Tess Voskamp asked Maria V. Snyder:

hello, I'm doing research for a school project about dystopian books. I have selected some books and your book is on my list (Inside Out and Outside In). the question I am researching is: why are alot of writers writing about this topic (dystoptia) the last years? (what is the psychological explanation?). and what is more reliable than to ask the writer herself? thankyou for your time Tess

Maria V. Snyder Hello Tess! Thanks for picking Inside Out and Outside In for your school project. I got the idea for Inside Out from a dream - I dreamt the entire story! And this was well before Hunger Games was published. As for your question, I did a presentation on why YA dystopian books were very popular a few years ago and after researching the subject I came up with 6 reasons:
1 - High school equals a dystopian society
2 - The readers problems aren't so bad when compared to those books
3 - Warning of a possible future to avoid
4 - Wishful thinking - huge disaster destroys school - the apocalypse is an everlasting snow day
5 - Teen readers are more aware of what's going on in the world and it's not looking good (i.e. global warming, terrorists, hunger)
6 - It's clear who the bad guys are
If you'd like a copy of my notes, message me your email address and I'll be happy to send it to you.

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