Thoughts on morality...

[finding-further.livejournal.com]

Hi all. I wanted to share this link to a blog where a handful of YA authors (MWT included) share their thoughts on morals, values and lessons in YA literature. Fascinating reading!!

ETA: Plus, we get a peek into why jacket design and copy are so important to MWT, and why she intentionally included a curse in the first twenty pages of TT.

Comments

[elvenjaneite.livejournal.com]

I promise it's not just the fact that I love these books, but MWT's view was actually the closest to my own, I think (maybe with a bit of M.T. Anderson's thrown in).

[finding-further.livejournal.com]

I got the impression MWT put her author cap in her back pocket when she answered this and responded more as a parent than a writer. There are a variety of lessons, morals and values woven into her stories -- the duty of a good King (or Queen), the value of kindness over beauty, the necessity of mercy over blind justice, the moral ambiguity of deception, etc. -- and I would've loved to hear her perspectives on including these in her work.

I, too, loved M.T. Anderson's response!

[timeisinfinite.livejournal.com]

I, too agree that I relate most to MWT's views, although I am neither a parent nor author (at least not yet :P). I think in general, the authors had the same views, that the morals that could be found in their books by readers themselves weren't meant to be lectured and forced into the reader's head.

And can anyone point out the curse that MWT uses? I just re-read the first 20 pages of TT searching for it, wondering how in the world I could've missed it every time I've read TT, and I still couldn't find it :P Ah, naive me. So does anyone mind pointing out what the word is and what page number?

[finding-further.livejournal.com]

Page 19.

"Gods damn, gods damn."

Gen curses as he's being led out of the prison into blinding daylight.

[beth-shulman.livejournal.com]

I love that she's thinking about what she puts into her books, about how every word can be dissected, and that she's not preaching to her readers like other authors do.

[elvenjaneite.livejournal.com]

p. 19 paperback. Gen says "Gods d--" several times.

Mods, if this is deemed inappropriate, feel free to delete.

[elvenjaneite.livejournal.com]

Reading it over again, I think you're right--it does come across as very much a parent. It would be interesting to see how she views the potential lessons in her books.

[timeisinfinite.livejournal.com]

Thanks guys. I didn't exactly realize it was very offensive, I guess I should watch it more the next I say "damn it" :P

[reader-marie.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sharing this!

Morality in fiction, and in reading, is something I think about a lot, so it was really good to see that authors (and other readers) are thinking about it too.

[finding-further.livejournal.com]

I must admit, I enjoyed the readers' comments almost as much as the authors' comments. Shannon Hale attracts some very opinionated readers. :o

[zumie-ashlen.livejournal.com]

I swear it's not just that I'm a Sounisian that hers was my favorite response, really!

My parents did this. They let me read what I chose, even if it was adult or whatever. I mean, they would look at it first, but they always let me get it, with this little talk about how I could talk to them if there was something I didn't get or it troubled me.

My reading capabilities catapulted ahead of the rest of my class. I was in the YA section when I was about nine. And you know what? I'm still loathe to leave it. I have tried adult books, and the only difference I've found is that a)they have the choice of foul language, and b)they almost always have a sex scene.

Those are not necessarily bad things, but often it's inserted clumsily into the story, and it often doesn't add to the writing, so I become bored. I think I'll be sticking to YA, on the whole, out of choice, despite age and everything.

[harlyn.livejournal.com]

Huh, I was just reading a review of MWT's work on a parent-recommendation site the other day, and the reviewer complained that they didn't like the cursing. It's interesting that this was a deliberate style choice, and really very clever. If someone's made uncomfortable by "Gods damn", they're not ready for The Thief (much less QoA). It's a really clever idea :-D And QT books have the best covers, bar none.
Kids can definitely censor themselves, too-- I always avoided books taking place on ships, because they consistently included content I was uncomfortable with.

[harlyn.livejournal.com]

Seconded-- I wish more "adult" writers approached the quality of the best YA writers-- *especially* adult fantasy writers.

[harlyn.livejournal.com]

Remember children, do not offend the gods ;-)

[finding-further.livejournal.com]

Yes, very clever style choice. And, having read the books, I had noticed that the jacket covers and copy have major spoilers in them, so much so that I warned a friend to not look too closely at the cover of QoA or read the back flap until she was well into it! Now I understand how calculated it was.

Funny about the books on ships -- I had the opposite reaction. :)

[spellcoats.livejournal.com]

I have tried adult books, and the only difference I've found is that a)they have the choice of foul language, and b)they almost always have a sex scene.

Most adult literature reads like a bad Zutara fanfic.

[earthstar-moon.livejournal.com]

Same here. I've been reading YA since I was 12 and I still read mostly YA novels. I haven't found many fantasy books in the adult section that I care for very much.

I think MWT response hit the nail on the head. Each kid is different and thus should be able to choose books they think they are ready for and make their own mistakes. Parents just have to make it clear that it's okay for them to make mistakes and to talk to them if there's something they don't understand or wish to talk about.

I don't like how some parents now a days won't bother talking with their kids and find out what they're reading/watching. Putting morals into the books/tv isn't the issue. Talking with your own kids about it will have more an effect.

I am curious

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

I always avoided books taking place on ships, because they consistently included content I was uncomfortable with.

Seasickness?
Pillaging pirates?
Overpriced drinks and really bad singing in the karaoke bar?

[beth-shulman.livejournal.com]

LOL. You know, I've never really thought about the gods except as these supernatural people, but it's a good lesson not to offend enormously powerful people. Not that she shoves that down readers' throats, either. I mean, Gen walks around defying people all the time. Although I guess you can say Gen has a unique power. Hmm.

[hapaxnym.livejournal.com]

Totally tangential, but is it Very Wrong that I now have the burning ambition to insert the word "poignant" into every future review of MWT's work?

[spellcoats.livejournal.com]

Because I have a divorced character in my book does not mean I advocate divorce. Or teenage pregnancy. Or child abuse. Or war. Or vampires eating people. I mean, seriously, I do not think vampires should eat people, even though they eat people in my books. Do I have to say that? Perhaps I do.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Lowest Common Denominator (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LowestCommonDenominator). Alternatively, Readers Are Morons (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ViewersAreMorons).

That's actually a really interesting read. I'm consistently baffled by the sect of parents who feel that their children need to be protected from horrible outside influences. Sure, okay, I can get that. But why should the people doing the protecting be everyone except for the parents? As a video gamer, I am so used to seeing that sort of attitude it makes me pity and lose faith in people.

Wait, sorry, children are innocent little lambs who will follow you if you offer them candy. Of course we should police what they read.

As soon as we start to preach or teach something, our readers shut us out.

Hi, Philip Pullman.

P.S., Megan, I will take Lecture 213-2.b, please. Where can I sign up?

[spellcoats.livejournal.com]

HAHAHA NOT AT ALL

[finding-further.livejournal.com]

Too funny!

Yes. You shall go forth and (poignantly) do so!!

Re: I am curious

[harlyn.livejournal.com]

Graphic high seas punishment-- The Slave Dancer turned me off ship-books when I was eight or nine. I have some vague memory of a character getting pulled under the ship on a rope, and effectively being flayed by barnacles, though that might have been some other book...it wasn't all ship books, just any that seemed likely to have a tyrannical captain, or starving crewmen turning to cannibalism. Not including The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, which was awesome :-P

[styromgalleries.livejournal.com]

Just a random note, that's one of my favorite curses in the series, though G-- d--- is not something I would say "in real life." I think it's just imaging Gen saying it. I get such a big grin on my face and I have fun reading it aloud. ;)