|
|
Joined: 2/9/2012
Posts: 427
|
The Hunger Games, Matched, Divergent, The Ellie Chronicles... Why are they SO popular? And why do you (not) read them?
|
|
Joined: 3/13/2011
Posts: 412
|
I read a lot of dystopian stuff when i was a moody teenager. I don't really see this as any different, its a mood that appeals to the pre and young teen, but aimed at them, so with more content that resonates with them.
|
|
Joined: 6/13/2012
Posts: 13
|
The dystopian young adult novel is appealing to me because its usually an intense character study. Hunger Games really wasn't, but Divergent was. Its the draw of being a young person and discovering yourself. Its an intense time in one's life. That combined with a post-apocalyptic or utopian-gone-wrong setting just makes it irresistible for me.
|
|
Joined: 9/28/2012
Posts: 9
|
I agree with PhoenixGate. I think the extreme circumstances and setting really sets up a great environment for character depth to be built. I also think that it is something every human is fascinated with. What will happen when the world comes to an end (or comes close to it). What caused this? How did someone survive it? How do we rebuild after something so catastrophic? All of those things really play on human curiosity and draw the attention of many readers.
Why so many Young Adults? That's actually a good question, and again, I think PhoenixGate answered it well. The young adult characters thrown into something so devastating, especially after living in a world similar to real life (convenient and easy), are forced to grow up and mature quickly - wonderful opportunities for character growth.
I'm a HUGE fan of the Hunger Games books and I believe these are the reasons why.
|
|
Joined: 2/9/2012
Posts: 427
|
"It's the draw of being a young person and discovering yourself. Its an intense time in one's life. That combined with a post-apocalyptic or utopian-gone-wrong setting just makes it irresistible for me."
"...the extreme circumstances and setting really sets up a great environment for character depth to be built."
I definitely agree with these assessments. I'd just add that dystopian settings in particular seem to have an "unleashing"/liberating effect on young adult characters in the sense that the extreme and chaotic circumstances of dystopia enable them to get into more trouble and more interesting adventures than they would as regular teenagers, who go to school and have a curfew.
I'm a BIG fan of DIVERGENT and THE HUNGER GAMES  . You should check out SLATED by Teri Terry when it comes out--it's another great YA novel.
With these particular books in mind... do you think that YA dystopian books get away with more than other sci-fi books and why?
@PhoenixGate, I really enjoyed DIVERGENT and INSURGENT, but I have to admit the framework of "divergence" is a bit shoddy. After all, aren't we all a bit divergent, with more than one proclivities to lead us in life? We're not just smart (erudite) or brave (dauntless)--we're all a combination of qualities and skills...
|
|
Joined: 6/13/2012
Posts: 13
|
Nevana, I really did look at the framework of 'divergence' and it actually makes sense. In psychology you have several different personality types, and divergents seem to fall into the 'hardy' personality type. Most people are fixed into a particular type of personality and behavior, and get really surprised when someone else has a totally different personality/set of behaviors. As authors, we're already programmed as "divergent" because we need to look at all sides of a situation to be a good author in the first place. This is true for pretty much any creative personality.
I really suggest reading Animals In Translation by Temple Grandin and Catherine Johnson. It goes through the mechanics of behavior although its focus is understanding animal behavior. Its a little scientific but Temple Grandin is autistic, so the book is funny and really not as dull as a lot of other science books I've read. My point is, people are hardwired with certain behaviors and the whole concept of fixed personality types isn't really too odd, not to me anyway. Plus, you have to factor into Divergent and Insurgent peer pressure and the influence of the parents. A lot of kids raised as dauntless or erudite or any of the others would stick with that because that's how they were raised, that's how their personalities were shaped.
I also want to recommend The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa. It's a really well done book in the post-apocalypse genre, but with vampires! Except she did vampires well. This would be my opportunity to plug that I really have a grudge against the Twilight books. The author was lazy with her writing and had characters so flat I wanted to bang my head against a wall. I literally threw my hands up in disgust and said "i could write this better!" I should add that the movies were a lot better than the books.
Back to the topic, I think teenagers are drawn to this genre because its the extreme version of what they're going through. They're rebelling against their parents and society (usually) and they really like seeing a character do all of that, but BIGGER.
|
|
Joined: 6/14/2012
Posts: 194
|
When I was a moody teenager, I read adult dystopian novels (1984, Brave New World, A Clockwork Orange, etc.) as well as the unpleasant literary books thought appropriate for teenagers in school (Silas Marner--now there's a downer! Or The Scarlet Letter, The Red Badge of Courage, Dickens' Hard Times, Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath...not to mention Lord of the Flies, which we had to read as freshmen in college.) Even then, I had the cynical notion that adults wanted us to read dystopian stuff so we'd be prepared for adult life as being a dull, miserable grind with no surcease, and have no unreasonable hopes.
My preference--as a moody teenager (and I was a VERY moody teenager)--was for books with some hope in the mix, some nobility, some civility, some clear thinking and emotional satisfaction that did not come down to "Meh..." So along with the dystopian stuff I read a lot more books that made me feel it was worth working toward something better--that better was (however remotely) possible. They didn't have to have happy endings, but they had to have justice in the mix (I fell for Greek tragedy early, and remain an Aristotelian in literary matters.)
One thing we often forget is that children--and especially perhaps older children--have often come face to face with the evil humans are capable of. They've seen violence; they have experienced it in their own bodies. They've seen and experienced meanness, petty cruelty, domination, unfairness, illness in themselves or family members, etc. They don't need (except the most privileged) to be told that life is not a bowl of cherries. They need to be shown how to cope with what they already know to be true, and pure dystopia does not offer that aid.
I got that help from books that were not strictly dystopian--not determined to force my face into the filth of human degradation and choke me with it--but admitted the evil while showing a way to cope that was believable to me.
I'm not sure that dystopian books really do show deeper characterization than non-dystopian...at the time I was a teenager, I didn't think so, at least. Depth of characterization is a matter of the writer's own depth of understanding of people...and can be conveyed--will be conveyed--in any story.
But...one person's opinion. I now avoid dystopian fiction. I read nonfiction for facts, which can be depressing enough, and novels for other purposes than feeling more hopeless about humanity.
|
|
Joined: 3/13/2011
Posts: 412
|
I got that help from books that were not strictly dystopian--not determined to force my face into the filth of human degradation and choke me with it--but admitted the evil while showing a way to cope that was believable to me.
Yes... YES. I think that explains a lot of my favorite books from 10-15 right there.
|
|
|
|