Beth Revis's Blog, page 80

Announcing: A New Dystopia Blog!

Confession time: I totally had a secret purpose for making last week Dystopia Week. Today, it is my pleasure to announce that I have joined forces with fellow 2011 Dystopian Debut writers to form a blog devoted exclusively to dystopian works!



There's Julia Karr, whose debut novel XVI is coming out from Speak/Penguin Books for Young Readers. Go to her website for more info about this futuristic novel which takes place in the year 2150. In this novel, turning sixteen isn't the birthday every ...

Why Now?

[image error] I think I've pretty much covered the question "Why dystopia?" :)



But there's another question to ask: why now?



Personally, I think it stems all the way back to the acceptance of fantasy among teen readers. I don't know about you, but when I was in high school and college, it was sort of looked down on to read fantasy, especially MG/YA fantasy, which was considered "kids' books." I remember book shopping with my college roomie--she whispered to me, almost like it was a dark, personal secret,...

This Just Made My Day

[Sorry to interrupt Dystopia Week, but...:]





SQUEE!!! And it's true: UK pre-order; Canada pre-order. Isn't Tez awesome?

Modern Dystopia

Dystopian literature is certainly on the rise today. While certainly one reason for that could be our society, another is because dystopian has changed and shifted with the times.



One of the good things about dystopian literature is that it envisions the future. And the future could hold anything. As we explore the possibilities, newer and more ingenious books are being written.



THE HUNGER GAMES has probably had the most influence on the rise in popularity. It's twist is inventive--in the f...

The Measuring Stick

There are certain books that I consider to be a measuring stick of the genre. The Chronicles of Narnia and the Harry Potter series are my measuring sticks for children's books; THE HERO AND THE CROWN is my measuring stick for fantasy; ENDER'S GAME is my measuring stick for science fiction.



In thinking about dystopia, I realize I have two measuring stick: one for children's/YA dystopia, and one for adult dystopia.



For younger dystopia, my measure is Lois Lowry's THE GIVER. Although now a com...

But...but...it's depressing!

[image error] I've given up telling people I don't know that my novel is dystopic, even though it is. Invariably, they ask what dystopia is.



"It's like a utopia," I say, "but opposite."



*blank stares*



Eventually they get it. And then they ask, "But why? Why would you want to write something so depressing?"



But...it's not. Not really. At its heart, dystopian literature is anything but depressing.



OK, sure. The society is depressing. The environment. The government. But dystopian literature isn't about ...

Dystopia Week!

[image error] A utopia is a perfect world.



Perfect peace.



Perfect environment.



Perfectly happy, content people.



No conflict. No ugly. No discontent.

















How boring.





[image error] This week we're going to be discussing dystopias. Wikipedia defines dystopia as:

A dystopia (from Ancient Greek: δυσ-: bad-, ill- and Ancient Greek: τόπος: place, landscape) (alternatively, cacotopia,[1:] or anti-utopia) is a vision of an often futuristic society, which has developed into a negative version of Utopia. A...

Things My Mother Told Me

(Angela Cerrito originally posted things her mother told her, and I thought the idea was so good, I'm copying it for Mother's Day!)



For at least one second today, just be quiet!



Tell the truth.



Quit crying, you're not really hurt.



It's OK to cry.



Wait till your father gets home.



It's OK, we don't have to tell him.



It's doesn't matter if you didn't do it, the teacher says you did it, and you're going to get it when we get home.



I know that isn't fair. Life isn't fair.



Is that really t...

Spreading the Awesome: Doing the Write Thing

I was going to continue my "Spread the Awesome" week with a cool music video, but yanno? That's kinda weak compared to what I'm going to post about today.



Nashville.



Why isn't this in the news more? I--like most of you, I'm sure--was aware of the Do the Write Thing charity YA authors have set up to raise funds for Nashville after a devastating flood in early May. But, to be honest, I wasn't that chuffed about it. A flood in Nashville? I heard about it, heard it was bad, but didn't really th...

Relevant to Today's Awesome

[image error] Found here.