Old People Writing for Teens, IV

Lydia Sharp said:

Anyway, I went straight to the YA section and was pleased at how many new titles they were featuring since the last time I'd been there (yeah, a whole week ago). And there were a lot of teens fighting me for shelf time. It was crowded! I kept bumping into them with my huge purse... *sigh*

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You should've used that purse as a weapon!

Speaking about all the teen awesomeness (and how for some of us it wasn't the rage when we were teenagers) did you guys have the accelerated reader program at your school? We had to get like 50 points a semester or something. But the choices were CRAP. And by crap I mean classics that I later learned to appreciate when I got a degree in English. But at the time The Scarlett Letter was not on my list of "must reads." Anywho. My mom's an English teacher and they have REALLY improved the list. You can read Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, The Help. All the good stuff now...

Yeah, i think if i had the kinds of book available to me when i was in school, i would have grown up an avid reader. As it is, i didn't really fall in love with reading until my mid 30's. How sad is that???

Ember, this gets into the whole controversy about douche-y male characters. It kind of scares me as I learn more and more about what kind of stuff is out there and how the younger (true YA) audience is able to so easily look past a guy who is controlling or jealous, or possessive, or stalker-ish, or even sometimes a little violent physically or verbally towards a girl and he's still seen as "hot". I just read the book Hush, Hush and it scares the shit out of me that young girls think Patch is so hot and can totally overlook the fact that he was such a blatant jerky douche or that he was following her everywhere she went or that he slammed her up against a hotel wall and the MC the whole time couldn't fight how attracted she was to him??? Because, OMG he's so HOTTTTTT.

NOTTTTTTTTTT

I know, i know. it's just a story, right? but it's interesting that the girls in the younger age groups were all like HE'S HOT and the older ones recognize he's a jerk (even though they were able to forgive it--sigh).

mellymel said:

I know, i know. it's just a story, right? but it's interesting that the girls in the younger age groups were all like HE'S HOT and the older ones recognize he's a jerk (even though they were able to forgive it--sigh).

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Well, the character in question is easier to forgive because, after the initial scene in question, you learn that it's more a question of who he is/how the MC perceives him than him actually being a jerk... but--

I think, once you hit a certain age, you tend to get over the mysterious/hot/rockstar/vampire/whatever fantasy and move towards the stable/dishwashing/has a good job guy. (generalizing terribly here) I think that the reaction that I received is a facet of that-- and, unfortunately, pop culture has veered off the deep end in some cases to push the boundaries of that same facet (well, we can go back to popular novels back in the Regency and see this in action, too, so it's not a new thing.)

hey just realized you're in the garden state. i'm in the empire state. we're neighbors (i was born in the garden state)

mellymel said:

hey just realized you're in the garden state. i'm in the empire state. we're neighbors (i was born in the garden state)

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*Waves Wildly* HI Neighbor! (mebbe if I yell loud enough you'll be able to hear me over the border!) I work on the NYS border during the week, so I spend a lot of time shopping and eating in your state.

(and, when you were born, you picked a very nice state for that event!)

Emberchyld said:

*Waves Wildly* HI Neighbor! (mebbe if I yell loud enough you'll be able to hear me over the border!) I work on the NYS border during the week, so I spend a lot of time shopping and eating in your state.

(and, when you were born, you picked a very nice state for that event!)

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haha...erm...i didn't really have a say. lol

One of our local magazines had a great issue dedicated to teens. They have a Teen Report, Kids to Watch, and All Star Athletes-- and all of these articles are, IMHO, a great resource for anyone who wants to know more about teens. I thought I'd share the link to the online edition-- teen articles are linked through the top box (the one that keeps changing)

I just got a request for a Full MS from an AAR member - Yipeee!!!


Hi guys.

parumpdragon said:

I just got a request for a Full MS from an AAR member - Yipeee!!!

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Uber-super-duper congrats, Girly!!! *happy dance*

Emberchyld said:

I think, once you hit a certain age, you tend to get over the mysterious/hot/rockstar/vampire/whatever fantasy and move towards the stable/dishwashing/has a good job guy. (generalizing terribly here) I think that the reaction that I received is a facet of that-- and, unfortunately, pop culture has veered off the deep end in some cases to push the boundaries of that same facet (well, we can go back to popular novels back in the Regency and see this in action, too, so it's not a new thing.)

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I agree, but I do still meet full-grow 30yr-olds who are drooling over some of these abusive/overbearing boys.

parumpdragon said:

I just got a request for a Full MS from an AAR member - Yipeee!!!


Hi guys.

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Congrats, Parump!

parumpdragon said:

I just got a request for a Full MS from an AAR member - Yipeee!!!

Click to expand...

parumpdragon said:

I just got a request for a Full MS from an AAR member - Yipeee!!!


Hi guys.

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That's wonderful news! Best of Luck!

THanks guys!

I've got my fingers crossed!

parumpdragon said:

THanks guys!

I've got my fingers crossed!

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Good luck!

Hey Parumpdragon, can you rep me the name of the agent by any chance? I have a few out there and I'm just curious

I sent about 40 out to AAR members who represent YA SciFi, and I have 11 rejections so far - and then the 1 solicitation.

So, I still have a bunch to come back.

Congrats on the request P-Dragon!

thanks Karla

How's your sub going?

KarlaErikaCal said:

Congrats on the request P-Dragon!

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Ooooh, Karla, that is a FANTASTIC pic of you! How are you btw? been a long time

Hey, everyone! It's been awhile, but I just popped my head in and saw PD has a request? Good luck! That's awesome.

thanks!

how are you Pezie?

P-Dragon - Sub? What do you mean?

Mel - Thanks! I love that pic too! And yeah, it has been a while since I've posted here. Doing just fine! how about you?

I thought you were editing something and submitting it again. Or was that before Christmas???