I Need to Get Out More #2 - Event: Young Adult Fiction - Coming Out of the Closet

So if you read my post from last week, you'll know that this is this is the first of, hopefully many in my brand new feature which basically involves me telling you about my adventures outside of my flat. And I use the word 'adventures' in the loosest possible way. Said adventures might involve me only going for a short walk in my local surrounds. You have been warned...

Anyway, my first post is slightly overdue. This event took place a few weeks ago and if I don't write something up straight away, it does tend to take me a while to complete the task. But, I hope this will be no less informative and entertaining than if it were written the day after it happened ;)

Now, before I start, a bit of a warning is required. It occurred to me that this is going to contain some pretty massive spoilers to a book that I went to great pains to review previously without giving away anything. So, if you haven't read What's Up With Jody Barton? by Hayley Long, I really do advise you to stop reading this RIGHT NOW. And then once you have read the book, go and read my review of it (although the lack of spoilers will be wasted on you by this point) and then come back to read this post....right, have you done all of that? Good, now we can begin....

And the other good thing about author events...?

Young Adult Fiction: Coming Out of the Closet was hosted by Booktrust and originally came to fruition in order to try and find out why there are so few LGBT characters in UK young adult fiction and what can be done about this. To find out more background information about the panel, it's probably best to look at their detailed bios on the Free Word Centre website, but participating were authors James Dawson (Hollow Pike) and Hayley Long (What's Up With Jody Barton?), Emily Thomas from Hot Key Books and participant in Stonewall Young Talent Programme, Catherine Hennigan. The event was chaired by children's book consultant, Alexandra Strick.

Why did the authors include LGBT characters in their books?

It wouldn't be completely out of line to assume that the inclusion of a LGBT character in YA book might well be influenced by a desire to promote this issue. However, James Dawson talked about the thinking behind the inclusion of gay characters in Hollow Pike and how he was very conscious about making the sexuality secondary to the plot. He wanted to write a book that was more about friendship than romance. In the case of What's Up with Jody Barton?, Hayley Long described how the character of Jody 'found her' - she was slightly scuppered in her wish to write a YA novel from a male perspective but boredom set in when she started her story about twin sisters falling for the same guy and she decided to be a bit...shall we say, sneaky? Those of you who have this book will know what I mean, and she definitely succeeded in keeping Jody's gender a secret until the big reveal. She told us of how she was motivated as a reader and a writer by this challenge and how she thought it might well be very rewarding for her usual fan base - to think you're going into a certain type of story  and end up some place else.


Do you feel you have a responsibility as a 'gay' writer?

Signed copies!

James Dawson said being labelled as anything was the least of his worries - there were different facets of his book that came with different stigmas. The 'teen' label is often looked down on and some people seemed more concerned with the witchcraft element than the sexuality of some of the characters. At the end of the day, you can't control what a reader will take away from your book. Hayley Long made the point that Jody Barton is essentially a story about a teenager with an unrequited crush, and so this universal theme appeals to all, not just the gay community.





A publisher's perspective...

When addressing the lack of LGBT characters in UKYA, Emily Thomas's first point was that they simply don't have the manuscripts to work with and there are not enough 'proper storytellers' doing this at the moment. First and foremost she is looking for a great story, but when the issue starts to over shadow this, then she steps away - the key is getting the issue and the story woven together effectively. The subject of LGBT YA fiction in the US was raised a couple of times and she made the point that this genre tends to have a more analytical style which doesn't often translate well with UK readers.


A reader's perspective...

x2!

Catherine Hennigan talked about her own experiences as a gay teen, looking for books that she could identify with and what she expects from fiction that contains LGBT issues and characters today. She said she remembered a lot of books focusing on negative issues in the past, such as bullying and mental health whereas as all she was looking for was 'advice' - how to ask other girls out, how to make relationships work - the sort of things that gay teenagers now find on the internet. These days, books with LGBT characters are more for enjoyment, rather information.




