And They Hummed of Mystery

Preach, Taystee.

Lately, I've been reflecting on a lot of the YA books that I've read, and on how the category typically treats the topics of sex, innocence, purity, and romantic affection. I've shared my woes before in previous posts about the nonsensical perfect first times that teenage heroines experience, and I've challenged the idea of magical young love where everything works out in end. While these are issues in YA that I've been able to recognize throughout the countless novels I've poured through, I think it's time we really look at how we, as writers, should be addressing sex in our stories.

I'll be honest. I don't read a whole lot of YA contemporary these days. Unless it's something that has been personally recommended, I don't actively seek out novels in this genre because it doesn't really appeal to me at this point in my life. I do, however, read my weight in YA fantasy/sci-fi/adventure. No matter what the genre is, YA is a very progressive category, and you can really see the changes it has gone through over the years. However, sex seems to be an exception in that progression. When The Hunger Games was released, every heroine was almost expected to be completely naive and virginal, like Katniss Everdeen, when it came to sex. In fact, it was barely even mentioned, much less displayed. Even now, many of these protagonists don't have their first sexual experience until the final act of the story, and that is usually with a love interest whom she trusts, adores, and has endured endless hardships with. There are a few that break the mold, but most of them hold up these ideals of waiting for love and having minimal partners and keeping their limited sex lives completely private.

Sure. That is the ideal in the minds of a lot of people. We all know that YA is not immune to the scrutiny of parents, administrators, and just any adult with something to say about those overly hormonal teenagers. Sex is still something that has a lot of boundaries when it comes to what is considered acceptable to show and to talk about. Many parents don't want their children reading books where sex is present, much less prominent. This likely comes from the hopes that their own teens will maintain the pure nature of characters like Katniss, and refrain from sexual experiences. For a multitude of reasons, there's a sheltering attitude built around these chaste heroines, and anything that deviates from that could cause any kind of controversy.

But here's the truth. Sex is a part of teenagers' lives, whether they're having it, talking about it, or just endlessly wondering about it. It is an undeniable presence that they're going to be faced with in some way or another.


And here's another truth: very few teenagers are going to have sexual encounters that compare to the picture perfect, sugar coated scenes that bring many of the YA characters we love together in a magical way that doesn't hurt, isn't awkward, and never results in any sort of shame or physical or emotional consequences. It goes far beyond the fact that we never see these characters pause to ask questions or use any sort of protection. They're saving the world, so who has time for condoms, right?

Here's one way to look at it. There are two types of teenagers reading these novels: those who have had sex, and those who haven't. I know. Duh. But one half of this demographic is going to be wondering what his or her first time will be like, while the other half may still be trying to figure out the emotions and repercussions of his or her first, second or one hundredth time. An author should be able to speak to both of these groups, and make an effort not to set up ridiculous and flawed expectations for their virgin readers, while also reaching out to those who have had sex, in whatever capacity, expressing reassurance that he or she doesn't need to feel ashamed or regretful or defective if their sexual history can't measure up to what they're reading. Sex is weird, okay? It's a situation in which physical and emotional insecurities are laid bare in front of another person, open to their judgment and scrutiny. It's a way to use someone, play games with someone, and even humiliate someone if that is the desired effect. Yes. It can be 'magical'. No. It's not always as big of a deal as people make it out to be. You can sleep with one person or twenty or two hundred and you are of no lesser value than someone who remains abstinent.

No matter how clear this can be, there will always be critical eyes ready to shut down a book that dares to suggest something other than a path of purity. Of course, everyone believes what they are going to believe, but there needs to be a wider representation of the teenage sexual experience. As of right now, it's pretty one sided. There's only vague, implied true-love-sex or no sex at all, which is wildly inaccurate in the throes of real life.


