Writers' and Readers' Week at WEGC

Last week I was invited to come and talk at the Writers' and Readers' Week held by Wellington East Girls' College to celebrate the re-opening of their library space.

I say "library space" rather than "new library", because Wellington East Girls' College (WEGC) has had its share of difficulties lately since the main block was found to be substantially below current safety standards for earthquake risk. The library was of course in the main block which is now closed. It's a beautiful old building so we all hope it can be saved. At night when it's lit up, it sails like a ship over the heights of Mt Victoria.

Both staff and students have had to be adaptable and resilient in dealing with a situation that has put stress on everyone. And the girls and teachers must be getting very fit when they often have to walk from the classrooms in the lower village all the way up to the new prefabs on the top field.

The library has had a whole year of homeless-ness, with the librarians using creative and innovative ways of bringing the mobile 'Library-2-U' but they now have an actual room, so the re-opening (to coincide with Readers' and Writers' Week) featured a week of events including a ribbon-cutting and opening ceremony, speeches and a book quiz. The girls were great to talk to and I really enjoyed my session.

One of the things I talked about (and read) was the story I submitted for the BNZ Young Writers' Award when I was in fifth form (now Year 11) at New Plymouth Girls' High School. It was Highly Commended and I told the girls that reading the judge's report, by Noel Hilliard, was the first time I had ever had any kind of contact with a real live writer.

The story is called Creation and you can find it on my website. I hadn't read it out loud before, because usually I talk to younger children at Writers in Schools visits to primary and intermediate schools. I thought afterwards that I should have warned them that they might be a bit confused for the first page or two (handwritten of course, no computers)  but that hopefully all would become clear, and I think it did.

I hope they're enjoying their new library space. And cheers to all school librarians who do such a great job (not always under such difficult circumstances.)

The nature of ash by Mandy Hager

Ashley and his brother Mikey are the two sons of Shaun McCarthy, well-known activist and union supporter. Having been brought up in the shadow of his father’s activities, Ashley is ready to savour the independence of uni studies and hostel life, but his break from home doesn’t last long. A late night knock on the door brings the police, bad news and a return to Wellington, where the news only gets worse. Ashley, his brother, and two other teenagers they barely know, Travis and Jiao, set off on what begins as an escape from danger, but turns into a mission to uncover the truth and save the innocent.



Ash is forced to cope with grief, loss and betrayal, confront his own prejudices and take on responsibilities he feels too young for. He has to try and work out who he can trust and risk getting it wrong for the sake of doing what he believes in. He sees his own failures and mistakes: Ash by name, ash by nature. The stuff that gets discarded. The lightweight residue of other people’s fiery lives.

But we also see him through the eyes of others who recognise all the things he gets right: If I’d ever had a son, I’d want him to be just like you. Don’t ever change, Ashley McCarthy.

This is a fast-moving and thought-provoking story meant for an older YA audience, partly because of the stronger language (which you can read more about on Mandy's blog) but also because of the more complex issues involved. Terrorism and political intrigue make for a gripping plot, while at the same time, the book dwells on love, loyalty, the difficult business of growing up and the nature of family: I finally understand where she’s at. No family means no life. No Love, simple as that

Despite the chaos unfolding around them, the book ends on a note of hope. There are good people out there – some of whom Ash and his friends have already met - who just need to be awakened to take action on the side of right.

Trapped outside a cage and Gutted by Ken Benn

With this trilogy, Ken Benn is adding to (or perhaps initiating) the Palmerston North noir school of gritty young adult thriller realism. The first in the series, Lethal deliveries, was released by Thomson New House in 2007 before being picked up by Penguin and re-released in 2010. The second (Trapped outside a cage) and third (Gutted) have now appeared simultaneously.

       

The teenager characters are smart-mouthed 14- and 15-year-olds from the wrong side of town. School doesn’t seem to play a large part in their lives and they live in the shadow of a sleazy underworld featuring drugs and gangs. Their parents are largely absent or useless, but the kids themselves are resilient, resourceful and able to cope with verbal and physical attacks (inline hockey sounds pretty rough) and threatening situations.

The books are told in short chapters focusing in turn on the main characters, and are full of references to streets and buildings in Palmerston North and surrounding small towns. (Who says nothing ever happens in the Manawatu? Obviously it does, if you know where to look.) They will tell you a lot about inline hockey, as well as what it’s like inside a youth detention centre and how to perform wheel spins in a deserted car park. Ken Benn teaches maths and physics in Palmerston North, and he’s previously commented on his research for Lethal deliveries, including talking to social workers, young criminals and their victims and even sleeping under a bridge with a group of streetkids. I found the scenes with Jack and Weta (in the local youth justice facility) some of the most convincing.

The trilogy wraps up to a tight finish, with some last minute revelations about motives and relationships. Teenage readers may find the books are longer than they look, with a lot of type on each page and few blank pages. (They might also notice that a 15-year-old has a driver’s licence, which is no longer possible.)

The Ripliad

Well, it turns out that there are some good non-vampire reads out there for teenage readers after all.

In 1955, Patricia Highsmith wrote a psychological thriller called The talented Mr Ripley. Forty four years later, it was made into a film starring Matt Damon, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow. I've heard of the film, but never seen it, and I didn't realise that it was based on Patricia Highsmith's book, or that she went on to write four more Ripley novels which are collectively known as the Ripliad.

Always so exciting to enjoy a book by an author whose work you don't know, and realise there are several more to go! I guess this is how young readers feel when they discover a new series. Sometimes you can gorge on too many at once and end up feeling like you've eaten too much choolate, so I've stopped for a break after the first two books. But what a great character Tom Ripley is: part charming, part repulsive, mixed up together in a way that reminds me of Lolita, so you are half horrifed at what's going on and half hoping he gets away wtih it.  

I don't like a lot of modern crime novels - too graphic and too unpleasant, but I did enjoy meeting Tom Ripley. And one of the reasons it's great for a teenage reader is because Identity is the big theme in English at this year level, and Tom Ripley certainly has some serious identity issues.

Non-supernatural books...

... are sometimes hard to find, at least if you're looking for YA books.

I've just been trawling through the YA shelves in the library, trying to choose some holiday reading for a keen teenage reader who isn't keen on supernatural romances. It isn't easy.

So what is on offer? Lots of characters defined by their capital letters: the Chasers, the Forgotten, the Immortals, the Demon King, the Storks (not birds, but an ancient order of women with mystical powers, if you're wondering.)  Blood and ashes and other nasty stuff with dark covers. You can choose from a  "scary, creepy, awful and awesome" read, a "gripping blood soaked tale" or " chilling trilogy with a deeply frightening story." There's a a boy who is supposed to be crowned Vampire King, a girl who can see and talk to ghosts and another girl who hunts, traps and kills demons, hellhounds and other supernatural creatures, but isn't quite sure who she is.

I'm sure some kids like to read these books - at least, I hope they do, because at least they would be reading something. I hope it's not just a matter of publishers jumping on the post-Twilight supernatural bandwagon and assuming kids will like them. You have to dig hard to find a book that reflects what a teenager's life is like today. Or to find books like Parvana's journey and The heaven shop by writers like Deborah Ellis, who deal with important issues like racism and refugees, and kids who face real-life problems.

I also wonder if all the writers writing these books actually like writing about vampires, werewolves and the rest. Again, some of them must, but what about all the others? Are they also doing it just to fit the trend?

But there is help out there. The Daily Telegraph has booklists for young readers including "Vampire-less books for teenagers" - so there you go.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/children_sbookreviews/9146440/Ask-Lorna-vampire-less-books-for-teenagers.html