One very interesting question that was raised was how should the LGBT elements of a book be marketed? Hayley Long said that leaving LGBT references off the back cover of a book is sometimes as important as mentioning them - some gay teenagers might not want to read anything marketed as 'gay' and not mentioning the LGBT characters or story could help the book reach a wider audience. Catherine Hennigan said she specifically didn't want to see books targeted at gay teenagers, because that would be 'preaching to the converted' - it's more important that everyone reads these books.

One matter of consensus was that this whole process needs to start at and earlier age, by having more picture books and early readers featuring same sex couples.

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So what do you think? I found the comment about US YA fiction an interesting one - do you agree with Emily Thomas? When I think of LGBT characters in YA, one of the first books that spring to mind is Will Grayson Will Grayson. I agree that the style is very analytical, but I'm not sure this necessarily means it wouldn't appeal to UK teenagers. And the marketing of these titles - one audience member made a very interesting point that the pink cover of Jody Barton might put off the teenage boys - exactly the sort of audience these books should be reaching out to. Do you think it's more important for YA with LGBT characters and elements to appeal to just the gay community or everybody?

What are your favourite books with LGBT characters and why have they left an impression? Or have you encountered any that you think got it wrong? Thoughts and feelings please...

YA REVIEW - 'What's Up With Jody Barton?', Hayley Long (Macmillan, 2012)

Me and my sister are twins. She's Jolene and I'm Jody. We've both got brown hair, we're both left-handed and we both have these weirdly long little toes which make us look like long-toed mutants. But apart from that, I'd say we're fairly different. Well, actually, we're a lot different . . . It's hard enough being one half of the world's least identical twins, without both of you falling for the same guy... Jolene's turned flirting into a fine art, but Jody? Not so much. And as if a twinny love triangle wasn't messy enough . . . there's something nobody knows about Jody Barton. Something BIG. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

It's feels very strange to be writing a review of this book, because, honestly the best advice I can give you before you read this book is not to read anything about this book before you start this book. Seriously, stop reading this review. NOW.

...Only kidding. You know I would never partake in any of the spoiling of the clever story without huge amounts of prior warning. But that doesn't take away from the fact that this is going to be a tricky one. Hmmm...

Let's just start with the things I loved about this one then, shall we? Well, for starters, Jody. Such a loveable character in desperate need of a hug. I can't imagine any teenager who wouldn't identify with Jody on some level or another. Even though their particular dilemma could appear very specific on the surface, we all been there - falling in love with completely the wrong person and developing a slight obsession with River Phoenix....haven't we?

And this is properly funny stuff, with Jody making a very amusing and informative narrator as well as there being some cracking and vivid supporting characters. One particular gag, courtesy of Jody and Jolene's mum, was a right corker that made me guffaw into my brew. But I won't spoil it for you here, adding to the list of yet another thing I won't mention about this book. In fact, I loved all the supporting characters and it's not too often that a contemporary YA gets the whole dialogue thing spot on, even old lady speak...

"If they took Tony Blair and Barack Obama and the ayatollah and that tiny little Frenchman with the big heels and that hunky Russian prime minister, Vladimir Rasputin and put them altogether in my front room with a great big pot of tea and a jar of ginger hard-bakes, you'd have every one of the world's problems sorted out by the end of the day. You mark my words!"

Have any truer words even been said? No, they haven't. Tea Rocks. End of discussion.

Right, there's no getting around it. You may or may not have guessed that there is a bit of a twisty twist lurking amongst the pages. Ok, a lot of a twisty twist. And I'm not usually a fan of twisty-twists because most of the time they're not that twisty. But this one of proper...corkscrew perm twisty. Yes, THAT twisty. It's ace.

But now I shall distract you from the twistyness with one of the many brilliant facts that are littered throughout this book. It's no secret that I love contemporary YA, especially contemporary YA set in my lovely home city of London. And this is a proper London book, complete with references to buses that pass through my neighbourhood. So lets leave it to Jody to give us a fact about London...

"I read on the internet that 7,172,091 people live in London. That's more than seven million people. They all wander down Willesden High Road at some point."

It's true you know. I'm one of that seven million and I have wandered down Willesden High Road. We were going to a gerbil breeder's flat to collect our new gerbils. True story.

Move along now. No twist to see here....

(Just remember to read the book though because it's rather brilliant)