I have a hard time keeping my seventh grade son in books. It’s a nice problem to have.
After scouring some book blogs, I came up with four books that had been highly recommended by (admittedly) adults.
I put the books up in his room. After a few hours, he came out.
“Mom? I don’t mean anything by this…but I hate all those books you got me.”
I sat back in the chair and stared at him. “But they’re supposed to be good!”
“They’re depressing. I read the first four or five chapters of all of them. I feel like I know the characters and they’re in these hopeless situations and depressing things keep happening.”
“Well, but honey, I’m positive the books will end happily. They’re YA.”
He gave a short laugh. “No. They don’t end well. Because when I realized I’d never in a million years read these books all the way through, I read the endings. They all had these awful endings. And now I can’t get the stories out of my head!”
I’d spent a good hour researching books for him. I thought that at least one of the books would make the cut.
This made me realize that many books and movies that are critically acclaimed aren’t the happiest stories in the world. And they might not be right for everybody. I seemed to have wandered into the literary fiction area of YA.
My son seems to like stories of people in difficult circumstances that rise above them. He likes steps toward conflict resolution fairly early—with setbacks and challenges continuing. I see him as a fantasy/sci fi reader mainly.
The books he wasn’t interested in seemed to have this sort of a pattern:
Opening crisis.
Deepening crisis.
More characters are introduced and they are sucked into the crisis, exacerbating the tension.
The characters encounter setbacks as they struggle for conflict resolution.
There is some hope offered in a couple of plotlines at the end of the book. But not for the main character at the end.
In fact, these books follow a Lord of the Flies pattern almost exactly.
My own stories seem to follow this pattern:
*Initial sunny, happy, quiet scene. (Apart from a foreshadowing prologue.)
*Major conflict. (In my books, this is a violent death.)
*The protagonist takes action to resolve the problem (whodunit).
*A major setback.
*More action by the protagonist. Some progress.
*A confrontation.
*A resolution.
Are your books heavy? Do they end with a happy resolution? Do you see patterns in your plots at all?
If you were following the discussion Friday on genre blending, pop over to the Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen today where guest poster, Dead Air author, and clinical psychologist Mary Kennedy shares insights into developing her character’s personal life at www.MysteryLoversKitchen.com
Elizabeth – I think plot structure is really an interesting topic, becuase there are so many potential plot structures out there. My story structures are similar to yours; maybe it’s because I write mystery novels, too. I know some compelling mysteries, though, that do not end happily, or at least not with the “bad guy” behind bars. It would be interesting to try writing that way, just to see if I could, but to be honest, I’m with your son. I like there to be, well, not a happy ending, because people die in my books, but at least not a grim, hopeless ending.
Gosh, this is a dilemma. Can he read adult books yet?
Maybe some mysteries that have deepening crises, yet total conflict resolution?
I started out (after Nancy Drew books)–it seems like in the Middle Ages– reading Perry Mason mysteries, Sherlock Holmes’ books, Nero Wolfe, Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot only, a neat wrapping up of the mystery. This was in high school.
My nephew read a lot of Robert Parker Spenser novels for a time in high school which are good and witty and resolve the conflicts.
Reading is so individual though; it’s like everything a matter of taste.
I think plot structure should vary according to the story. I’m all for happy endings, and 2/3 of my manuscripts so far have them (pretty much), but some stories call for something else and it would feel wrong to fit them into a set pattern.
Mysteries, however, as Margot said, should end with the bad guy caught, and they would be unsatisfying if they strayed from that pattern. Romances too need a certain type of ending. Readers would be disappointed otherwise.
YA seems to have a really broad range, so I can see how it will be difficult to pick something that satifies your son. Has he read Artemis Fowl? Those are exciting, proactive stories with satisfying resolutions. Good luck.
Margot–I sometimes like books with unhappy endings, but I do have to be in the right mood and have an inkling that it’s coming.(Foreshadowing is great.)
Kathy–I’d LOVE for him to be a mystery reader! So far it hasn’t happened yet. Good idea with the Spenser series–those characters are amazing and there’s action in the books, too.
Lorel–I think that’s what makes it easy to find something to read in genre fiction. You know what you’re getting into! You have expectations, and they’re met. Literary fiction and some mainstream fiction can offer lots of different and exciting outcomes for books.
I think I was surprised that YA has taken this path. These books were all new releases, and I’m wondering if this is a trend for Young Adult. In my mind, these are still stories for *kids*! Which goes to show my mindset is old fogey and I wouldn’t be a good choice to write the books. He’s read the Artemis Fowl series–excellent books! He’s waiting on Rick Riordan’s next book to come out.
Interesting post. I can’t image finding books for a youngster of any age. Wishing you and your family a Happy Valentine’s Day.
