Sunday September 16th, 2012 Adult Authors Write for Teens

Interest in young adult (YA) books is booming, and adult authors (and publishers!) have taken note. More adult writers are publishing titles for teen readers all the time, but their motives are often a little suspect. How much is the new series simply a money-maker cynically produced for a growing market versus a passion project written by someone who respects the particular interests and needs of the young adult reading audience? Some best-selling YA authors will readily admit that they are writing in this field simply because their editors “asked them to.” Money and fame are also often motivators as there isn’t a lot of prestige in the YA field. Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games is a best-seller and hugely influential on current publishing trends. But for many reviewers, critics, and readers, it is nonetheless not ‘real’ literature. Furthermore, some authors currently writing in the field have spoken disparagingly about what teen readers are looking for in a book, saying that they are more interested in story than well-crafted writing. This may sometimes be true, but I imagine it’s also true for many adult readers!

Perhaps optimistically, I like to imagine that these authors are using the crop of potential new readers as a chance to try something completely different in their writing that might disappoint or surprise usual fans, or as a way to hook new readers who may then move onto their other work. I’d love to hear comments from any fans of these authors. Will you be checking out any of these YA offerings?

Jasper Fforde’s foray is set in a typically off-kilter universe. Jennifer Strange lives in a world where magic has become increasingly scarce. It’s cheaper to use drain cleaner than a spell, and her employment agency for magicians is running out of business. However, something is coming: Big Magic. If you miss Thursday Next, Jennifer Strange in The Last Dragonslayer might be a good substitute.

If you’re more into action than fantasy, try Harlan Coben’s Shelter. Coben introduced teen nephew Mickey into his last adult novel about his hero Myron Bolitar. If you are a fan of Myron, you’ll likely be a fan of Mickey as Coben is writing him as a teen version with the same intelligence and quick wit. Conspiracies, mysteries, and disappearances dominate this fast-paced novel. 

Philippa Gregory, well-known for her historical and psychological fiction, moves into the teen market with the series Order of Darkness. Like her other books, Changeling (book one in the series) is a drama and grounded with some historical fact, but it also includes mystical elements like werewolves, witches, and alchemists. A map of medieval Europe and QR code for links to author notes about the setting and history are also included.






Kathy Reichs’ Temperance Brennan has her own TV show; so why shouldn’t Tempe’s niece Tory Brennan have her own series? Keeping her usual smart action but adding science fiction to the mix, Reichs’ Virals series feature a group of scientifically curious teens who contract a “canine parvovirus” that gives them heightened senses and reflexes that they use to solve a cold-case murder.

Jodi Picoult’s adult books tackling controversial topics have always had crossover appeal with teens, but this year she wrote her first young adult novel with her daughter Samantha van Leer. Between the Lines is a romantic fantasy about a bookworm who discovers that her favourite storybook character is actually a real person who wants out of his book. The narrative perspective moves between fifteen-year-old Delilah and sixteen-year-old Prince Oliver as they try to find a world where they can be together.

Laura Prinselaar



Works Cited:

Crouch, Katie and Grady Hendrix. Writing young Adult Fiction: It’s more fun than going to the prom.
Melson, Brittany. When Adult Authors Take a Walk on the YA Side.