Maximum Occupancy

Young Adult to Adult fiction is a fine line that some people are comfortable declaring a stand for. Which is their right, but why limit yourself to picking a side and denying the appeal of fiction reflective of different points in life?

I think that we are lucky to be in this time when it comes to publishing and genres, things are adapting quickly in this consumption and technological evolution of our literary world, we are in the mix of growth! Can things be better? Hell yes! We should be pushing for great writing and diverse voices in all aspects of the industry, using the successful results that we see to demand more of it.

I was always the fan of teen novels and reads, but in my youth it was very white and mediocre. There were those that stood out as trying to do something with the genre, Judy Blume discusses female sexuality and reality in a way that scandalized, enthralled, and helped millions of people put things together. But this seemed rare when compared to the thousands of books written by men (or women) that was pure trash in plot, message, and substance. Not that I don’t like that kind of writing, but when vapidity is being pushed as the only option, then eventually we come to present the shallowness within ourselves.

To see black and non-binary authors shine when given the opportunity to share their stories like Judy Blume, is something that we should all celebrate so we can get more variety to the stories we can learn and identify from.

I have been seeing the name Tiffany D. Jackson in the last few years, because of her (deserved) success in including the black lives matter movement in her stories and from the readers brave enough to confront reality and sing her praise. With her prestige she tackled a retelling of Carrie, but incorporated the themes seen in other classic black literature like Passing. The Weight of Blood spins the story and focuses on a mixed race girl with an abusive white father, as they live in a sundown town in the South - one that still holds segregated proms. When her classmates realize that she is white presenting/passing, they tease her with micro-aggressions and outright racial attacks, setting her up to destroying their ignorant asses with her telekinetic powers.

I listened to this as an audiobook and found this novel to be well written and published by a team who understands how reading and storytelling is evolving. She incorporates multiple POVs and includes bits from a fictional podcast about the event, this translates well in the audiobook and captures all that she was trying to convey when it comes to her retelling.

As a Stephen King fan, I agree that his female and minority characters are flat (even though it is clear he means well). I have not read Carrie yet, but I imagine that he would not be offended by how she elevated his story. Her writing style, how she matches her points from current events, does make this feel very topical. Yet like Carrie, I think that it will age well and be a non-cringey read even if it depicts a certain moment in time.

Sarah Gailey is another young adult (but also adult) author I have seen around the last few years. As a non-binary author, their stories reflects a queer community that allows exploration of gender and sexual identities, something that even my straight ass was missing as a teen. Although I had a family who did not hinder my reads, and offered a range of suggestions, I was also in living in a small town with a large military base during Bush’s reign in Texas…I would have enjoyed the type of historical and science fiction that Gailey seems comfortable with and may have been a better ally sooner. No, I still would have made the same offensives: it is how I learn - from mistakes and shame.

When We Were Magic is about a group of female friends who have the ability to wield magic in the same manner as the group in the Craft. Their power is mighty, tied to teen emotions and psychology, and starts the entire events by causing one of the girls to kill her prom date by blowing up his junk.

I enjoy the sensational start. Since it is clear that the plot is driven by the main character not wanting to recognize that she is not attracted to men, and was forcing herself to have a hetero experience, you may want to protest that this is somewhat predictable. But that would expose you as a hater. This story is needed and if you could do a better job write your own queer friendly novel and publish it (your perspective could be needed as well and there should be room for all of them).

Okay, this may be a little more on the nose when it comes to what time period it has to portray, but nostalgia is cyclical and there will be a generation ready to read this later and laugh at their parents for being so 2020.

If you aren’t into ya then how can you ever know if you are the cool parent or not? So there you have it, I read YA books so I can feel young again. In addition to all the sad books about aging and not being young, I can’t stand the idea of not being in the know.