Showing posts with label males and YA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label males and YA. Show all posts
Friday, April 6, 2012
"Everyone should be allowed to dream, and we writers are architects of dreams."One of my favorite Shakespeare plays is Twelfth Night. It's ridiculous, it's romantic, and it has cross-dressing. I mean seriously, what could be better?
Cross-dressing isn't the only way to play with gender in stories, though. Girls in boy clothes (and vice versa) make for great entertainment, but girls in boy roles (and vice versa) make for a great statement.
In THE HUNGER GAMES, Katniss is the hunter, the emotionally clueless bumbler, while Peeta grew up in a kitchen and is very in tune with his feelings. In CATCHING JORDAN, the star high school quarterback is a girl who knows more about throwing passes to boys than making passes at them. All 3 of these characters are breaking stereotypes, yet they're still believable and compelling. Why? Because gender has nothing to do with it.
Peeta isn't "girly" simply because he makes cakes and bread. Remember, he can throw a 100 lb. bag of flour across the room like it's a pillow. And Katniss isn't "butch" just because she can shoot and skin a deer. Jordan... well, okay, she IS a tomboy, but what's wrong with that? Nothing, nothing at all.Because gender has nothing to do with her ability to throw a perfect spiral or evade a tackle on the field. And gender has nothing to do with the way she and her teammates stick up for each other. And gender has nothing to do with her longing for her father's approval.
Gender doesn't define Jordan, unless we let it.
Okay, yes, in this day and age, a female quarterback is statistically unusual. But is that because girls can't play football, or because they don't try to? And if they don't try, is it because they don't want to, or because they think they're not supposed to?
Those questions are the reason that characters like Jordan and Peeta and Katniss need to exist. So that people will realize their gender doesn't have to define them -- doesn't have to limit them. It might be entertaining to dress girls in boys clothes (or vice versa) but entertainment isn't enough. Books need to show a wide variety of experiences for both boys and girls, offer them a full spectrum of choices.
A full spectrum of dreams.
Friday, January 27, 2012
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| John Green reading/signing in Indianapolis |
Unless you've been living under a rock, you probably know who John Green is. (And if you don't, here's his Wikipedia page.) We here at We Heart YA have a LOT of respect for Mr. Green and all the things he does. Write books, vlog, raise money for charity, win awards, decrease world suck, put on concerts...
Wait a minute. Concerts?
Yes, concerts. Well, sort of concerts. Part concerts, part readings, part puppet shows... It's an odd but wonderful mix, and I had the privilege of watching it live on the internets.
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| John Green and brother Hank, livestreaming their show from Austin, TX |
John and his brother/co-vlogger Hank are on tour, and they're streaming some of their events on YouTube. There are only 3 more events, so keep an eye on John's Twitter feed for details on how to attend/view.
Actually, most of their tour has sold out. Yes that's right, HUNDREDS (in some cases at least a THOUSAND) people paid to see John and Hank be goofy for a couple hours. Needless to say, this is not your average book tour.
I'll be honest, I was skeptical of John Green. In general, things that are hyped up that big pretty much never live up in my eyes. I usually have to wait for them to die down before I can check them out objectively. (Ex: Could not read/enjoy Harry Potter until all the books had come out. Ditto Twilight.)
But after reading John's latest, The Fault in Our Stars, and then watching him and Hank live on YouTube, I started to get it. No wait, that's a lie. I FULL OUT get it. I am a NERDFIGHTER.And here's why:
John is funny. John is smart. John is honest. AND SO IS HIS WRITING.
I don't mean to sound like a gushing fangirl, but I have a tremendous amount of respect for those 3 qualities. I aspire to them myself. And though I may never be a vlogger, or sell out 1000+ seats on my book tour, there's a lot I think I can learn from John Green, both as a writer and as a human being.
Here are a few notes I jotted down from the Austin livestream, mostly about TFIOS:
- "Even the biggest lives are temporary."
- John wanted to write a book about "the small heroism" that most of us will have to choose.
- Being aware of our mortality "helps us use our time here wisely."
- Re: his characters being so intelligent/eloquent -- (paraphrased) First of all, yes, he really does believe that there are some teenagers that smart and eloquent. Not many, but some. And second, fiction doesn't need to pretend not to be fiction. He doesn't consider it his job to present a technical reality or to stick to what's "common." Obviously. After all, he wrote a book about a guy who dated 19 girls all named katherine. "That is not common."
