What is ‘controversial’? And how do you make readers uncomfortable but engaged? Black Heart Blue author Louisa Reid gives us her thoughts…
I’m guessing that the word “controversial” would be one used by adults when describing some YA fiction, less so teenagers themselves. The very thought of books which contain references to drugs, sex, abuse, violence, abortion – to name a few so-called controversial topics – might have some parents’ hair standing on end. I suppose these would be the parents who think their teens need protecting from the harsh realities of the world and, as a mother myself, I can understand that position to some extent. But I remember my own teenage years only too well: the thirst for knowledge, the awareness that the world was a glorious but pretty dark place and the desire to uncover all its secrets, whether they were good for me or not. And it wasn’t hard to find out those secrets – even in an internet free age.
If it’s controversial to open up debates about appearance and reality, the abuse of power, hypocrisy and abuse or neglect in middle-class families and make these debates real for teenagers, then I guess I’m guilty as charged. But I’d rather suggest I’m writing about issues which some teenagers want to talk about. I’m writing about issues which some teenagers experience as part of daily life. It’s more controversial to me that anyone would want to brush these things under the carpet. And if a book can actually offer an uplifting, hopeful and positive message as well as exploring some of the harsher realities of life, then even better.
Teen readers want something to get their teeth into and their heads around. Adults as well. I love to be challenged to rethink my views and to experience the world from an alternative perspective.
A superb novel by J B Lipincott Johnny Got His Gun – narrated from the perspective of a WW1 survivor who is alive but unable to communicate or move – is a good case in point. This novel really made me deeply uncomfortable whilst desperate to read on and ultimately terribly angry about the casualties of war, needless loss of life and frustrated on the narrator’s behalf. I expect this was a pretty controversial book of its time. If a compelling and authentic narrative voice provokes an empathetic response then that is surely a hugely important thing.
Once we understand one another, we start to care. Perhaps we stop being so selfish, perhaps we want the world to change. And if feeling a little uncomfortable whilst on the route to that enlightenment is part of the process, then so be it. Making readers uncomfortable by challenging their beliefs or prejudices might not always have the desired result. The book could end up burning, its author despised. But I guess authors have to take risks, emotionally and intellectually, to be brutally honest with themselves and their readers. Engaging readers isn’t about sensationalising violence or sex. I think it comes from truthful storytelling about important things.
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