As I was unable to make it to the YA Lit Symposium’s Pre-Conference Session: On Beyond Stonewall, I decided to head to a local bookstore Friday night for an intimate and informal discussion about LGBT issues in teen literature. Present were authors Malinda Lo (Ash), Lauren Bjorkman (My Invented Life), Megan Frazer (Secrets of Truth and Beauty), Alexandra Diaz (Of all the Stupid Things) and Kirstin Cronn-Mills (The Sky always hears me and the hills don’t mind), all of whose books feature characters dealing with LGBT issues.
After a generous offering of chocolate-covered cherries from Diaz, the authors began by introducing themselves and their books, then dove into answering audience questions. First up: for what age are your books appropriate?
The authors all agreed that their books are for teen audiences, though Cronn-Mills described her novel as “edgy” (for sexual frankness and language), and therefore felt it was more for older teens, 14/16 and up. Amusingly, Lo mentioned that she’d originally written Ash as a young woman out of her teens, but that her editor suggested she lower her age to hit the YA audience, and while Ash is recommended in the U.S .for ages 12 and up, it was published in the U.K. for ages 8-12. Several authors pointed out that sexual encounters tend to up the recommended age level – for instance, Diaz’s book is often labeled as 14 and up, and contains two sexual encounters, one between a heterosexual couple and another between a same-sex couple.
Also regarding age-appropriateness: Why write for a teen audience? Also, as YA authors, do you face any legal issues/constraints from your publishers or editors for writing of the sexual experiences of teens under eighteen?
The answers to “why write for this age-level” varied: it’s simply a fun age to write (Diaz); the characters are based on people from the author’s teen experience and so had to be teenagers (Cronn-Mills); and technical reasons, such as a character needing to drive, and so had to be at least sixteen (Frazer). On the subject of legal issues, all the authors agreed that while none of them had been told to tone down scenes or to take anything out, if publishers or editors were squeamish, it was probably less about the actual content and more about heading off parent complaints and challenges. Lo pointed out that while it may seem that book challenges are good in that they get a book publicity and make it attractively ‘taboo,’ it’s actually a bad thing, as the controversy might lead to librarians/teachers choosing not to purchase a title in order to avoid the possibility of a challenge.
When asked for their personal favorite LGBTQ books or authors, we in the audience found ourselves nodding along and/or scribbling furiously to keep
Of All the Stupid Things by Alexandra Diaz
When a rumor starts circulating that Tara’s boyfriend Brent has been sleeping with one of the guy cheerleaders, the innuendo doesn’t just hurt Tara. It marks the beginning of the end for an inseparable trio of friends. Tara’s training for a marathon, but also running from her fear of abandonment after being deserted by her father. Whitney Blaire seems to have everything, but an empty mansion and absentee parents leave this beauty to look for meaning in all the wrong places. And Pinkie has a compulsive need to mother everyone to make up for the mom she’s never stopped missing. This friendship that promised to last forever is starting to break under the pressure of the girls’ differences.
And then new-girl Riley arrives in school with her long black hair, athletic body, and her blasé attitude, and suddenly Tara starts to feel things she’s never felt before for a girl—and to reassess her feelings about Brent and what he may/may not have done. Is Tara gay—or does she just love Riley? And can her deepest friendships survive when all of the rules have changed?
Release Date: December 2009
Publisher: Egmont (Young Adult)
Pages: 272
The Stuff That Never Happened by Maddie Dawson
What if you were married to a wonderful husband for twenty-eight years but in love with another man? What if you were in love with them both?
Annabelle McKay knows she shouldn’t have any complaints. She’s been in a stable marriage that’s lasted almost three decades and has provided her with two wonderful children, thousands of family dinners around a sturdy oak table, and a husband so devoted that he schedules lovemaking into his calendar every Wednesday morning. Other wives envy the fact that Grant is not the type of man who would ever cheat on her or leave her for a younger woman. The trouble is Annabelle isn’t sure she wants to be married to Grant anymore. The trouble is she’s still in love with someone else.
In the early tumultuous years of her marriage, Annabelle carried on a clandestine affair with the one person whose betrayal would hurt her husband the most. When it ended, she and Grant found their way back together and made a pact that they would never speak of that time again. But now years later, with her children grown and gone, and an ominous distance opening between them, she can’t help but remember those glorious, passionate days and wonder if she chose the right man.
Then, when called to New York City to help care for her pregnant daughter, Annabelle bumps into her old lover. Offered a second chance at an unforgettable love, she must decide between the man who possesses her heart and the husband who has stood squarely by her side. A journey into the what-ifs that haunt us all, The Stuff That Never Happened is an intricate, heartfelt examination of modern marriage that brims with truths about the nature of romantic love.
Release Date: August 3, 2010
Publisher: Crown
Pages: 336
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