I’m hoping to get my revised draft of Princess Poltergeist, the tentatively titled sequel to The Ghost and the Goth, to my critique partner next week, so this will be a relatively short entry! J

(Speaking of which, I have seen the cover for G&G, and it is beautiful! Unfortunately, I can’t share it just yet, but it should be soon.)

I have the great privilege of going to visit my alma mater, Valparaiso University, next week to speak to the English majors about getting a job in the writing field. I’m also going to be stopping by a YA lit class to discuss that particular genre/field with them.

My sister happens to be in that class (always helps to have connections!), and the other night, we happened to be discussing her reading list for that class and the phenomenon we refer to as “lesson-y” books. It is limited almost exclusively to the YA genre/field (and children’s books, but I think that’s a whole other thing) and is one of our greatest pet peeves as YA readers, especially when we were the target audience’s age.

“Lesson-y” books are ones in which a character or characters undergo trials and tribulations only to come out on the other side having learned—in anvil to the head type fashion—some life LESSON. Don’t do drugs. Don’t have premarital sex. Listen to your parents. And so on and so forth.

Don’t get me wrong—I fervently believe that what makes a character’s journey readable and enjoyable is the prospect of change. We read to see a character change, to believe him or herself worthy of love, capable of slaying the dragon, etc. That’s the whole point.

And I do hope that every single reader walks away from a book having gained some new knowledge or perspective.

But why is that some books need to SCREAM this lesson? Why make it so obvious that it’s about as organic to the story as a 10-story plastic flamingo in somebody’s lawn?

Part of the beauty of fiction, in my opinion, is the opportunity to live someone else’s life and learn from his/her strengths and weaknesses without actually undergoing said events yourself. And as we all know, lessons in life aren’t always as clean cut as we’d like them to be. Artificially creating them to be that easy and clear is a disservice to the intelligence of readers of every age, and not doing anyone any favors.

Wow, that was kind of rant-y, huh? J Ooops!

In any case, in preparation for my talk with that YA class next week, I’ve been thinking about books that touch on serious topics and provide opportunity to see people/situations/problems in a new light WITHOUT beating you over the head with a lesson.

Here are a few of my picks:

·       Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (Actually, pretty much anything by Ms. Anderson is wonderful in this category)

·       The Only Alien on the Planet by Kristen Randle

·       The Truth about Forever by Sarah Dessen

·       The Hate List by Jennifer Brown

·       Good Girls by Laura Ruby (I freaking LOVE this book because it handles teen sexuality—a touchy subject, obviously—with such grace and realism.)

·       North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley

·       The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin

What do you think? What others am I missing? I’m always up for discovering more of these gems!