tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4813061146389790146.post2972190711210529508..comments2023-03-30T07:16:44.476-04:00Comments on Trac Changes: Why YA? Are Teens Just Better at Saving the World?Rachel Starkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12888199803208394249noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4813061146389790146.post-59861647211660051492010-12-16T12:01:38.484-05:002010-12-16T12:01:38.484-05:00I think you nailed it about teenagers already bein...I think you nailed it about teenagers already being in flux as a catalyst for a transformation story arc, but I also think it isn't the whole story. Adults are also capable of change. Why is an adult transformation less satisfying? If anything, it could embody more tension within a narrative. <br /><br />To me, what defines teenagers as the world-changing transformation junkies is the immediacy of everything. Not just the intensity of their beliefs and their propensity for failure, but the speed with which change can be affected. How many teenagers find out about cruelty to animals and instantly go vegetarian? I'd be willing to bet the number is higher than the number of adults, not because adults care less, but because adults take into consideration the ramifications of a change like altering diet and nutritional requirements and extra cost and budgeting. For a teenager, those things are almost entirely unconsidered, allowing for a major, hugely impacting change in the span of a chapter, if necessary. The revelatory moment is more intense and less gradual. It allows for a plot to be more immediate and to have unforeseen twists because the character doesn't consider those things in the moment of deciding.<br /><br />I agree that their passions and intensity are part of the reason, but I feel it's less because of the passion itself and more because of what it allows the author to do. I'm not sure how coherent that was. Essentially I agree with your conclusions but differ on the why.Robynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02801181051865892741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4813061146389790146.post-88954623431660704252010-12-11T12:35:01.612-05:002010-12-11T12:35:01.612-05:00Thanks for addressing my questions. I was kind of ...Thanks for addressing my questions. I was kind of stunned when I began reading and then saw my name. I also appreciate that you mentioned some books with transformations occurring in older characters. I still have not read <i>The Kite Runner</i> and now I will have to put it on my ever-growing list. As exciting and idealistic as the young are, I hope that with the trend of YA epics, people don't lose hope in what us older folk are capable of (even those of us in our twenties). Anyway, thank you for the thought you put into your response!Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11383289928500462866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4813061146389790146.post-17143301911781057782010-12-09T20:32:49.879-05:002010-12-09T20:32:49.879-05:00Excellent post! I wonder too whether YA isn't ...Excellent post! I wonder too whether YA isn't strengthened by the greater sense of idealism of the young--and the sense that they really can change the world. For those of us who write and/or read YA, it's easy to slip into remembering that sense of "We can do this! We need only the will and desire!"<br /><br />And yet, as you point out, in the KITE RUNNER, the fact that Amir doesn't transform until much later in life makes it all the more heartrending. After all, the teen is already in the process of transformation. But for Amir, it was a conscious choice...Vicky Alvear Shecterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17570828339389206203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4813061146389790146.post-53378949864112444442010-12-08T21:25:19.435-05:002010-12-08T21:25:19.435-05:00People mature and learn, some a whole lot and some...People mature and learn, some a whole lot and some practically not at all. Character never changes, though. That said, if anyone will change the world for the better, it will be the young. If anything is clear, it's that we adults will never address the major problems.<br /><br />Please visit my blog and leave a comment. Thanks!David A. Bedfordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17547787738605175886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4813061146389790146.post-59259100380239427462010-12-08T10:25:35.170-05:002010-12-08T10:25:35.170-05:00Great post! I've been thinking about this subj...Great post! I've been thinking about this subject a lot, and you succinctly put into words some of the reasons YA and epic quests work so well together.Heather Jeannehttp://www.beatrixcottonpants.comnoreply@blogger.com