Comments for CORA Diversity Roll Call: The Problem Novel

CORA Diversity Roll Call: The Problem Novel: 10/12/09

For this assignment, I am asking participants to share their views on the problem novel. This assignment was inspired by an article at Justine's. I think Justine rocks. She's a kickbutt writer so when she said she wasn't always fond of the problem novel, I admit I was a bit wounded.

What are your thoughts? Did you read these kinds of works when you were an adolescent? Did you think they were silly or did you gain something from them? Do you enjoy them as an adult? Do you recommend them to students or other teens you're in contact with? Which titles and to whom would you recommend them? What issues or circumstances would like to see address in YA? What are your recommended best reads and which would you honestly say are poor examples in this genre?

I have to admit that until tonight I hadn't heard the term "problem novel" even though I've read and loved the novel that apparently inspired the name: Catcher in the Rye. I came to the novel though as an adult and with curiosity fueled by the way the book was adapted for the first season of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (an excellent anime series set in the near future in a post war Tokyo).

So having read the definition posted in Wikipedia and having read Justine's post, I have gone through my list of reviews to come up with books that I think fit the definition. These are all books I have enjoyed, blissfully unaware that I was reading problem novels. I read them all as an adult and they might not all strictly fit the "young adult" category. They all, though, feature teens facing problems.

My recommendations:

• Black Swan Green by David Mitchell (2007)
  Jason Taylor's problem is stuttering. There is also a larger problem of his parents failing marriage and the family's financial problems.
• Cereus Blooms at Night by Shani Mootoo (1999)
  This book isn't formally a young adult novel but I would recommend it to older teens to read. It covers sexual abuse, sexual identity and self respect.
• The Crew by Bali Rai (2003)
  The "crew" in this book have to survive the violence of gang warfare and humiliation of racial profiling by local beat cops.
• (Un)Arranged Marriage by Bali Rai (2001)
  A British teen of Pakistani heritage has to find a way out of an arranged marriage that he doesn't want.
• Jane of Lantern Hill by L. M. Montgomery (1938)
  Jane goes to spend the summer with her father who has been estranged from the family for a number of years. Jane hopes to learn the reason behind the divorce of her mother and father.
• The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kid (2002)
  story centers around a teenage girl trying to find the secret of her mother's life while trying to escape from her abusive father? There is also the on going theme of tolerance in the face of societal bigotry. Again, this book isn't formally a young adult but I would recommend it to teens.

What about you? Do you read "problem novels"? Do you have any favorites you'd like to recommend.

CORA

Comments (2)

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Comment #1: Tuesday, October, 13, 2009 at 09:20:28

susan

pussboots,

Thanks so much for participating. Love your post. With the exception of The Secret Life of Bees, your titles are all new to me. I agree about Bees, too, might not have been marketed YA, but that's where is sits in our library.

Hope you continue to participate in Roll Call. I intend to make my way here more often.

Comment #2: Wednesday, October 14, 2009 at 20:21:33

Pussreboots

I plan to participate again in the Roll Call. Thank you for stopping by! I'm glad you enjoyed my post.