June
24
Tags
The Significant Burden of Being a Grownup by Andrew Smith
In the summer of 2011, an awful lot of terrible things happened to me. It was kind of like the end of the world in many ways (cue apocalypse inspiration). My son, who was only 16, was getting ready to leave home and go away to college, and then one of those predictable and periodic internet/social media firestorms erupted over an opinion piece published by the Wall Street Journal describing the harm inflicted on young people by the dark and negative content in Young Adult literature.
You know the piece, I’m sure. The author happened to name me first, quoting from my novel The Marbury Lens, as though I were some sort of apex predator in the Axis of Child-Damaging Literary Evil.
I take things like that really personally. I know I shouldn’t, but as a parent, and as someone who is very involved with young people, being labeled as a danger to kids was something that I actually lost sleep over. The WSJ piece became the last straw to me, and during that summer of 2011, I decided I was going to quit writing for publication.
And I know—if I were only more of a grownup, I could probably handle mean-spirited comments and criticisms more effectively (I should show you the gallery of screen shots I have of terribly painful and mean personal comments people have made online about me and my work).
After making that decision to quit, I went to work writing a novel called Grasshopper Jungle, which I NEVER was going to allow anyone to read, but also in which I felt free to spew out all the frustrations I’d internalized about so many bad ideas—things like war, the rigidity of gender expectations in society today, genetically modified food crops, the vacuous lack of compassion America has toward the poor and unfortunate, and censorship and book-banning.
But, trust me, it’s funny.
When I quit being an author dude, I also severed my relationship with my first literary agent. I was, after all, actually going to quit. And if you’re choosing unemployment, you don’t need a math degree to know that fifteen percent of nothing is eighty-five percent less than nothing.
Well, I had become friends with this other agent dude named Michael Bourret, who managed to convince me that Grasshopper Jungle was a good—if not tremendously gross—idea (even though I want to make this endlessly clear that I was convinced that nobody in their right mind would EVER want to publish it).
Okay. Well, I have no problem admitting that I was wrong there.
The thing is, I wrote Grasshopper Jungle exclusively for myself (which, to be quite honest, is pretty much how I wrote all my books).
I suppose this is a really lengthy introduction to what I wanted to talk about today, which involves one of the more recent predictable and periodic internet/social media firestorms criticizing Young Adult literature, the gist of it being that adults who read YA should be ashamed of themselves, being that they’re grownups and stuff, and YA is just for dumb kids.
So, a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to speak at Ellen Hopkins’ Greater Carson City Literature Festival, and a member of the audience raised his hand and asked the beginning of a question.
His question, because I cut him off, started like this:
“How do you feel about some of the issues you raise in your novels in light of the fact that you write for kids…”
Well, to be honest, that was a fairly complete question, but I launched into an answer before his virtual question mark could materialize, saying this:
I do not write for kids; I write for readers.
People who think what I do is kid-lit are people who think YA is an age level, which it is not. YA is a genre that has truly been defining itself as such, particularly in the last decade or so, which accounts for its broad readership across so many age brackets. What defines YA as a genre, as opposed to an age level, is its careful examination of essential adolescent experiences, things that people who are decades beyond that age level still revisit on a daily basis. Those experiences in adolescence profoundly shaped who I am today, but the swirling chaos of the adolescent mind is generally incapable of stepping back and taking a sober examination of what is really going on. And the curiosity—the wondering why is this happening to me, could I have done something differently?—never actually diminishes over time.
And this is why people who can vote, hire accountants and gardeners, purchase alcohol legally, or start their own LLC (whatever that is), love to read YA.
I’m not even going to get into the pointless discussion about age floors and ceilings for what I write; I’m too busy trying to figure out if I need a living will and whether or not I should charter my own LLC.
Because I am such a grownup.
Andrew Smith is a native-born Californian who spent most of his formative years traveling the world. His university studies focused on Political Science, Journalism, and Literature. He has published numerous short stories and articles. Grasshopper Jungle is his seventh novel. He lives in Southern California.
Nerdy Book Club 
I enjoyed reading about how you wrote this book. Grasshopper Jungle sounds like it’s a good read and packs a punch. It’s a good thing you carried on writing! Best wishes with it.
Wow! I do think YA is a genre as opposed to an age level. I don’t think, however, that our adolescent experiences shape us that much, and I also think that people whose adolescence was traumatic (abusive father/mother, bullying, etc) should be able to feel that they can forget it and that it doesn’t define them personally, because what happened to you isn’t who you are (in my opinion). You are saying the opposite, that in fact, it defines them (and us), or at least that is what I understood from the post. I think that message is wrong.
Otherwise, I agree completely with what you wrote and I totally understand why you got upset; you’re a human being, of course you get hurt by such things. Expecting anything else from you (regardless of your age) would be unrealistic in my opinion.
Thank you for sharing this post, and it made me want to buy your novel – especially because you address the rigidity of gender roles in today’s society, a topic which I often ponder and write about as well.
Thank you for sharing this great post.
As a former elementary school librarian, what kids loved to read always amazed me. When The Hunger Games trilogy came out, I thought the idea of teens hunting and killing other teens was not appropriate for elementary school so I didn’t get the books even though the kids asked for them. I wish I could go back in time and change that decision. Of course they all got the books from other sources. I asked one of my library helpers why they liked the book so much. She said they loved the violence (and I suppose they liked the love story part too). Of course the story was not all violence and not all kids of the same age could handle it but the ones that could found a story they “hungered” for. Many parents read the trilogy too. Even “old” people, grandparents, in my book club read the trilogy and loved it. Age levels on books are only guidelines, not hard and fast rules. I would love to read Grasshopper Jungle!
