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26/11/12 21:14I have to say, 2012 is actually a pretty great year for YA novels with LGBT characters. I read, and really enjoyed, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz; The Difference Between You and Me by Madeleine George (though the ending doesn't quite live up to the wild energy of the voice in the first chapter, which is real and painful and hilarious); Radiant Days* by Elizabeth Hand (much more about art than about sexuality, but one of the best YA books I've ever read about art); and Ask the Passengers by A.S. King, a right book at the right time.
And I haven't even read The Miseducation of Cameron Post (because it's hella long) or David Levithan's new one or Malinda Lo's new one.
It has generally been my expectation that there will only be a couple of big-publisher YA books with LGBT characters in any given year, and of those, you'd be lucky to get one or two that are really well-written and not overly messagey. So, I have no idea if this is a trend -- and no, it's still not enough, especially when it comes to books that are "commercial" as opposed to "literary" -- and none of these books are selling as many copies as I'd prefer, based on my random wild guesses which do not have access to Bookscan data -- but. You ever finish a good book and you get the feeling that all's right with the world? Yeah.
(Tho, have to say, my favorite relationship in any YA book this year is the platonic friendship between Julie and Maddie in Code Name Verity. SO MUCH AWESOME.)
*Should mention that I disagree pretty strongly with this review.
And I haven't even read The Miseducation of Cameron Post (because it's hella long) or David Levithan's new one or Malinda Lo's new one.
It has generally been my expectation that there will only be a couple of big-publisher YA books with LGBT characters in any given year, and of those, you'd be lucky to get one or two that are really well-written and not overly messagey. So, I have no idea if this is a trend -- and no, it's still not enough, especially when it comes to books that are "commercial" as opposed to "literary" -- and none of these books are selling as many copies as I'd prefer, based on my random wild guesses which do not have access to Bookscan data -- but. You ever finish a good book and you get the feeling that all's right with the world? Yeah.
(Tho, have to say, my favorite relationship in any YA book this year is the platonic friendship between Julie and Maddie in Code Name Verity. SO MUCH AWESOME.)
*Should mention that I disagree pretty strongly with this review.
