Why We YA and You Should Too

Guest Bloggers:  Stephanie Wardrop, Kelly Hashway & Rachel Schieffelbein 

 

 

 

 

It’s summer, which means that visions of spending days basking in sunlight, reading a great book by the pool, and freedom from homework are dancing around in the heads of many. But summer also brings one more delight; Swoon Romance’s YA Summer of Love blog tour. Young adult authors Rachel Schieffelbein (author of SECONDARY CHARACTERS), Stephanie Wardrop (author of CHARM AND CONSEQUENCE), and Kelly Hashway (author of ADVANTAGE: HEARTBREAK) are celebrating the release of their newest novels, all out on 5/28/13, and enjoying their book blog tour. Though all three authors are in fact, adults, they all have a passion for young adult literature.

Rachel writes YA because, “It’s such an exciting time in a person’s life. Things are fun and easy, crazy and difficult all at the same time.” For Kelly, her love of young adult fiction stems from the fact that, “My teen years are the ones I remember best. They were so full of emotion, both good and bad, and I love tapping into that again through my writing.” Stephanie has similar feelings. She says, “The short, snarky [of why I write YA] answer is that I am a classic case of arrested development; an adolescent brain trapped in an adult body, but that’s only partly true.  I’m just fascinated by that period in our lives, adolescence, when there’s so much wonder and horror, beauty and heartache, bliss and devastation—sometimes all on the same day. I just heard an interview with a neuroscientist who was talking about the brain and the concept of time. She said that no matter how old a person is, the period of their lives that they remember most vividly, with most detail, is the years between ages 15-25. I think that’s my answer.”

In the long run, though some adults aren’t interested in reading books created for young adults, Stephanie doesn’t feel like young adult literature is much different than other adult titles.  When asked what sets YA books apart from others, she said, “Not much, really, when you get right down to it.  Good YA writing has all the elements of good writing. Period. Except that it is told from the point of view of an adolescent, not someone looking back at their adolescence.  But it can be funny, beautiful, eloquent, fantastical, brutally realistic—all of the stuff of any good book. And it’s not about the level of complexity of vocabulary or ideas, either. Libba Bray, John Green, Phillip Pullman, and a whole host of others can be so much more challenging than a lot of the “grownup” books out there.” Rachel feels that YA books are, “…more honest. I think teens can spot BS better than a lot of adults!” For Kelly, she feels that, “YA appeals to so many age groups, not just teens. I think it’s a way for adults to connect to teens and remember what life was like at that age. And have I mentioned the emotion in YA?”

For those who are looking to get their hands on more young adult reads, don’t hesitate to pick up the three books of the YA Summer of Love blog tour by the Rachel, Stephanie, and Kelly. If you’re looking to learn more about writing YA, these three recommend hanging around teens (not in a creepy way of course), reading a ton of YA novels, and checking out sites like YA Highway and YALitChat.

More about Advantage Heartbreak:

Seventeen-year-old Meg Flannigan thought she’d made up her mind about love. But with two guys still vying for her attention, she wonders if she made the right decision. Ash is everything she’s ever wanted in a boyfriend: loyal, loving, and totally hot. But then there’s Noah: fun, sexy, and the more he sticks around, the more Meg wants him there.

What’s a girl to do?

Make up her mind, before it’s too late. Gorgeous freshman Liz has set her sights on Ash, and Noah is beginning to remind Meg of her last boyfriend—the one who broke her heart. Can she figure things out before she ruins not one, but two relationships? Or is she doomed to serve up heartbreak?

More About Secondary Characters:

When Mabel’s best friend, Amber, drags her along on a double date she finds herself falling for Lance, the obnoxious class clown whom she swore she’d have no interest in. The only problem is, she’s not sure if she’s really the girl Lance is into, or if, like every other guy she knows, it’s really Amber he’s after. One thing is clear, if Mabel wants to be the lead in her own love story, she needs to start acting like it.

More About Charm and Consequence:

One superior smirk from Michael Endicott convinces sixteen-year-old Georgia Barrett that the Devil wears Polo. His family may have founded the postcard-perfect New England town they live in, but Georgia’s not impressed. Even if he is smart, good looking, and can return Georgia’s barbs as deftly as he returns serves on his family’s tennis courts. After all, if Michael actually thinks she refuses to participate in lab dissections just to mess with his grade, he’s a little too sure that he’s the center of the universe. Could there be more to Michael Endicott than smirks and sarcasm? If Georgia can cut the snark long enough, she just might find out.

 

 

4 Comments:

  1. Rachel Schieffelbein

    Thanks for having us! 🙂

  2. Thank you so much for being part of the tour. 🙂

  3. This is great Janice! I love this article. I feel the same way about YA lit. It’s all to often discredited but in my opinion has some of the best imagination and writing out there.

    Thanks so much for hosting this stop!

    -Jolene

  4. Thanks for letting us visit, Janice!

Leave a Reply to Rachel Schieffelbein Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *