The past year has seen much debate—and much hand-wringing—over the state of young adult fiction. (See our take on the subject from the summer here.) This week, our contest is related to an author who doesn’t shy away from serious topics—and whose second novel, Pieces of Us (Flux), delves even deeper into such issues. It follows four mixed-up teens over the course of one memorable summer, as they deal with things like a parent’s suicide, family abuse and more.
In a behind-the-book essay, Margie Gelbwasser explains what draws her to write about these sorts of things, and why she thinks it is important for teens to be able to read about them.
I’m told my writing is pretty, beautiful, graceful. Lest you think I’m at risk of getting a big ego, I’m often told my books are not. They are the antithesis: dark, disturbing. They are called “too real,” putting the ick in realistic. Should I apologize? Hide? Or take the words as a compliment?
{Read more}
You can win a copy of Pieces of Us. Here’s how:
TO ENTER: Visit our site, read Margie’s piece, and then come back and tell us YOUR opinion on teen fiction in the comments.
CONTEST DETAILS: One winner will be chosen by random.org from among entries received by 5 pm CST on Friday, March 9. The winner will receive a copy of Pieces of Us. Prize must be shipped to a North American address.
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ETA: Congratulations to our winner, Nicole! She is an adult reader of YA, and she says she respects YA for its honesty on “cyberbullying, sexual abuse and family relationships.”
Thank you to all who entered! Contest is now closed.
I admire Gelbwasser’s courage in not “prettying up” teenagers. I haven’t read her work yet, but I’m looking forward to it.
this is a must read for me, sounds so good
I like the idea of presenting characters that teens can identify with and possibly learn some survival skills from.
I think it’s important that teens receive all the lifelines they can get, & sometimes, maybe many times, that is a book. I agree with Margie that finding hope in a dark story helps. It helps me as an older adult, too. I applaud you Margie for writing good stories.
. My teenagers years were not the best and I like the fact that she is so realistic. I would love to read this book.
Reality can be depressing but it sounds like the author is a good writer addressing important issues.
It is gratifying that this author can write realistic stories which are important and memorable.
I think teen fiction is necessary. I applaud the author for taking on such tough topics including bullying which needs to be addressed.
I agree with her sentiment that Junior High School and High School are tough. I like that she aims to put reality in her books. I don’t remember much glitter from my youth, but I sure remember a lot of poo.
I applaud Ms. Gelbwasser for her realistic YA novels. Too much vampire and werewolf bs is being published these days.
I think reading realistic, relatable books is important, not just for teens, but for parents too. Reading together brings wonderful conversations between my daughter and I.
The big challenge for any writer of YA novels, of course, is writing for a generation that spends a great deal of time texting, Tweeting, emailing, and talking on iPhones, which leaves little time (and interest) for book length reading. From my perspective as a teacher of literature in an American university, I would argue that any writer who can overcome the challenge and win over the hearts and minds of young readers deserves much praise from all of us who love books and reading.
BTW, Trisha, once upon a time I wrote reviews for BookPage. Please contact me via email about rejoining the reviewers’ pool.
Teen Fiction is very important these days. I think the author tackles hard subjects that should be discussed some how with any teenager. I wish there were more good teen fiction books available when I was a teenager.
I wish there were books like this when I was growing up. Being a teen-
ager was difficult, as was growing up in a dysfunctional family. It would have been a godsend to read about someone living similarly and how
they dealt with the cards they were given, and to know that I wasn’t the
only one with these kind of problems.
I very much agree with Margie’s stance on sticking to reality. I think it’s the only way teens are going to take fiction seriously. Contemporary teen fiction needs to be reality based.
I think there should be teen fiction that addresses reality.
I love that Margie didn’t shy away from what is real and true for most teens in either of her books. I also agree that not every ending is a neat Hollywoodizing of wrapping up problems in sparkly bows and shoving them down teens throats, as if they’re placebo pills they should stomach. Oh, and the unicorns you referred to are actually the last few readers who didn’t read Harry Potter. Not even one of them. For me, PIECES OF US sounds like a book I needed when I was a kid, and a teen, and it wasn’t there for me. Teens and their parents need books like this to open up dialogue and get both sides talking.
