Discussion question

[rolanni]

Some While Back, I read an interview, it may have been, with an author who writes adult post-apocalyptic SF and also YA post-apocalyptic SF.

The single comment that stuck with me from this interview was that the author worked to make sure the YA work had a happy ending, because young readers deserved hope.

The implicit statement -- I don't remember at this remove if it was explicit -- being that adult readers don't deserve a happy ending.

Discuss.

Comments

[isabellag.livejournal.com]

I believe this is part of the newish trend towards 'protecting' children from the realities of life, viz, that not everything has a happy ending for everybody. This is reflected in children's parties, where every child gets a present, in games where everybody gets to win, competitions where there are 'first winner, second winner' and so on. Completely unrealistic - YA fiction should reflect the same world trends as Adult fiction, because, after all, YA readers grow up to be Adult readers. I, for one, would be extremely irritated if everything I read had a happy ending, because the world is not sugar-coated.