This afternoon my friend from teaching days and I went to our monthly meeting of the YA Book Group. We haven't met since January due to February vacation time, and I managed to think I had to read two months worth of books. Fortunately I was wrong.
Our genre for this month was realistic fiction - my least favorite. These are books about things that really do happen, and they are frequently a favorite with students. They enjoy reading about people their age (these are young adult books, remember) who have problems that may be the same as the ones they or friends face to greater or lesser degree. The books may also deal with problems they've never heard about or problems that make their own issues pale in comparison. Because the characters in the books are their own age, they can recognize some of the errors in judgement and even appreciate some of the creative ways the characters deal with their lives. Adult characters can also make points that if the reader's parents made, the suggestions/advice would be ignored. Coming from a book adult, the help may strike a responsive chord. For all the above reasons and more that I haven't mentioned, I truly appreciate the genre and what it can do for its intended audience.
But . . . Here's an example of the subjects of some of the 15 - 20 books on the list:
- death
- teen pregnancy
- cancer
- death
- suicide
- bullying
- alcoholism
- death
- sexual abuse by a parent
- drug use
- psychopathic behaviour
- delinquency
- death
- mental illness
Are you beginning to see why I might find this a difficult genre? There have been some incredible books over the years; books that are worth their weight in gold.
BUT . . .
Reading those books, especially the very well written ones, takes a toll.
too bad there weren't any books about death!!
ReplyDeletebut seriously, it may be difficult to read. But if kids are dealing with those issues, that's got to be very tough on them. And if there's a good book they can be steered to read, that just might help. If nothing else, it tells the reader they are not alone!