Faith and Fiction Saturday is a weekly discussion on the intersection of faith and fiction. Please share your thoughts in comments or in your own blog post.
One of the goals of the INSPYs was to bridge the divide between works labelled Christian fiction and books published for the general market that also dealt with faith. Put in simplest terms, we are looking for the best books of faith irrespective of how they are labelled.
It's no secret that a book that examines an aspect of faith or represents people of faith is my favorite kind. I was excited to see what sort of nominations we'd get for the INSPYs. We did get general market nominations but I couldn't help but notice that the category that received the greatest diversity of nominations was the YA category.
Additionally, many more books that explore aspects of faith or faith communities have come to my attention since then, including some that have yet to be released, all in the YA market.
In some ways this makes sense to me. When you're a teenager, you often grapple with the idea of belief or come to a point where you must decide whether or not you wish to embrace or reject the faith you have been brought up in. It's a logical time to explore these issues. However, faith continues to be a big part of my life as an adult. And while I can find plenty of Christian fiction that will explore aspects of my belief, less general market books seem willing to go there.
Lest you think I'm seeking only books about Christians, I'm not. I am very interested in all faith systems and the way believers interact with the world through the eyes of one who has faith. I long to read more stories about the conflict and the struggle to practically act out what you believe.
What do you think? Have you noticed more YA books that deal with faith and religion? What is your favorite book that explores faith?
Friday, November 12, 2010
Faith and Fiction Saturday: YA More Receptive to Faith?
Logging you in...
Does "Are You There God, It's Me Margaret?" count?
Hmm. I haven't really noticed any "about the conflict and the struggle to practically act out what you believe" in the mainstream novels I've read. But I'd agree that the Christian YA novels I've read tend to deal with "struggling to live out what you believe" a lot more than Christian adult novels, which tend to deal more with either (1) coming to faith or a deeper faith or (2) how faith helps them deal with a certain addiction or specific event (tragedy, illness, etc).
My agent-mate and critique partner, Denise Jaden, recently published LOSING FAITH.
One of my favorite YA series is Hollywood Nobody. Scotty doesn't struggle too much with her failth, so maybe that's why I like it. Scotty is a rare girl who isn't afraid to be who she is. That makes her all the more likeable.
As I've been reading the finalists for the INSPYs YA category, I've been noticing that they seem very "mainstream" but with questions of faith interjected throughout. I love that they are not overly Christian-based, preachy, etc. (not that that's always a bad thing, but you know what I mean) while at the same time really giving readers a chance to look inside themselves and examine their own faith. I've been surprised but also delighted by this. I think your question is a good one - I don't see this nearly as much in adult fiction.
I am surprised to find that my teenage daughter will actively seek out books that deal with faith, and always find a way to talk to her about the issues that her books present and see what she is feeling about them. I think it's amazing that there are so many YA books that deal with this topic, and am also glad that my daughter seems to have a love for them.
Comments by IntenseDebate
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