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

[attilathepbnun.livejournal.com]

Actually, there are a few Lurlene McDaniel books where the main characters do get to survive! Though it's true that someone usually dies ... I think those sorts of books are so popular because of the my-life-isn't-so-bad phenomenon ---'I may have a rotten life but at least I'm not dying of leukemia-murdered by a serial killer/etc.
That said, I much prefer happy endings, myself

[eseme]

Thanks! That's good to know. The last library I worked had had a bunch of them, and from what I could tell, they all had romance ending in death.

And I can see the "at least it's not me" thinking.