So I'm not a parent. I've never had to raise up a young human and teach them how to value themselves and what not to listen to in the buzzing world around them. I have, however, been that young human. I was taught that sex and intimacy were reserved only for the safety of a marriage and that anything else was wrong and cause for shame. Though I'm sure it wasn't intended, this was supported by a lot of the YA books I read when I was younger. There has been an endless debate regarding the accessibility to sex education amongst teenagers, and the same arguments can likely be made for the accessibility to sex in YA. If we display characters who like sex, have sex beyond that one perfect first time, and talk about sex outside of conservative boundaries, are we 'permitting' the act itself? Encouraging it? Making it out the be the 'norm'? Of course, there is no black and white answer. I think we can make a rather strong conclusion that if teens want to have sex, they're going to do it regardless of what books they read.

However, there is certainly a lot of progress to be made in the ways the sex is portrayed. Because right now, we're not really keeping it real. I want to read about heroines who are not defined by the boy she loses or already lost her virginity to. It can be nothing more than a small detail in her life. I don't want to see virgins on pedestals and I certainly don't want to see anymore obscure, unprotected love scenes that do nothing more than play it safe and build impossible expectations. Just like with every other social, ethical, and cultural topic addressed in YA, we have a responsibility to our readers to write with honesty, sensitivity, and a general understanding of the vulnerable stage of life that our target audience is in. We've all been there, and we always need to be conscious of the messages we send out to those finding solace in our words.

We all know that young adult books aren't just meant for young adults. I'll be reading them until the day I die because they have so much to offer and they are just too good to ignore.
However.
I can't be the only one who has noticed that the young protagonists in these stories don't always match the age assigned to them. Don't you ever feel like you're reading about a thirty-year-old in a teenage body? Especially in scifi and fantasy, these are high stakes stories that require quick thinking, rational decision making, and a good amount of selflessness. Even most adults struggle with these in the regular world, yet we're reading about seventeen and sixteen-year-olds who always seem to pull it together in plenty of time to save the day. Granted, a lot of these characters grow up in much more gritty and savage environments that force them to grow up quickly and resourcefully. Many of them are masters in weaponry and warfare before the rest of us could even pass algebra. The teenagers we were or are and the others we've known are probably pretty different from the heroes and heroines we read about.


So. It's an observation, but is it a problem? Does is matter that books in YA can sometimes fail to reflect the real personalities of its target audience? They build lives for characters in which love is real the first time, you know who you are by the time you're sixteen, and the sex is always perfect. I'm not implying that real teenagers are nothing more than a bunch of degenerates. Believe me, I think they're more valuable to society than anyone gives them credit for.
But.
Even if a character is facing battle fields or evil wizards or quests through alternate dimensions, they are still going to hit the universal obstacles we all endured when we were teenagers. Puberty. Hormones. Pimples. Crushes. Body Shaming. Self Doubt. These are all things that tripped us up as we trudged through those high school halls, so why do so many YA heroes and heroines get to skip right past the awkward first dates and sudden growth spurts? How do they look at the world and just know what the right answer is? And how-seriously, tell me how-do they get to lose their virginities under stars and waterfalls and sunsets to the person who they will without a doubt love for all eternity? I know there are plenty of reasons why nobody wants to spend time reading about teenage woes in the middle of a war, but we can't just ignore them. We can't just slap an age on a character and refuse to adapt them to the characteristics of such an important detail. Teenage brains aren't even fully developed yet, so it's almost unfair to create these adult characters and expect them to properly represent the age group they are supposed to portray.


But here's the thing. We really, really don't want the angst. It's a pretty universal conclusion that the whole brooding, pissed off teenager does qualify as a marketable protagonist. We know the extents to which authors must go to bend for the business of publishing, and they have to create characters that readers will flock towards and cheer for throughout the trilogies and film adaptions. They also want to produce a story that will attract a wide range of readers outside of the YA community.
So is there some sort of balance? Maybe a compromise?
Maybe you don't even see this as a problem.
For me, as a reader, I find it a bit deceptive and even a bit lazy to neglect the teenage mind when writing teenage characters. People in this age group are complex, complicated, and fascinating if you pay the right kind of attention to them. It is entirely possible to present believable young adult characters who don't have to mold to that insufferable stereotype.
A perfect example of this is Cassie Sullivan from Rick Yancey's The 5th Wave. She manages to bridge the gap between real life teenager and YA heroine while roping us into a story in which she breaks our hearts, makes us laugh and more often than not causes us all to say 'same'. Yancey took the expected sarcastic nature of teenagers and mixed it with Cassie's own personal brand of wit and snark. Through her, he addresses what it's like to have to fend for yourself when all you've know is the guidance of your parents. He displays the awkward, tense, confusing way she falls in love for the first time while also taking her through her own process of self evaluation. She learns and grows throughout in order to adapt to the apocalyptic environment, but she still retains the youth that so many other young protagonists seem to lack.


