted with her first novel, PARANORMALCY. The fact that my sister knew she was my friend piqued her interest, and she decided to try and read about Evie and her crazy world at IPCA.

And guess what? That was the first time my sister ever finished an entire book of her own free will. She LOVED it. She couldn't stop thinking about it. She asked me for more—she wanted more, more, more. (And I gave her HEX HALL because Evie and Sophie are BFFs in my head. She LOVED that, too.)

I had never seen her so excited about a book in my entire life, and in that moment I realized a reader had been born. A girl who couldn't have cared less about books, who was a "slow reader," who didn't think there were novels out there for her—this girl now consistently reads books in a day or two. She always has a novel with her, and she loves reading. I'm pretty sure she reads more books than I do!

This story still makes me cry every time I think about it.

Because it is not stretching to say that PARANORMALCY changed my sister's life in a very real way. YA has changed her life. It has given her novels that mean the world to her, with heroines she can identify with, who face problems she does but also ones I hope she never runs into. It has given her worlds to explore, and something to share with me and her friends and my mother (also a huge reader).

This is why I'm proud to write YA. This is why those articles don't get to me, because they just don't get it. YA is popular because it fills a need—it speaks to girls like my sister (yes, the genre is female dominant, please no arguments about whether or not that is a good thing), and not just girls but a slew of women who craved this kind of book but didn't have it in such plenty growing up. And not only that, but it's something girls want to share. My sister has all her friends reading, and they have something to talk about that isn't gossip or reality TV. YA has created community; it has created a new generation of readers that will someday grow into adult readers. We should all be ecstatic about that.

Many writers dream about hitting lists or winning awards. But when I look at my sweet, littlest sister, I know that her story is the one that matters most. If my books could do for one teen what PARANORMALCY did for her, then I will consider myself a success. There is nothing more important to me than helping someone fall in love with reading.

21 comments:

  1. Amen sista! Gosh, you almost made ME cry with that story. My friend and I wrtie and share the exact same goal as you. Plus I have a very young sister too and I try to read to her every night I can. She doesn't think she's too cool for books anymore because she gets waaay too into the ones I read her! :D

    dapolkabot.blogspot.com

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  2. I LOVE THIS POST. Totally love it. YES!

    And Pika sounds awesome...like her big sis. :)

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  3. What a great story. Your sister is so blessed to have a sister who writes YA books. I know a lot of teens for whom YA books are life changing. I love introducing teens to books (like Paranormalcy) and taking them to movie adaptations of their favorite books. I feel sad when others put down YA books as if these books were beneath them, or make the claim that you're not a "real" writer unless you write fiction for adults. (Yet many authors who write adult fiction are now turning out YA books. Go figure.)

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  4. You nailed it. I love this story so much I'm almost tearing up myself. People really do need these YA stories! I'm with you-- if my writing can some day change someone in just a little way like that, that's what matters.

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  5. Thanks for this great post. Definitely made me tear up! Keep writing! We love it and can't get enough of YA... Pika is begging me to take her and her friend to see Ally Condie tonight too! Do you wanna go with us?

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  6. What a wonderfully inspiring story. I love that one book changed your sister's outlook on reading forever. What a great picture of the two of you, too!

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  7. Yup, this story makes me cry when I think about it, too.

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  8. Natalie, I've been reading your blog for awhile and I've never commented, but this post just really touched me. I have a very similar story with my younger sister. She had a learning disability which made her hate reading. The school she went to required her to read 4-5 books over the summer as 'summer reading' which only reinforced the idea that reading and books were a punishment. I set out to find books that I thought she'd like, which ended up being one of my life missions in high school. Once she found a book she loved, she latched onto it and read it over and over, and I loved seeing her flourish! She's my inspiration when I write because I want to write something that she, and all other girls in her situation would want to read. Thanks for the post!

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  9. I just had to blow my nose. This post had be crying that hard. The reason I am a writer is with the hope that my words, my stories, might give someone else the love of reading. It is hard to explain to other people, they want to know why I'm not "more literary" or don't write for the adult market. I'm so glad you shared her story.

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  10. Yay! My three sons were/are reluctant readers. If only Katniss was a boy, two of them told me. I write for them. =)

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  11. Wow! what a great post, I had tears in my eyes. You simply said it all, my sister doesn't like reading, some of what I write are things I think she will love to read about, things she will relate to.
    You just gave me another reason to respect you :)
    Thank you.

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  12. No, I'm not crying in my cubical. Nope.

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  13. Bravo. This is such a great story. What else could a writer ever want than to positively change the life of somebody they love?

    Paul (strugglingwriter.wordpress.com)

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  14. I also had another point made when I whined about the abundance of YA authors, blogs and contests. Sorry! Anyway, she pointed out that many adults of my generation don't read anymore - everything is TV or FB or Twitter or text messaging or emails. A whole generation almost lost. Then came Harry Potter. Adults eased back into reading, brought back to words on paper, more than a one page email, back to picking up a full novel, usually YA at first, then progress into adult genres.

    A very good point, and I no longer look at YA and adults reading it the same.

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  15. That's a fantastic story, Natalie! I'm so glad you were able to help your sister discover a love of books. It's one of the most valuable things a child can have.

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  16. Great post Natalie. I love this story.

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  17. I love this. This is what it's all about. I adore Pika and her story. :) And really, is it ever a bad thing to have more people (of any age) reading?

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  18. This post. I adore it. And I adore you. Thank you for writing this. <3

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  19. This is fabulous! I recently read Paranormalcy for the first time the other day and I can see exactly why she it changed her life. It's one of my new favorite books.

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  20. This is such a positive post! Thank for sharing this story with us. Every time I see one of those crusty anti-YA articles, I'll think of this and smile. :)

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  21. Thanks for sharing that story, Natalie!

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