YA Wednesday: Elizabeth Scott, Christopher Paolini, Maureen Johnson and Friends
In this edition of YA Wednesday, we have questions! And the usual news recaps.
Beautiful, but disturbing: to read or not to read?
This week, I was pretty intrigued by the reviews popping up on various blogs of Elizabeth Scott's Living Dead Girl. It's told from the point of view of Alice, who was abducted when she was ten years old, and who is now 15 and still living with her abductor/abuser.
from Bookshelves of Doom...
"The most disturbing thing about the book, for me, was that it made me feel like a huge voyeur."
"Now I never want to let my future children go on field trips. Or, you know, outside."
from The Book Muncher:
"While it’s not right to like a story such as this, I think Living Dead Girl should be read by everyone, if not for enjoyment then to inform readers. It is a short but fast read, beautifully written and impossible to ever forget."
The book sounded stylistically unique (a voice people haven't heard before, unusual point-of-view tricks, etc.) but I was worried that it might fall into the category of "great books I will never read" because the scenes are reputedly so disturbing that I would never be able to get them out of my head. (So far, Cormac McCarthy's The Road is the only other book in this category for me.) I guess I have to ask: how disturbing is it, and how great?
Let's see: The book got starred reviews in both Booklist and Publisher's Weekly.
I read the excerpt, and it is beautiful and haunting and disturbing. I suspect that the "ick" factor of the book is part of its brilliance. Alice's voice is so matter of fact, and while the abuse isn't graphic, it isn't ambiguous either. You feel like you might know what it's like to be there. And that's pretty scary. And gross.
The thing that finally sold me on the book, though, was this ALAN interview with Scott, which convinced me that it's way more interesting than just an abduction story for the sake of inducing fear and showing abuse:
"I think it’s easy to get outraged over a child’s abduction, but it’s also equally easy for us to see something--someone--that makes us uncomfortable, a moment or an expression that give us pause, and to do nothing. And that moment where we see and turn away is, I think, the heart of Living Dead Girl. Alice’s story isn’t just about what she endures with Ray. It’s what she endures at the hands of the world. How it doesn’t see her."
"...I am Bloodgarm, son of Ildred the beautiful..."
Christopher Paolini's Brisngr, the third book in the Inheritance Cycle, launched last week--with the popular-series-standard Friday night book launch parties--selling 550,000 copies in its first day. While this might seem a mere pittance compared to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (8.3 million) or Breaking Dawn (1.3 million), it is four times more than the series' second book, Eldest. Brisingr draws on a loyal fan following, which has been growing since the first book, Eragon, was published in 2003 then made into a movie in 2006.
If you're not familiar with the series, I highly recommend listening to Paolini read an excerpt.
YA for Obama: Social Networking or "Undue Influence"?
"Hi, I'm Maureen Johnson. I'm a YA author. I started this site because I realized a lot of my friends who are also YA authors were big Obama supporters. And I thought to myself, 'Wouldn't it be great if we all had a place where we could write about Obama? And if we invited everyone to join?'"
A number of YA-interest blogs have been buzzing this week about the new social-networking site, YA for Obama, founded by Johnson (Suite Scarlett) and other best-selling YA authors like Judy Bloom and Meg Cabot. 
Most of the response has been positive, but Chasing Ray asks:
"Is it a good thing to present only one side of the story, on any subject, to teens?"
and suggests that teens need to learn about both candidates to truly learn about the political process. Her post was spurred by this post on Finding Wonderland questioning the potential for "undue influence" of writers on their fans:
"I know that this site intends to provide a place for people who aren't yet voting age to enter into the democratic process, and use their creativity to help Mr. Obama get elected, and a venue like that is certainly a good thing. The content of the site isn't what I wonder about. I do wonder whether we're using our position as storytellers inappropriately. I wonder if we're overstepping our role, and using that privilege as a platform from which to push political views."
(Obama photo posted by Beth, a YA for Obama member. McCain photo from johnmccain.com.)
Quick links:
Flux has a new editor.
Reviewer X asks "What makes the perfect YA guy?"
Authors Michael Grant (Gone) and K.A. Applegate (Remnants series) recently started a blog called Stupid Blog Name. The blog will eventually include posts from other writers, editors, agents, publicists, and teens, including The Book Muncher (featured above), who is currently "the *only* teen contributor."
The Guardian has posted four reviews written by recipients of their Young Critics award. Books reviewed include: Before I Die by Jenny Downham, The Goldsmith's Daughter by Tanya Landman, The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, Bad Blood by Rhiannon Lassiter. These talented reviewers have one thing in common: they're all 13 years old.--Heidi
FredTownWard on September 25, 2008 at 05:05 AM
Who do these YA authors think they are to be overstepping their role and using that privilege as a platform from which to push their own political views?
Journalists?
richard martin on September 25, 2008 at 07:45 AM
is this in the 'i/ve never read a novel by palahniuk' category ?
Steph on September 25, 2008 at 05:15 PM
I personally don't view Maureen Johnson's creating this site for showcasing her political opinions as well as other authors' as cunning or taking advantage of our so-called young and impressionable minds. The main reason I don't see any harm in it is that most of these authors' readers are under the age of 18 (they are writing for YA, after all), and the ones who are legal are old enough to make their own decisions. And if they get swayed because an author made a support site for whatever party they want to see win, well, that's a little alarming on behalf of the person, not the author.
I see the YA for Obama site as a positive - it's incentive for young people like me and many others who are doubtlessly looking at it to get involved and to vote. And I think that, while their choice for presidency is quite obvious, the underlying message is for people everywhere to research the options and make an informed decision.
That's what I see them trying to promote, anyway.
Heidi, I just wanted to post a (belated) thank-you! I saw you linked to my post last week (and left a very nice message along with it) and I appreciate you linking to my little blog :) You've got a great YA feature going on here - I'll make sure to link to it on this week's YA Connection.
Best,
Steph
http://reviewerx.blogspot.com
Lenore on September 26, 2008 at 12:29 AM
Here's my take on Living Dead Girl (if you're interested):
http://presentinglenore.blogspot.com/2008/09/book-review-living-dead-girl-by.html
Melissa Walker on September 29, 2008 at 12:52 PM
A wonderful post! Love all the topics you've covered here. I've read LIVING DEAD GIRL and found it important, though I would have scared myself silly reading it at a younger age, which is why the 16+ marker is key.