YA Lit 2.0: How Technology is Enhancing the Pleasure Reading Experience for Teens

The effects of the web and emerging technology on research and locating information has been largely documented and discussed. We’ve discussed and debated Web 2.0, and even Library 2.0, - but what about Reading for Pleasure 2.0? What impact will technology have on how we read for enjoyment? We’re already seeing the beginnings of it among the members of our current Net-savvy generation. Young Adult Literature 2.0 might be Reading for the Future.

In 1999 Eliza Dresang published Radical Change: Books for Youth in a Digital Age. She discussed, even before the millennium, how books for children and teens were beginning to change; new formats were evolving thanks to the effect the Internet was having on our students. Novels in verse became popular, as did novels in other formats, like Walter Dean Myers’ screenplay novel, Monster, or Sharon Dennis Wyeth’s Orphea Proud, written as a performance piece. Authors were experimenting with narrative voice – multiple narrators, varied voices & narrative formats. Comics, or, to use the current term, graphic novels, gained renewed popularity. Zines, written by teens and for teens, became common. Dresang made the argument that these new formats were popular thanks to kid’s shortened attention spans and their comfort with graphics, making them “able to gain information from ‘bits and bytes’” (21). It was becoming obvious that the mouse-click generation was going to be looking for something new in its print books.

Seven years later, literature for teens has continued to evolve to meet the technological wants and needs of its readers. Author websites are common stuff now, but some authors for teens are taking theirs to new levels and using online technologies in innovative ways to promote their books and reach out to teen readers.

The souped-up websites of many of today’s YA authors allow readers to experience their books in a variety of ways – reading is no longer just about words on a page, and the book doesn’t end with the last page. Reading has become a multi-media experience for teens. Frank Portman , (a.k.a. Dr. Frank) frontman for the punk band The Mr. T Experience and author of the new YA novel King Dork, is one YA author who is using technology to reach out to readers (and listeners) in a variety of ways. His website offers the complete King Dork experience: reviews, articles & blurbs, a link to his blog, his tour/reading schedule, entries from the King Dork glossary, the King Dork Discography, the King Dork Reading List, and even a podcast trailer for the book. According to Portman, most of the enhancements were inspired directly by Tom, his narrator. Tom’s music and literary references are integral to the book, but Portman realized some of them might be a bit obscure. Putting together the lists on his website was Portman’s way of helping readers out with the references, as well as giving readers a chance to get inside Tom’s head.

But web sites are just the beginning of how technology is enhancing reading for teens. Readers, especially teen readers, it seems, are always looking for more info about authors and characters. Teens want to know what happens after the story ends, what happened before the story took place, why and author ended a book the way they did, and when the next one is coming out. In this age of instant information they want answers fast – and right from the source. YA authors are rising to the occasion and taking advantage of communications technology to build relationships with readers. YA author and editor David Levithan (Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, Marly’s Ghost, Boy Meets Boy) feels “having email with which to communicate with readers has revolutionized the role of the author, especially with teen literature.” While he admits he didn’t write a single fan letter to anyone as a teen, he also says it “might have been different if it had involved hitting send instead of using stamps.” Teens are taking advantage of the ease of email & blogging to connect with authors who might have previously seemed unreachable. And the same technology makes it possible for authors to respond – quickly – without letting it interfere with their writing. The days of writing a letter to your favorite author & waiting months for a reply are long past.

Some authors, like Levithan, and his Nick and Norah co-writer Rachel Cohn, tend to shy away from personal blogs, preferring to keep their personal life personal or reluctant to commit to the regular posting a blog requires. But many authors use blogs to communicate with readers on a regular basis. Sarah Dessen is one of the most reliable YA author bloggers, posting to her livejournal almost every day. Dessen sees the blog as a way to connect with her readers, and, judging by the response she received during her spring book tour, it’s working; “Instead of just Q&A about the book, I got questions about what I’d written about in the blog…I think the blog allows the readers to feel a little closer to you; it’s sort of an inside joke.” And the blog was another way to get the word out about her new novel, Just Listen. Dessen even met some readers who had read her blog first, then decided to read her books.

