I recently started reading Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, the first book in a hit series for teens. The concept is gripping, however his writing remains lifeless. If something exciting does not happen soon I don't think I can endure anymore. But I mention the book because it continues a trend I have noticed in modern, (mostly teen) fiction.
Recent popular books and series are set in future America, or some kind of fictional land in the future, complete with snazzy new inventions and a systematical drawback. More often than not, in these types of books the government is responsible for some sort of abnormal law or tradition. Take The Hunger Games for example. Future America and a totally warped system, yet the long-accepted pattern takes a surprising turn in the end. The other day a friend of mine was telling me about a book (whose title I cannot recall) where the kids are match-made with someone to spend the rest of their life with, who they most likely do not know. And Uglies takes place in a futuristic city/country where when children turn eighteen they undergo an operation that makes them pretty, that is, removing every flaw or uniqueness that in reality would provide you identity. But of course, something must go wrong to upset the general balance of a tradition that the reader recognizes to be immoral, or just all around wrong.
To be honest I am not entirely certain why this trend is so popular. Perhaps because when writing about the future you can make up whatever you want, and can warn humanity against the perils of say, too much war or too many electronic inventions. I am not opposed to this trend, yet an idea for a book set in the future has never crossed my mind. And I find myself feeling distant from these books, maybe because the concepts are so foreign that it is difficult for the writer to convince me they could be true. However The Giver by Lois Lowry demonstrated a similar setup to that of Uglies, and I was wholly engrossed, gripped by the nauseating insuffiiciences and injustice of the system.
But what do you think?
It is it better to write book that takes place in the pas,t present or future, or does it matter at all? For now I am more inclined to stick with say, French Revolution era Les Miserables where the resounding events are something I am vaguely familiar with.
Written by: Karoline Kingley
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Book Trends
I recently started reading Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, the first book in a hit series for teens. The concept is gripping, however his writing remains lifeless. If something exciting does not happen soon I don't think I can endure anymore. But I mention the book because it continues a trend I have noticed in modern, (mostly teen) fiction.
Recent popular books and series are set in future America, or some kind of fictional land in the future, complete with snazzy new inventions and a systematical drawback. More often than not, in these types of books the government is responsible for some sort of abnormal law or tradition. Take The Hunger Games for example. Future America and a totally warped system, yet the long-accepted pattern takes a surprising turn in the end. The other day a friend of mine was telling me about a book (whose title I cannot recall) where the kids are match-made with someone to spend the rest of their life with, who they most likely do not know. And Uglies takes place in a futuristic city/country where when children turn eighteen they undergo an operation that makes them pretty, that is, removing every flaw or uniqueness that in reality would provide you identity. But of course, something must go wrong to upset the general balance of a tradition that the reader recognizes to be immoral, or just all around wrong.
To be honest I am not entirely certain why this trend is so popular. Perhaps because when writing about the future you can make up whatever you want, and can warn humanity against the perils of say, too much war or too many electronic inventions. I am not opposed to this trend, yet an idea for a book set in the future has never crossed my mind. And I find myself feeling distant from these books, maybe because the concepts are so foreign that it is difficult for the writer to convince me they could be true. However The Giver by Lois Lowry demonstrated a similar setup to that of Uglies, and I was wholly engrossed, gripped by the nauseating insuffiiciences and injustice of the system.
But what do you think?
It is it better to write book that takes place in the pas,t present or future, or does it matter at all? For now I am more inclined to stick with say, French Revolution era Les Miserables where the resounding events are something I am vaguely familiar with.
Written by: Karoline Kingley
Recent popular books and series are set in future America, or some kind of fictional land in the future, complete with snazzy new inventions and a systematical drawback. More often than not, in these types of books the government is responsible for some sort of abnormal law or tradition. Take The Hunger Games for example. Future America and a totally warped system, yet the long-accepted pattern takes a surprising turn in the end. The other day a friend of mine was telling me about a book (whose title I cannot recall) where the kids are match-made with someone to spend the rest of their life with, who they most likely do not know. And Uglies takes place in a futuristic city/country where when children turn eighteen they undergo an operation that makes them pretty, that is, removing every flaw or uniqueness that in reality would provide you identity. But of course, something must go wrong to upset the general balance of a tradition that the reader recognizes to be immoral, or just all around wrong.
To be honest I am not entirely certain why this trend is so popular. Perhaps because when writing about the future you can make up whatever you want, and can warn humanity against the perils of say, too much war or too many electronic inventions. I am not opposed to this trend, yet an idea for a book set in the future has never crossed my mind. And I find myself feeling distant from these books, maybe because the concepts are so foreign that it is difficult for the writer to convince me they could be true. However The Giver by Lois Lowry demonstrated a similar setup to that of Uglies, and I was wholly engrossed, gripped by the nauseating insuffiiciences and injustice of the system.
But what do you think?
It is it better to write book that takes place in the pas,t present or future, or does it matter at all? For now I am more inclined to stick with say, French Revolution era Les Miserables where the resounding events are something I am vaguely familiar with.
Written by: Karoline Kingley
6 comments :
I like these books, but I agree that the writing is not always the greatest. These authors are good at *telling* stories even if their writing is not amazing. I admire their talent to keep readers turning the pages and still like the characters, but their writing could be better. (And what is it with sentence fragments these days?) I recently finished "The Host" and am SUPER excited to watch the movie. The writing is not the best, and I was surprised to actually like a book by Stephenie Meyer, but I loved it! :D I keep watching the trailers and am counting down the days to 3/29. I'm sure this trend is a fad that will disappear within the next year, but for now I'm okay with it.
ReplyDelete(I forgot to subscribe so I am just doing this so I get the e-mails).
DeleteOh, and I think that book that you are talking about is the "Matched" series, which is actually quite good. I especially like the poems that are in the books.
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I agree with you about the telling part. The stories are generally good, but the writing isn't always.
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I really enjoy dystopian, but it really takes an exceptional writer to make it step out into the limelight. Haven't read Uglies series yet--one of these days I'll give it a try.
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Karoline, you were drawn as the winner of Rochelle Melander's book Write-A-Thon. If you'll email me your mailing address, I'll pass it along to Rochelle. Congrats!
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I like these books, but I agree that the writing is not always the greatest. These authors are good at *telling* stories even if their writing is not amazing. I admire their talent to keep readers turning the pages and still like the characters, but their writing could be better. (And what is it with sentence fragments these days?) I recently finished "The Host" and am SUPER excited to watch the movie. The writing is not the best, and I was surprised to actually like a book by Stephenie Meyer, but I loved it! :D I keep watching the trailers and am counting down the days to 3/29. I'm sure this trend is a fad that will disappear within the next year, but for now I'm okay with it.
ReplyDelete(I forgot to subscribe so I am just doing this so I get the e-mails).
DeleteOh, and I think that book that you are talking about is the "Matched" series, which is actually quite good. I especially like the poems that are in the books.
DeleteI agree with you about the telling part. The stories are generally good, but the writing isn't always.
DeleteI really enjoy dystopian, but it really takes an exceptional writer to make it step out into the limelight. Haven't read Uglies series yet--one of these days I'll give it a try.
ReplyDeleteKaroline, you were drawn as the winner of Rochelle Melander's book Write-A-Thon. If you'll email me your mailing address, I'll pass it along to Rochelle. Congrats!
ReplyDelete