“You
can tell what age an author got stuck in by what genre he or she writes.”
I think it was Lin Oliver who said the
above quote, right after she had introduced an author who had skateboarded up
to the podium at a Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators conference.
I remember thinking at the time, Uh oh.
Then I’m still reliving high school!
The
Do-Over Aspect
Although my teen years are but tiny specs
in the rearview mirror, I love reading and writing Young Adult fiction. Maybe
it is the Do-Over fantasy aspect. YA stories allow readers to recapture the
deep emotions they felt in high school. Friendships, betrayals, first love,
peer pressure — the highs and lows play out on the page. Adding paranormal
elements — angels, demons, witches, vampires, werewolves, gods and goddesses,
amps up the stakes. Those who thought high school was tough, can read a
paranormal YA and think, at least the
Mean Girls at my school weren’t vampires.
Paranormal YA stories intoxicate with What if? I was well into adulthood
before I became a shaman. But what if I could have commanded shamanic skills in
high school? Would I have misused my magic? It would have been tempting to use
spirit flight to spy on my secret crush. My high moral code might have
justified my placing a binding spell on a bully, instead of placing a
protection spell on myself. Then who would have had the karmic lesson to work
on?