Grasshopper Jungle is the funniest book I read all year. I read it during our 10 minute reading time every day. The only complaint I ever had about it was that my students began watching me read it and waiting for my reactions rather than reading their own books. The wait list for it was very long—another copy to begin next school year might be a good thing.
Bravo! I love the comment that you don’t write for kids, you write for readers. I have found some of my favorite reads in the YA section. Readers want good books. Many future readers are looking for the right book. Thank you for sticking with your passion and sharing it with all readers!
“I do not write for kids; I write for readers.” Love. Love. Love!
Reblogged this on byrdonbooks and commented:
I remember the WSJ article Andrews refers to in this blog. It’s very interesting to read an author’s point of view. YA is a genre, not an age group or grade level.
The events and experiences of adolescence contribute to the shape and color of our adult personalities. They matter very much. Disconnecting from and forgetting traumatic experiences can be debilitating and destructive. They don’t have to define us, but when we take the time to remember and explore such experiences–both good and bad–especially through reading and writing, we garner opportunities to re-experience them from a new plane of perspective. In doing so, personal growth and transformation is ripe with possibility and potential. Reading YA has the power to reconnect us, allow us to feel, to heal what hurts and to celebrate the joyous memories of youth. Kudos to you for not quitting writing when so many readers need you!
A very interesting perspective on why you write what you write. I agree completely that our adolescent experiences do define us as people and the case for this is only getting stronger in the scientific fields. One of my good friends is basing his dissertation on it, and it is always interesting to talk to him and hear about just how profoundly adolescent experiences impact an entire life. I’m looking forward to reading Grasshopper Jungle soon and I recently saw it on the shelves in missouri which was really cool. Best of luck in the next endeavor.
Reblogged this on American Soustannie and commented:
I don’t know Andrew Smith’s work but will definitely be looking out for “Grasshopper Jungle”. Because I LOVE reading YA literature, firstly – not all of it; I dislike the really dark stuff (and it’s out there), and I REALLY dislike the stuff about nasty girls doing mean things to each other. But beyond that crud, you’ll often find the most creatively adventurous out-of-the-box imagining in YA lit.
What particularly encourages me about Smith’s comments here, however, is his statement that YA is a genre, it’s not about the age of the readers. That is so true, yet it had literally never occurred to me! It gives a whole new perspective to my own book, “Raven’s Way”, and for the first time in a long while I feel inclined to dig it out, throw off the restrictive bs I’ve “learned” about “writing for kids”, and get serious about rewriting.
Andrew Smith writes like no other author I’ve read in my entire life. His authentic voice and deft, imaginative storytelling shall endure in the same way Hemingway, Hawthorne, Fitzgerald have endured. My grandchildren will be reading his books I’m sure. I sincerely hope he publishes until he no longer can because his body of work deserves tremendous canonizing. Seriously.
I loved Grasshopper Jungle- I laughed out loud in many places and thought it was just brilliant. Thank you for deciding to publish it. And for the record, I am not a “young adult” and like this piece because it explains why I have come to enjoy so many YA books!
Reading this at the library, on the juvenile floor, nodding in agreement as I wait for my youngest to select her books for the week. I decide to pick up your book, and when I stand up to look, it’s in a display with the poster “Warning! These books are radioactive!” Serendipity!
Just spent part of an evening (at a bar) discussing this topic of YA books and who they are for. We also came to the conclusion that YA books or all books really are written for the reading – who ever they may be! Why are we always trying to level books to a certain age?
Finished Grasshopper Jungle as a e-book now need a hard copy because I need to share and discuss this wild book with someone!
I love the idea that what makes a book YA is the examination of at those essential adolescent experiences. It’s both for those who are in the thick of the experience and the chaos and for those who are a touch removed from the dramatic ups and downs of the teen years, but want to read about human experiences.
I can think of quite a few books that have had an “adult cover” and “teen” cover–the marketing people make those choices.
Thank you for writing books for you that other readers love. I’m glad you didn’t leave publishing altogether.
And a huge thank-you to Michael Bourret for convincing you to write Grasshopper Jungle. My sales rep sent me an ARC and asked for a comment (it does have a lot of bad words and talk about sex in it, after all). I read it the first time in two days, and read it for the second time in the next two days. Great book!
And a ditto to everyone else’s comments about reading YA lit.
You made me chuckle. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this!
I think kids like the YA books that deal with difficult topics because they appreciate being given the respect of the author treating them like they can handle something difficult. I think that books that shy away from difficult topics can feel predictable and trite to students who have read a million of them.
You’re so awesome!!! I have Grasshopper Jungle on my night stand right now and I am 32. Take that critics… YA for life:)
The paragraph beginning “People who think what I do is kid-lit…” says what we need to understand about YA.
Reading it gave me a sense of nostalgia, which is also one appeal of YA. I remember thinking about my own high school days in the 70s reading Meg Medina’s “Burn, Baby, Burn.”
I loved your story. Thank you for sharing. And for publishing. I love to read anything, but picture books, middle-grade, and YA are my favorites!