Teendom is an amazing thing. At an age where everything is possible, the future is limitless, and you can try out anything you like, the tendency is to give all that up and just fit in. Be different, just like everybody else. Reminds me of the Monty Python joke: "We are all individuals." "I'm not," says the renegade. Yeah, that's adolescence in a nutshell. Because being part of the in crowd is hugely important. It's in our genes, people. It's how we survive as a species.
But does this herd mentality have to apply in literature as well? It certainly seems so. Over at the Finding the Write Way blog, author Jenna Cooper laments about how certain trends are saturating the teen book market. It's a real problem. Sure, there are titles available in lots of categories, but the offerings are heavily weighted in one direction. Probably, publishers and agents want to jump on whatever bandwagon has been successful and don't want to go out on a limb in a tough economy with something new. But that's a mistake. Because it's those risks that yield something rich and new. Think Harry Potter, people. Glad somebody finally took a chance on that. And Speak. Thirteen Reasons Why. The Adoration of Jenna Fox. And Oh My God funny Going Bovine.
So here's my pitch: Can't we embrace lots of styles and themes and genres? I hope so. Because it's through trying on all these alternatives that we find what really fits. What brings out our truest self. What is fresh and fierce all covered in awesomeness.
Be brave. Think beyond this year's big thing. Dystopian is great, so is paranormal romance, so is Steampunk. But there's so much more. Contemporary. SciFi. Magical Realism. And stuff that refuses to fit in any of these little boxes. Go ahead. Be different. Break out of the mold. Show us what you've got.
Callie Kingston writes novels, of the young adult variety. She writes other stuff too.
Her home is in the Pacific Northwest, where she lives with her husband, children, three dogs, a couple of cats and a trio of rats. When not writing, she likes to explore the outdoors, especially the forests and beaches along the Oregon coast. She also enjoys a great cup of cappuccino, which happily is easily found in her part of the world.