And while not every YA teenager is going to show his or her personality through sarcasm, there are plenty of other ways to display youth. One of the main components of YA novels in the love story, which is can often times be oversimplified by authors treating their protagonists like adults. Love is an intricate concept that takes the years of life experience to begin to understand. It is not something that automatically makes sense just because the swoon factor calls for it, and teenage relationships are not as straight forward as some YA novels would suggest.
Along with falling in love, these characters face countless situations in which they must consider the abstract ideas of right and wrong, death and life, grief and failure, and more. The teenage brain is in a process of adapting to these abstract ideas, so the very thought of them handling all of these situations in the same way an adult would is simply unrealistic.
And maybe the core problem here is that's it's just not fair to them. Teenagers offer a unique perspective on the world, and they should be able to see themselves properly represented in the books they love. And for the adult readers, we should be able to find common ground with them as we reconnect with our time in that age group. Forever young at heart, right? We shouldn't create a standard where actual, realistic teenagers aren't worthy of a reader following. We should not only display, but celebrate the facets of their developing minds.

To put it simply, my summer reading list kicked ass.
Now, as we're all about to trek our way back to classes and homework, (Except for those of you who have real jobs. You mean not everyone stays in school for all of eternity?) I'm excited to look back on the best of the fine selection of books I read under this summer's hot sun. If you're looking for books that are going to rip your heart out, keep you up all night, and change the game, I got you. Don't worry. I won't spoil anything. Just go read them so we can all fangirl together.



Numer One:
Places No One Knows
By: Brenna Yovanoff

I don't even know where to begin when describing this book. It takes the dynamic of high school drama and flips it on its head, challenging the concepts of popularity, love, and identity. It asks the right questions through the strong, relatable voices of two beautifully crafted protagonists. The story follows a high school girl named Waverly, who has perfectly crafted her public identity to appease the expectations of her friends, family, and social world. At night, Waverly fights a nasty case of insomnia, finding rest only when the light of a special candle transports her to the side of Marshall Holt, a burnout who sees past the mask she wears in the halls at school. Together, they break down each other's shells, and are forced to face the parts of themselves that everyone else refuses to see. It makes for a captivating story of finding love and accepting yourself.
I found myself enthralled not only because of the intriguing way dreams and insomnia are used to bring the two characters together, but mainly because of the honesty displayed in regards to the high school environment. It breaks down the politics of teenage hierarchy and gives us layered characters who really feel like people instead of just teenage cutouts falling in love. This book has unique, enchanting elements that are grounded in humanity as two people try to navigate through youth and fight past the influence and scrutiny of the world around them. The writing is just the right amount of poetic, and it carries a wisdom that makes this book a must-read for anyone who has ever felt lost in a sea of faces. I didn't want it to end.



Number Two:
Dark Matter
By: Blake Crouch

All right. I'm no science person. Like, seriously. I don't have a clue. However, I could not put this book down. I can't even begin to imagine the amount of time and research that went into crafting this intricate story of multiple dimensions. It takes us on an unbelievable journey with Jason Dessen, who has been kidnapped and thrown in to a world where his life is not his own. His wife was never his wife and his son was never born. Jason then embarks on what is essentially a wild goose chase in hopes to find his own world and reconnect with the family he loves.
The best part about this book is it creates a plot with a limitless amount a worlds. That opens up exciting opportunities to explore what society might have been like under different circumstances. In his search, he encounters a frozen tundra, a city destroyed by disease, a futuristic landscape, and more. The imagination applied in this story is incredible, and it mixes well with the intricate scientific details that move the story forward. It also reflects well on the ideas of regret and choice and all of the what if's in life. Jason's character growth takes him from a man unsatisfied with the life he chose and forces him to face realities in which that life never even had the chance to be. It's a creative scifi adventure that builds tension perfectly while also bringing about challenging themes and ideas that we all can relate to as we wonder about what could have been.



