The Changing YA Landscape was our topic at the Washington Library and Media Conference last weekend. It was great to interact with middle school and high school librarians from across the state. A few highlights from our talk:

Voice is the most important feature in YA lit.   It must resonate emotionally with the reader. Teens identify with a voice and will follow that voice through conflict and change. A good match between and teen narrative voice = an engaged reader. The challenge is matching the reader with the voice.

Conflict is why you buy the book. Tension is why you turn the pages. The last several years have celebrated a variety of strong female voices in YA. While that won’t change, there are a number of strong male protagonists featured in 2013 books. And more male authors. Watch for this trend!

Character depth and development sets up change. Voice is only one feature of a compelling character. The YA protagonist has to be the change agent in the story. She has to take action to reach her goals and overcome incredible odds. And in the end transition from angst to hope.

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