tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3459102772155347338.post3801926993190155064..comments2023-12-18T04:15:28.686-05:00Comments on Ten Block Walk: The Great American (YA) NovelMolly O'Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14812748747208236745noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3459102772155347338.post-75444003612834165402009-05-04T11:44:00.000-04:002009-05-04T11:44:00.000-04:00Hi Molli - good to see you over at Harpers.
Are y...Hi Molli - good to see you over at Harpers.<br /><br />Are you up for that marketing interview now? :)<br /><br />i think there is a great american novel of this time. teens arent necessarily looking for labels - they are looking for a connection :)Shelli (srjohannes)https://www.blogger.com/profile/17123227845032402600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3459102772155347338.post-12893241083938328582009-05-03T23:59:00.000-04:002009-05-03T23:59:00.000-04:00Ah, well this is almost a one or two glass of wine...Ah, well this is almost a one or two glass of wine question then, isn't it? Because one question begets another, which begets another...<br /><br />So here's where I got sidetracked..."The Great American YA Novel" - (not a very auspicious start when I'm stuck on the title, is it?) But here we go...it's Sunday night....let's babble a bit, shall we? <br /><br />In this day and age, with blended families, communities and global economies...can we define a novel by it's geographic boundaries? Do we want to? Is Mark inquiring about a YA story set in America? Written by an American author? Measured by American readers?<br /><br />Because it seems to me that the underlying themes, which tend to be universal, and how they are told in story are what makes a novel great. And as you pointed out, different themes resonate with different readers at different times of their lives, so it could be an ever-changing winner.<br /><br />Have I blathered too much? Back to sipping my wine....Kiki Hamiltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10952786303617206818noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3459102772155347338.post-67074209385410048462009-05-03T22:34:00.000-04:002009-05-03T22:34:00.000-04:00I think that you're totally right. There's an ass...I think that you're totally right. There's an assumption (at least to my mind) that "Great American Novel" means there's a finished American experience that it captures in literary greatness. There's certainly literary greatness in YA. But YA is about being UNfinished. The endings aren't endings, they are beginnings. A good YA book holds so many possibilities, and being a teenager holds so many possibilites, so how could there be just one Great American YA Novel? Maybe there are defining books of different generations (FEED for the 2000s?), but no one Great.curiousmarthahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01363666435706626551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3459102772155347338.post-82595173669708130212009-05-03T19:57:00.000-04:002009-05-03T19:57:00.000-04:00I totally agree with you. I think that it has been...I totally agree with you. I think that it has been written but it's so hard to choose which one. The books that seem moving to me, that affected my life when I was a teen are different from yours and from so many other people. Since teen lit is about focusing on the self, maybe the great YA novel is unique to each individual and a book that each individual found helped discover ones self. <br /><br />:-) <br />Nisha Sharma<br />http://www.nisha-sharma.comUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15256603483650889196noreply@blogger.com