Number Three:
And I Darken
By: Kiersten White

This book has gotten a lot of attention since its June release, and most of it is aimed at this novel's heroine. Told as the female version of Vlad the Impaler, Ladislav Dragwyla is a bad ass leading lady who would make Furiosa proud. She is fierce, cold, brutal, and everything else that princesses aren't supposed to be. This is a dark, intricate story about politics, kingdoms, blood and war, but it is also a coming of age tale in its own right. While Lada is in the middle of the chaos of kings and fighting and conspiracy, she is still just a child. We get to see her learn of the injustices of sexism from an early age as she's thrown into a world where men rule and woman obey. We get to watch as she discovers the stages of womanhood and attraction and even a little bit of love. I really appreciate this effort to remind the reader of her naive youth, because sometimes I feel that YA forget that its protagonists are still technically children. White wasn't afraid to dive into the depths of growing up, which made Lada a character that we could admire and fear and relate to all at the same time.
Another driving force of this novel is the fascinating juxtaposition between Lada and her younger brother, Radu. While she is vicious, he is gentle. Kind. His power and conniving comes from his wit and ability to manipulate and read people, while Lada's comes from battle skills and raw ferocity. While the plot and details of the world are fascinating and so well researched, it is the character study of these two people that really makes this one of the best YA releases of the year. You really feel as if you know them by the end, and I cannot wait to read more. If you're looking for a feminist novel with a punch in the gut and the heart, look no further.



Number Four:
These Broken Stars
By: Amie Kauffman and Meagan Spooner

So this is an older one. It was released in 2013 and I can't believe it took me this long to read it. This book is the real deal, complete with well rounded characters, a brilliant love story, and a unique storyline that takes us through an uninhabited planet after a colossal shipwreck in space. There is humor. Heart. Aliens! What else does a reader need?
Similar to Places No One Knows, this story is told through the dual perspective of the male and female leads. Tarver is the soldier. Lilac is the princess. It may seem pretty straightforward, but the complexity of these characters and the relationship that evolves between them is a truly rewarding experience as they grow, change, and come together in the name of survival. They challenge each other in multiple ways, each a force of nature colliding with the other. I was rooting for both of them the entire way as individuals, and I loved seeing them gravitate towards each other as the story progressed.  Their adventure is heartfelt, exciting, heartbreaking, and every part of it leaves you longing for more.



Number Five:
The Way I Used to Be
By: Amber Smith

Sometimes, we end a book with excitement or exhaustion or utter adoration. Our emotions finally come together to create a finale that makes the reading experience one unlike any other. That's how it goes. Sometimes.
With this book, it wasn't excitement or anything of the sort that overcame me after I reached the final page. It wasn't anything that I was used to, to be honest.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Smith's debut, it's a YA contemporary that chronicles the aftermath of sexual assault. It speaks with a gut twisting honesty that forces the reader to face the reality of the emotional, psychological, and physical demons that rape victims live with on a daily basis, even after years have passed. It dives into something that the world doesn't really talk about, and I often found myself having to turn away at times because the pure, unjust sadness of this reality just kept hitting me like a brick.  It was confirmed to be a work of fiction, but it's undeniable that human beings all over the world have had similarly horrifying experiences, many whose stories will go left untold out of fear, shame, or distrust in a system that has made it so difficult for these individuals to come forward.
Needless to say, this book has brought about these heavy thoughts that have stuck with me ever since I read the last sentence. It's not only an important story that can reach out to anyone who has been through something similar, but it's also for any reader in a culture where rape and assault tend to be swept under the rug. It raises awareness on rape culture and also on the deep impact that something like this can have on a person's life. I recommend it to anyone. It's tough stuff, but it's a necessary read.

Needless to say, it's been a good summer. This fall is going to bring a whole new batch of new releases that will likely leave us all in awe, but for now, get yourself to the bookstore and read all of these lovely words. Prepare to cry, laugh, and fall in love.

Relationship status: Mentally dating at least twelve fictional characters.