Abby Shea
asked
Maggie Stiefvater:
As an educator, why is YA important? How can I engage my readers in such brilliant pieces of work that exist in the YA genre? Any ideas? :)
Maggie Stiefvater
Hello!
In a nutshell: YA tends to be a more intimately scaled, coming of age story told in an immediate way (in present day action rather than using flashbacks or subtext). As in any category, there are better and worse examples of YA on the shelves, but there's nothing inherently less literary about the category.
However, I think most critics' pushback to YA novels come from them selecting extremely commercial YA titles instead of literary titles. YA has a very heady genre pedigree (mystery, thriller, fantasy, etc), which means that a huge portion of titles use genre conventions and won't really bear up under literary scrutiny . . . and weren't meant to! They were meant to be excellently crafted entertainment. (I wrote a very long piece on what I think the differences are between YA and adult fiction here: ).
Most criticisms of YA I see involve someone holding up some extremely frothy genre-based series title and comparing it to, say, LINCOLN IN THE BARDO. That's just not fair—an adult genre novel also wouldn't bear up in a literature class, and was never meant to.
So making sure those discerning readers find truly literary YA is crucial. You'll lose their faith if you present them with something that doesn't bear up under study.
The other thing I'll say is that, as a largely commercial writer*, I believe in excellence in entertainment, and the study of how we entertain jazzes me up to no end. Depending on the YA you're hoping to thrill these readers with, you might have better luck engaging with them from that angle: hey guys, Maggie Stiefvater is in the business of engaging your emotions in the Raven Cycle, tell me how you can tell who the protagonist is and how big the stakes will be. What cues does she give to the reader about the level of darkness and reality she'll be engaging with? etc.
*my only literary title on the YA shelf is ALL THE CROOKED SAINTS—the others are straight-up entertainment. Or at least I hope they are. :)
I hope that helps!
In a nutshell: YA tends to be a more intimately scaled, coming of age story told in an immediate way (in present day action rather than using flashbacks or subtext). As in any category, there are better and worse examples of YA on the shelves, but there's nothing inherently less literary about the category.
However, I think most critics' pushback to YA novels come from them selecting extremely commercial YA titles instead of literary titles. YA has a very heady genre pedigree (mystery, thriller, fantasy, etc), which means that a huge portion of titles use genre conventions and won't really bear up under literary scrutiny . . . and weren't meant to! They were meant to be excellently crafted entertainment. (I wrote a very long piece on what I think the differences are between YA and adult fiction here: ).
Most criticisms of YA I see involve someone holding up some extremely frothy genre-based series title and comparing it to, say, LINCOLN IN THE BARDO. That's just not fair—an adult genre novel also wouldn't bear up in a literature class, and was never meant to.
So making sure those discerning readers find truly literary YA is crucial. You'll lose their faith if you present them with something that doesn't bear up under study.
The other thing I'll say is that, as a largely commercial writer*, I believe in excellence in entertainment, and the study of how we entertain jazzes me up to no end. Depending on the YA you're hoping to thrill these readers with, you might have better luck engaging with them from that angle: hey guys, Maggie Stiefvater is in the business of engaging your emotions in the Raven Cycle, tell me how you can tell who the protagonist is and how big the stakes will be. What cues does she give to the reader about the level of darkness and reality she'll be engaging with? etc.
*my only literary title on the YA shelf is ALL THE CROOKED SAINTS—the others are straight-up entertainment. Or at least I hope they are. :)
I hope that helps!
More Answered Questions
Baylee Helton
asked
Maggie Stiefvater:
Hi Maggie! I have a rather unusual question, but I recently came across your book series in a bookstore in Dallas, TX. It was a signed edition, and inside, there was a little note card where you explained the incredible experience that led to the creation of the series. I've been searching online, but I can't seem to find that note anywhere. Is there a place where I can read it again?
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