Dystopic YA fiction serves a purpose

[Gazella]

Originally Posted by peachiekene

I read The Giver when it was first released and I was in the 3rd grade.
It blew my mind at the time. I own it now and I still love it.

Keep in mind that The Giver is NOT YA. It's middle grade.
--I feel like making the distinction because I find I can't get into most YA, but I don't have an issue with middle grade. ^^;

It is one of my all time favorites.
There is a bit of weirdness in it. I didn't notice it as a kid, but as an adult, it was like... hmmm that doesn't quite fit. It's nothing that pulled me out of the immersion, but more something that I was thinking about afterward.

Spoiler:

It has to do with the birthrate compared to the assumed size of the community. I'm not going to go too much into it here, but as an adult I can see that it doesn't add up. It just went over my head as a kid.

If they think that, there is no way they could have actually read the book.


I read the first 2 companion books. The first one was an accident, I didn't know it was set in the same world or supposed to be part of a series.

I do NOT recommend them. The first of the 3 is okay. It's set in the same world, but in a different community and has no direct ties to The Giver within the book itself. It was enjoyable, but no where near as good as The Giver. I did not like the second book at all. There's a lot of plot holes. Big gaping ones.
I have not read the third.

Yes, I agree with your post. The Giver is a children's book. And reading the spoiler, you're right, thinking about it, it is odd.

That's why I haven't read the companion books. I read the summary of each one and I didn't feel like it's as good as the The Giver. Prior to reading the novel, I read its summary and I got really interested which is why I read it but that wasn't the same with the companion books and I don't think I'll read them. Thanks for letting me know your thoughts on them.

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by JDK1962

For those interested in the genre, may I recommend Wyndham's The Chrysalids? Read it for the first time last week. It was first published in 1955, but you'd never be able to tell...reads like current dystopian YA fiction by someone who can write.

Surprised you think Wyndham is suitable for YA. He was writing as early as the 30's and is British and it shows in his style. I read an extract of the Kraken Wakes in a journal for kids when I was a kid. It scared the crap out of me! Good writer though.

[Rizla]

The Giver is a rare gem. Could be a weird for younger readers. I found it weird

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Rizla

Surprised you think Wyndham is suitable for YA. He was writing as early as the 30's and is British and it shows in his style. I read an extract of the Kraken Wakes in a journal for kids when I was a kid. It scared the crap out of me! Good writer though.

RE-BIRTH is great and definitely a juvenile/YA title by any era's standards.
http://www.amazon.com/Rebirth-John-W.../dp/0345274504

A better title than Chrysalids, too.

[JDK1962]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

RE-BIRTH is great and definitely a juvenile/YA title by any era's standards.
http://www.amazon.com/Rebirth-John-W.../dp/0345274504

A better title than Chrysalids, too.

Neither title is particularly good, but I suppose Telepathic Mutants from Labrador! would have been a bit "on the nose."

[Gazella]

I'm surprised that no one mentioned Hugh Howey's Wool series.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by JDK1962

Neither title is particularly good, but I suppose Telepathic Mutants from Labrador! would have been a bit "on the nose."

...Labrador and Sealand...
(In the 50's/60's the nuke war sparing the boondocks concept was ground to dust. Then came the idea of nuclear winter and ozone holes and the cliche was put to rest.)

Anyway...
I ran into that one in a SFBC anthology (A TREASURY OF GREAT SCIENCE FICTION--whenwhich it truly was) in my teens under REBIRTH and loved it. I never understood why there was such a fuss over CHRYSALIS and none over the flawless REBIRTH until I finally tracked down a copy.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Rizla

Surprised you think Wyndham is suitable for YA. He was writing as early as the 30's and is British and it shows in his style.

What does being British have to do with it, as a matter of interest?

[frahse]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Their main purpose is to sell books by playing to teenage angst, to my mind. (Which, I hasten to add, I have absolutely no disagreement with. Anything that sells books is good.)

In song parlance(parliance), it is called "the hook."

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by HarryT

What does being British have to do with it, as a matter of interest?

50's and early 60's SF has a dystinct dystopian tone and themes. Regardless of setting and protagonists; you don't need a byline to tell an Aldiss, Blish, or Wyndham from an Anderson, Dickson, Norton, etc.

[Tom Swift]

Wyndham's The Crystallids is a popular book in the British Columbia education system. (I am a school teacher). I think it is usually read by Grade 10. Same with Chocky and The Midwich Cuckoos. If I recall, I read all of these in high school. I had already known about his work, after reading Day of the Triffids when I was 13 and having it freak me out.

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by HarryT

What does being British have to do with it, as a matter of interest?

Perhaps some people think of the British as being more mature? Not me for sure as I have been to Britain (England) and if there are a funnier and more lighthearted (apparently) people I want to meet them.

Still the British do have their dark and gruesome moments and do them well and excel at urban fantasy.

I probably read 100 British authored books a year and am pretty sure that many could be labeled YA as they are well written, unpretentious, and not overtly disgusting. Just my opinion mind you. Many of my (still) favorite British authors I started reading before I was 16 and I have a slight preference for British TV even if I sometimes need subtitles to understand the dialects. Long live the BBC.

And while I don't read the classic dystopian literature these days (done that already for much of it) the term was coined by British MP John Stuart Mill in 1868.

Helen

[Synamon]

I'm listening to The Giver right now with a 17 year old foreign exchange student. It's a little young for her (as has been previously mentioned it's best for early teens), but the precision of language in the book is excellent for anyone with English as a second language.

I read The Crysallids back in junior high and agree with others that Wyndham's books are fine at the YA level. Personally, I don't find dystopian stories scary or dark, instead they make me appreciate the world we have.

[NickyWithNook]

I really liked all 4 of the Giver series, and the last book brings them all together and makes them make sense.

[Namekuseijin]

the best thing about this books is that I'm not required to read them