I HEART YA #12: Model Behavior

Welcome to the 12th weekly I HEART YA Blog Carnival! I HEART YA is a Blog Carnival for readers, writers, and lovers of young adult fiction. Every Tuesday there will be a blogging prompt that celebrates my favorite reading genre --YA fiction. Bloggers are invited to write their own take on the topic and post a link in the comment section, or if you prefer just put your thoughts in the comments. Either way, if you own a blog, grab the button to show your pride, and add your link to the list below. If you're not sure what to do, go to the I HEART YA tab for more details.

So here we go! Keep your hands in the car at all times and have fun! (Not really. I ALWAYS put my hands in the air on carnival rides.)

For the past week, this article has been showing up in my local news feed. And I have to say I find it a little annoying. I suppose the commentator has a point, I'm just not sure I really buy it. In a nutshell he's saying that Katniss isn't a good role model because she spends her days moping and playing dress up. Okay. Let's see. She volunteers for what she's pretty sure will be a suicide mission in order to save her little sister, who she's pretty sure might still die of starvation while she's gone. I think a little moping is in order. And the dress up? Really? She only gets into that when she finds out it's the only way to win and therefore the only way to save her sister. Now I might find an argument in the story being inappropriate for young children because it involves murdering little ones in cold blood. But that's not what he was saying.

So while pondering the roll of role models in YA fiction, I thought I'd turn it into the theme of this week's carnival. (Even though I realize last week has a Katniss theme as well.)

Personally, I see role models as a two-sided coin. On the one hand, considering the influence the media can on young minds, I think YA authors do have a responsibility to try not to encourage dangerous behavior. But at the same time, they can't pretend dangerous/negative behavior doesn't exist. And not just to "keep it real". The very definition of a story is conflict.

That may sound strange. But let's take this example:

Let's say we decide to write about a group of girls who go to the mall. We have Brittany who always dresses like a fashion model and takes two hours to get ready. We have Joe who is a dancer. And Beth who always wears purple. The three girls meet at the mall. Brittany finds some new shoes. Joe doesn't get anything. And Beth finds a purple necklace. The three have lunch and then go home.

That's a story, right? Things happen, so it must be a story! What, no. You're saying it's not? Well, no. It's a setting. And characters. But NOTHING HAPPENS! Maybe if they discovered that Brittany was stealing money from her dad. Or Joe doesn't have any money at all because her mother is dying and out of work. Or if Beth will die if she doesn't wear purple, then maybe will have a story. Because we'll have conflict. Without it we got nothing. Girls as a mall. Bo-ring!

So as much as I like to see young people be inspired by what they read, I think authors need to have the freedom to put enough conflict in their story to make it interesting. And that will mean that sometimes our characters make mistakes.

So what about you? Is there a character you think makes a great role model? Do have something to say about role models in general? Speak your mind!

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