Even as a teen I wanted (mostly) happy endings. I can understand your son’s plight. Off the top of my head, I’m wondering about Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card – can’t remember the ending though) for him, or Piers Anthony or the DiscWorld series.
Oh, you have the same delema I have. My son is in grade nine and he hates all the books I recommend. I’ll tell you the books he would recommend to your son.
1) The Guild of Specialists – it’s a trilogy of adventure books that he treasures by Joshua Mowll.
2) He’s now trying the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz, the first book called Stormbreaker.
I don’t know, has your son already read these?
ann
Ann–Recommendations! Yay!
He’s read the Alex Rider series all the way through (and enjoyed them), but hasn’t read Guild of Specialists. Thanks!
I think I like a mixture of the two… sometimes I love happy endings and others they can marinate in my mind to what I thought about the ending.
My novels don’t end happy or sad really… a innocent victim is able to get away, but the killer remain at large… so it’s mixed feelings I would say.
I understand your son perfectly well! I have to read loads of good literature for my job, and most of it is well-written and memorable, but if I want to ESCAPE from work, I´ll grab a crime story any time. There you can be 99 % certain you will get a satisfactory solution! So write some Myrtle Clover stories for him; they won´t do him any harm :D
Hiya, can I pop in and suggest you check this site out http://youngandunbound.blogspot.com/
I run it but all the reviewers are under 16, presently all between 10 & 13 so their recommendations might be more to your son’s taste?
Your post made me smile. Today, I’d say I write books that end happily – bad guy caught or killed. Justice done. But when I was a young adult in high school, I wrote books that ended tragically.
Helen
Straight From Hel
Elizabeth, I could’ve warned you that most YA is not about happy endings! YThat’s what makes my books a little bit like outcasts, because they all contain happy endings.
Does he like sci-fi? Or fantasy? Usually that section of the bookstore is still pretty tame in terms of adult material but with good stories. And there’s some really good stories out there. My husband could recommend some good stuff.
And I’ve seen more R-rated material in the YA section than anywhere else except for romances & horror…
For a long time YA fiction was ONLY the horrible dreary genre called the “Problem Novel.”
It was and is very popular among educators (and often appeals somewhat to certain intelligently alienated teens), and is at least as responsible for the drop off in reading as TV. (It started in the 50’s and only grew through the 60s and 70’s.)
I thank the fates for Ellery Queen, or I might have stopped reading altogether when I was being force fed this stuff. (I noticed a lot of girls jumped to the Harlequin romance clubs to get away from problem novels, but there wasn’t much for boys at all at that time.)
I don’t know what’s up with all of the depressing, angsty books out there. As Diane said, the sci-fi section is usually not like that.
At least he reads! I could never get my daughter to read and it looks like my grandchildren are following after their mom. She was into athletics, and so are the grandkids. They’re all active. Which is okay. Though each year that we spend summer vacation together, I make up a summer story book with pictures taken and a story to go along with the pictures. They will read these. Of course, it’s about them and what they did.
Jen–Oh, and bittersweet endings are nice, aren’t they? I like reading those sometimes.
Hagelrat–Thank you!!!! I will definitely go there. I need YOUNG reviewers for YA, I think.
Helen–A lot of my friends had a bent to depressing poetry in high school. It never really did anything for me. I guess I never was very good at angst!
Diane–He really does like sci-fi and fantasy. He doesn’t mind a romantic subplot, but that’s about as far as that would go. You’re so RIGHT about the rated R stuff in YA! I couldn’t believe it…I guess they’re trying to write it really edgy?
Mason–Well, I’d read this article that the reason so many teenagers stop reading for fun is because they have a hard time finding books that fit their interests. The article recommended that the parents keep as involved as possible in book selection. So..I’m trying! I have found a bunch of ‘hits’ for him, but now have definitely hit some ‘misses.’
Alex–Yeah, my son isn’t the angsty type, that’s for sure. I think I’m just going to stick to the genre sections for him right now…I don’t want him to totally give up on my book hunting abilities!
Jemi—Thanks for the suggestions! :) I think I’ll put in some requests from your list at the library. I’m back to square one, so I’m ready to try anything!
Dorte–I think that’s the way I usually feel about reading–it’s an ESCAPE! I want to get away from the world, not be dragged into more problems.
Wow, I can’t even imagine adapting a Myrtle story for a 12 year old boy! Hmm. Myrtle discovering an ancient passageway to a world of unusual creatures? She does battle against Orks with her cane? :)
The Daring Novelist–That’s *exactly* what they are! Problem novels. And they’re not really FUN to read when you’re reading for fun. At least not when you’re about to turn 13. And you’re a boy.
Oh, I love the type of books your son hates – the depressing, heavily ‘romantic’ setting and the ending that isn’t an ending. That kind of book does ‘stick with me’, which is why I love it. :)
Corra
from the desk of a writer