Fairytales are nice, but they’re not reality. I’d much rather read about that any day. Thank you for the opportunity!
Having grown up on television like Father Knows Best and books of the same ilk, where happy endings are a must and all strings are tied up, it is refreshing to know that books are now being written that are more “real.” It would be a comfort to a teenager to realize that all families are imperfect and some family situations are downright toxic. And it would help to have the tools to deal with that knowledge.
I read young adult fiction on occasion and am looking forward to reading this book.
Tim’s remarks about young adults being so involved with their electronic attractions is worth restating. To some degree they are seeking solace or meaning to their lives with those devices. Having “Pieces of Us” and similar works in electronic versions might be a way to reach them. Teens are not really so different now than in the days of “Father Knows Best” – they just seek out different ways to find meaning or comfort. “Pieces of Us” can demonstrate that others have faced similar difficulties in life and have emerged not only intact but perhaps even stronger! Heck, I had no such help; I relied on the fanciful tales that allowed me to escape. So much better off would I have been if I’d had the easy-to-swallow therapy in books that shared real life experiences. Learning useful coping skills did not come to me for a few more decades. How sad was that?
The challenge for us all now is to get such books into the hands and hearts of modern young adults.
I T WOULD HAVE BEEN GREAT TO HAVE READ BOOKS WRITTEN BY AN AUTHOR LIKE MAGGIE GELBWASSER WHEN I WAS A TEENAGER BACK IN THE LATE 40sAND EARLY 50s-WOULD HAVE MADE’TERRIBLE TROUBLED TEENS” SOMEWHAT LESS SO . I WILL CERTAINLY READ THEM NOW-NEVER YOO LATE TO RELATE..
Life isn’t all roses and we can’t sugar coat how we really are and what’s going on..
While I grew up watching Donna Reed,Father knows best and Leave it to Beaver,etc.,my Mom never wore heels and looked like she stepped out of a beauty shop,at home..she worked hard and she was very beautiful to us..but life is real,not a fairy tale,we need to realize we aren’t all the skinny models and smart as some,we all accepted this and are happy with who we are..of course ,room for improvement…
I love imperfect endings. Charles Dickens wrote two endings to Great Expectations. In the first, which I consider the artistically pure version, things end quite imperfectly, but very realistically. Dickens’s friends, apparently, convinced him the public would not like that. He re-wrote the ending to be more pleasing to the public. I throw my lot with George Bernard Shaw who said of it: The novel “is too serious a book to be a trivially happy one. Its beginning is unhappy; its middle is unhappy; and the conventional happy ending is an outrage on it.”
Ms. Gelbwasser’s commitment to artistic integrity and realism in the face of the triviality of “happily ever after” makes me intrigued enough to look for her work. I am grown, but have a teenage daughter, nephews, and nieces. I am always looking for quality books to recommend.
I have to admit to liking a “happy ending” from time to time but I really relish real stories. As a teen I would have been happier to see more realistic type of stories and characters go through what I was going through and survive versus somehow, against all odds, find the perfect boy/girlfriend, get rescued by a rich relation, etc.
I think that teen fiction has come a long way since I was a teen and am happy to see the changes. I find myself quite enjoying much more teen fiction than I realised I would.
YA is such an important genre. It stinks that it often gets a lot of bad hype. I am an adult reader of YA & tend to like YA better. I find it to be much more honest or “real” like Margie’s article states. By tackling topics such as cyberbullying, sexual abuse and family relationships like Pieces of Us does, it presents a world that teens may be familiar with & might be able to learn how to deal with them. On the other hand, if a teen isn’t familiar with some of the topics dealt with in YA, the book presents a learning opportunity. I hate banned books and really hate it when people force censoring on teens just because of a books topic. Let them read what they want to read and judge for themselves…in the end, I guess one can say, at least they are READING!!!!
Sorry, I’ll step off my soapbox now it’s just censoring YA or banning books is a hot subject for me.