I've recently taken to reading quite a bit of Young Adult fiction in the last year for what I would assume are obvious reasons. I don't know, maybe they're not so obvious?
Okay, let's break them down for a sec:
Probably the most obvious is my desire as a YA author to have a better sense of what's going on in my category. As someone who isn't the fastest reader in the West (or East, presumably), it takes me a bit to work my way through a book, my reading times are typically on the bus in the morning and afternoon (when the driver isn't actively trying to make me vomit), and in bed at night. I specifically focus on stories in the LGBTQ neighborhood, as I've stated in the past, to keep myself aware of the stories being told.
Another reason is more of a personal one. Again, I've said it in past blog posts, as someone who came out later in life, there's a piece of me who is still a teen, wanting to read gay stories which are meaningful to him. He certainly appreciates it.
Finally, and what I'm mostly interested in for this blog post, sort of circles back up to reason number one. Research. The Young Adult category is a tricky creature. YA encompasses all sorts of genres. As an author, I tend to camp out in the LGBTQ urban-fantasy neck of the woods, yet my reading is mostly LGBTQ drama/comedy. I feel like my fantasy/sci-fi tanks are pretty full at the moment as that's what I grew up reading and those are the TV shows and films I gravitate toward, so I don't spend as much time reading those books at the moment. Also, confession, I read comics regularly and they pretty well fill my need for sci-fi/fantasy. But what I research the most as I read is the breadth of subject matter and what's allowed. I'll admit, I've been super surprised.
Back in the final stages of publishing The Six, I struggled to figure out what category it belonged in. Knowing it contained some decently gory moments, strong language at times, and the issues of addiction and sexuality, I assumed it was too mature for the YA category and focused my attention outside of it. My perspective of YA, even though I worked in a bookstore for years, was more along the lines of the latter Harry Potter books and even Percy Jackson. I usually avoided that section as a reader and stuck to the adult sci-fi/fantasy shelves. However, I had an awakening after reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower, suggested to me by a good friend of mine, and I realized, though it's a different genre, The Six was of the same breed. The subject matter, the pacing, the struggles of the teen characters, and several other defining characteristics were all familiar, and in reading that book I felt as though I'd found my categorical home as an author.
Further exploration has continued to blow my mind, specifically in the fields of language and sex. I don't know what the limit on the use of the word fuck is, but some of the books I've read in the YA category certainly push it. And when it comes to sexual encounters or the hormonal mental meanderings of characters, some authors tiptoe up to the line of erotica. If many of the books geared toward the older readers of YA were made into films, I think they could likely find themselves with a mature or R rating. And truthfully, I find it freeing. I've quit worrying about it so much and relax. There are moments when I push the envelope and other moments when I rein some parts in, it just depends on what the story needs. I'm not here to shock and offend, I simply want to entertain, represent a piece of humanity, and hopefully offer a moment of personal recognition to readers.
As I write, I often check back in with that teenage me to see if he's entertained by the story and regularly take his suggestions. I know my books won't be for all audiences, but I hope they connect with the audience members who need them regardless of where they find themselves on life's timeline.
Later.
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