Catherine Lo joins us to talk about her debut novel How It Ends and in what ways her experiences have allowed her to depict teens so realistically.
Writing realistic portrayals of teens in YA fiction by Catherine Lo
When I read YA fiction, I read across a wide variety of genres. I travel back in time to World War Two Germany in The Book Thief, and to 1950s Virginia in Lies We Tell Ourselves. I follow Katniss Everdeen into the arena in The Hunger Games, travel to Belzhar with Jam Gallahue, attend St. Vladimir’s in Vampire Academy, and get my invitation to Hogwarts alongside Harry Potter. When I write Young Adult fiction, however, I find that I’m firmly rooted in contemporary, realistic YA.
As a high school teacher in a behavior support program, I spend my days working with teens who face challenges that impact their ability to be successful in school. For some, this might mean coping with a learning disability or attention deficit disorder. For others, it means battling addiction, dealing with the stress of unhealthy relationships, or facing mental health concerns. I have counselled students who are homeless, students who have been the victims of violent crimes, and students who have perpetrated such crimes against others. And as diverse as these students are, they all share the complex feelings that come from not having a “typical” high school experience.
We’ve all seen the popular culture depictions of high school life: parties, sports, best friends, and first loves, but this storybook version of high school isn’t a reality for many teens. Far from being the best years of their lives, adolescence can be a lonely, frustrating, and stressful time for teens who face challenges. And as the gap between these students and their more privileged peers widens, feelings of anger, resentment, depression and isolation can take hold. It’s hard not to feel alone when it seems like you’re the only one who is struggling, and it’s hard not to feel cheated while you mourn the high school experience you thought you’d have.
Working closely with teens has influenced my writing enormously, and I find that these are the stories I feel compelled to share. Stories about characters like Jessie in How It Ends, who struggles with social anxiety and deep feelings of inadequacy; and Annie, who is coping with grief, a move to a new high school, and unwelcome changes to her family life. There is something very powerful about finding yourself at the centre of a story, and the real, everyday challenges that young adults face are stories worth telling. It is my hope in writing realistic depictions of teens that my readers will find themselves on the page and feel less alone in their struggles.
Read an excerpt from ‘How It Ends’
There are two sides to every story.
It’s friends-at-first-sight for Jessie and Annie, proving the old adage that opposites attract. Shy, anxious Jessie would give anything to have Annie’s beauty and confidence. And Annie thinks Jessie has the perfect life, with her close-knit family and killer grades. They’re BFFs…until suddenly they’re not. Told through alternating points of view, How It Ends is the story of a friendship from first meeting to breakup, set against a tumultuous sophomore year of bullying, boys, and backstabbing.
What did you think of the excerpt? Let us know in the comments below!
About the author
How It Ends is Catherine’s first novel. When she’s not writing, Catherine works as a high school teacher in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, where she lives with her husband and two children.
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