- Re: Markus Zusak (author of The Book Thief) -- "He's like the nicest guy, and a genius, with big muscles... It's very frustrating."
...
PS: I don't mean to snub Hank. Hank is great too! He's sort of the concert-y part of the concerts. Which is obviously key.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Well, hey, bet you didn’t see a two-parter coming. While we certainly don’t want to exhaust the topic, there are just a couple more things to mention about Young Adult male readers.
Since so many good books were suggested last week, We Heart YA decided it might be a good resource to make a list of them. And, well, that list became sort of long. Too long for this post, so we’re in the process of adding a special page with a list of books for male readers (or anyone, really, who is looking for well-portrayed male protagonists in YA). Those we’ve read and recommend will be highlighted. The others, YOU’ll have to let us know about!On that note, just wanted to mention Mike Mullin’s ASHFALL.
Since so many good books were suggested last week, We Heart YA decided it might be a good resource to make a list of them. And, well, that list became sort of long. Too long for this post, so we’re in the process of adding a special page with a list of books for male readers (or anyone, really, who is looking for well-portrayed male protagonists in YA). Those we’ve read and recommend will be highlighted. The others, YOU’ll have to let us know about!On that note, just wanted to mention Mike Mullin’s ASHFALL.
It’s a story about a fifteen-year old boy, Alex, who must figure out a way to both survive and find his way back to his family after a natural disaster -- specifically, a supervolcanic eruption. At times this book reminded me of McCarthy’s THE ROAD and sometimes it recalled Paulsen’s HATCHET. He's been getting lots of good reviews (starred review from Kirkus) and has sold out his first printing. The sequel ASHEN WINTER is coming out next October. Good stuff.Mike has been in Cincinnati a few times on his promotional book tour and I (Sarah) happened to catch him at Joseph-Beth Booksellers last night. I absolutely recommend this book to fans of adventure/survival stories. AND it just so happens that this story has a strong female character that I love. Totally want her on my side in an apocalypse.
Here are some awesome pics of his Tae Kwan Do demonstration:
Here are some awesome pics of his Tae Kwan Do demonstration:
(Alex, the protagonist in ASHFALL, has a black belt in Tae Kwan Do...good survival skill to have in a fight against starving cannibals. eep.)
Considering survival, what do you think: is your life more dependent on Mental or Physical attributes? I'll tell you how Mike Mullin answered this in the comments.
xx Sarah
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Congratulations to last week's giveaway winners: hernameisavril (TEMPTED) and Angelica (TRANCE). Thanks to everyone who entered and shared their Halloween plans!
I’ve been wondering about this topic lately, about how wide the divide really is between YA for young women v. YA for young men, or if there is one at all. There’s been a lot of talk about publishers and educators wanting to increase the reading choices for middle grade boys, about how (in general) it seems to be harder to get boys hooked on reading than girls, about the fact that teen guys are interested in different topics than teen girls, and there just aren’t enough books out there that address their interests.
Is it true? Is the YA genre flooded with female protagonists simply due to market demand? Do the boys feel left out?
Of course the above are all generalizations and there are exceptions to everything. John Green, David Levithan, and Neil Gaiman are just a few wildly successful authors of YA books written from male perspectives. But I’d love to hear from some teen or preteen guys—what do you think of the YA market overall? Are there enough choices for you? What types of books do you love? Which books keep you up into the wee morning hours, cause you to skip basketball practice, or blow off your homework, your buddies, your girlfriend?
Below are a few novels that we here at We Heart YA have read recently in which we felt the authors did a great job of capturing the male teenage voice/experience…
THE ASTONISHING ADVENTURES OF FANBOY AND GOTHGIRL by Barry Lyga
In this quirky coming-of-age novel, Barry Lyga shows what happens “when a comic-book geek meets the girl of his nightmares.” This book tackles issues like bullying, friendship and self-image.
THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins
Though narrated by a female—Katniss Everdeen—this YA novel transcends gender and age, and is chock full of heart-stopping action.
THE SECRET YEAR by Jennifer Hubbard
This book impresses with its authentic foray into a teenage boy’s behavior and feelings about a tragic event involving a secret, forbidden love.
Please share your favorite books for guys, your last great YA read that featured a male protagonist, or your thoughts on this issue. Thanks!
-IP
-IP
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Stephanie, Ingrid, Sarah & Kristan — we read, write, discuss and celebrate Young Adult lit.
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