Just Listen is the story of a girl and a boy who initially connect through his love of music, so Dessen decided to take the reading experience one step further for her readers. She created a playlist on iTunes for the novel, and she posted the list on her blog. She chose songs she listened to while writing the novel, songs that now remind her of the book. She sees the playlist as a bonus for readers: “My hope was that the playlist would just be an addition to reading the book, a sort of behind-the-scenes thing. Kind of like the extras on a DVD; you don’t have to watch them to get the movie, but if you’re interested, it’s always kind of fun…as a reader, I would have liked to know what else the author was thinking about while they were writing the book, to get a bit more insight into that process.”

Dessen isn’t the only one creating playlists for her novels. Authors Lara M. Zeises (Anyone But You; Bringing Up the Bones) and Stephenie Meyer (Twilight; New Moon) have playlists for their books posted on their websites. YA author Clea Hantman created a forum for sharing YA lit playlists when she started the blog yerlittersister.com as a place to talk to other writers about two of her passions: music & writing. Tired of writing alone, Hantman was also interested in exploring how music plays a role in the craft of writing. She began having email conversations with other YA authors and asking them for playlists for their books. A conversation with Rachel Cohn resulted in a playlist for her book, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist.. As someone who “never doesn’t have music playing,” creating the playlist came naturally to Cohn: “I have a playlist for every mood, for any book I’m writing – sometimes, the playlists do indeed feel infinite.” While Cohn admits her own musical tastes might be a little out of date for today’s teens, she still feels playlists can be a great way to get teens excited about reading a book and a way to provide a deeper insight into the characters, the story and the inspiration behind the book.

Playlists, websites & blogs are all great, but the monster of current communications technology is, of course, MySpace. And where better for authors to reach out to teens? Visiting a favorite author’s MySpace page not only provides teens with insider info, but connects them with the author’s “friends” – usually other YA authors. There’s even a MySpace group for Teen Lit. Its nearly 500 members include YA authors & teen readers; author members include group founder, Sarah Mlynowski (Bras & Broomsticks; Frogs & French Kisses) John Green, author of the 2006 Printz Award winner Looking for Alaska, E.Lockhart (The Boyfriend List; Fly on the Wall) Frank Portman (King Dork), Cecil Castellucci (The Queen of Cool, Boy Proof), Brent Hartinger (Geography Club, The Order of the Poison Oak, The Last Chance Texaco, and Grand & Humble), David Levithan (Boy Meets Boy, The Realm of Possibility, Are We There Yet? Marly's Ghost, Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist ), and Rachel Cohn (Gingerbread, Shrimp, Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, Pop Princess, Two Steps Forward), just to name a few. The forum allows readers to post questions to the entire group, getting a variety of answers from other readers and authors – like a great big book club discussion, with authors in attendance. Members ask about the writing process (some are aspiring authors), share other YA lit resources (some are librarians), discuss important YA topics (like bullying) and, of course, discuss new YA books.

And as great as all the technology is, the books and the readers are what it’s really all about. Author David Levithan agrees; “for a writer, the book is the most important thing. For an author, the reader is the most important thing. When I’m writing, I couldn’t care less about websites or the Internet. But as an author when I’m seeing my books take on a life of their own in the hands of readers, I’m completely plugged into their reactions and concerns and (if I’m lucky) praise. And I really have the Internet to thank for that.” By using technology, authors are reaching out to teens on teens’ terms and meeting their demands: teens want to know more, and they want to know it fast. They like the exclusivity of being “in-the-know” about their favorite author and books. And they want to bond with their favorite authors.

It’s time to become YA Librarian 2.0.

Cohn, Rachel. Email Interview. 2 May, 2006

Dessen, Sarah. Email Interview. 4 May, 2006

Dresang, Eliza. Radical Change: Books for Youth in a Digital Age. New York: The

H.W. Wilson Company, 1999.

Hantman, Clea. Email. 9 May 2006.

Levithan, David. Email Interview. 2 May, 2006

Portman, Frank. Email Interview. 10 May 2006.