THE GATEWAY THROUGH WHICH THEY CAME by Heather Marie

Last month, on my other blog, I featured the lovely Heather Marie and her new book, THE GATEWAY THROUGH WHICH THEY CAME, which debuts today! I also know that our own Angelica R. Jackson will be on an upcoming the Writer's Bloc panel with her on January 3, from 1-3pm.

Here's a bit more about THE GATEWAY THROUGH WHICH THEY CAME:

From Goodreads:

To seventeen-year-old Aiden Ortiz, letting the dead walk through his body to reach the other side comes with the territory. Being a Gateway isn’t an easy job, but someone’s gotta send Bleeders where they belong. Heaven. Salvation. Call it whatever you want. Dead is dead. But when his search for Koren Banks––the girl who went mysteriously missing seven months ago––leaves him with more questions than answers, he finds himself involved in something far more sinister and beyond his control. 

With the threat of the Dark Priest's resurrection, and his plan to summon his demon brothers from hell, Aiden is left to discover his identity before the Dark Priest's curse infecting his blood consumes him, and before the world as he knows it succumbs to the darkness of hell on earth.

And here's the trailer (with some cool behind-the-scenes stuff too):

And here's where you can buy it!

Bio:

Heather Marie lives in Northern California with her husband, and spends the majority of her time at home reading. Before she followed her dreams of becoming a writer, Heather worked as a hairstylist and makeup artist for several years. Although she enjoyed the artistic aspect of it all, nothing quite quenched her creative side like the telling of a good story. When the day had come for her to make a choice, she left behind her promising career to start another, and never looked back.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeatherMarieYA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathermariewrites
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19089172-the-gateway-through-which-they-came
Website: http://heathermarieya.com/

Darkness In YA: It All Comes Down To A Choice (Part 2)

So far this week we've had two awesome viewpoints on the "darkness in YA debate." Now it's my turn. 

Like Amparo said, "dark" is a very subjective term. There has been so much talk about '"dark" books, but I wanted to look back to a "dark" book from 1950, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis: 

"At the time it was fashionable for children’s stories to be realistic: fantasy and fairy tales were seen as indulgent, appropriate only for very young readers, and potentially harmful to older children, even hindering their ability to relate to everyday life. Some reviewers thought the tale overtly moralistic, or the Christian elements over-stated — attempts to indoctrinate children. Others were concerned that the many violent incidents might frighten children." Gene Veith (2008)

I can imagine many reacted in the same way to this book in 1950 as they may with one of the modern "dark" books. Today this book is a classic. I don't hear many people debating its so-called 'moralistic' tone. As a child, I wasn't told by my parents not to read it. It wasn't as much of an issue. And I never heard about anyone knocking themselves unconscious trying to walk through their wardrobe into Narnia either. Things change. Times change. The line moves all the time. 

"We used to believe the Sun revolved around the Earth. We don't anymore. Let's look at each book. Let's look at each kid, each situation, and see where the line should be." Lauren Myracle 

Do I believe YA fiction is too dark? No. I believe there are a wealth of stories out there, dark or not, that are waiting to be read/told. We all know there are teens who don't drink, do drugs, have sex etc. Some teens don't want/feel the need to read "dark/issue" related books. What the WSJ article seemed to forget is that there are books out there for them. Authors like Sarah Dessen, Ally Carter, Mandy Hubbard, Maureen Johnson, Sara Shephard, Lisi Harrison, and Louise Rennison have written/write books that aren't "dark." 

But we can't forget there are those who don't have an easy time. There needs to be books that address the issues they face. Even just books that show teens a different side of life to theirs. Because, even if they aren't going through cutting/sex/abuse/eating disorders etc., someone they know may be. And the book can serve as an education, warning, create empathy... the list goes on. 

So where does it leave us? It all comes down to choice. Not every YA will reads/wants to read the happy, light-hearted books anymore than they will the "dark," issue-driven ones. But to say all YA books are too "dark" is ignoring the rich world of YA fiction. In the end there should always be a choice to read the books we want to read. To write the books we want to write. Times change. But, in the end, the freedom to choose is forever.

Links: npr interview with Meghan Cox Gurdon and author Lauren Myracle. Scott Westerfield wrote a fantastic post on the subject, Think About The Parents. npr.com has an post talking the subject:Seeing Teenagers As We Wish They Were