Hmm, back to school time. My favorite time of year as a parent. I’ll even put it out there that I
actually kinda liked it as a kid, too.
I know. NERD ALERT! as my
son would say.
But I will say as much as I enjoyed school and enjoy the
time my kids are in school, I’ve never actually had any of my YA characters IN
school. And this is especially
true in RENEGADE where school (as we know it, anyway) doesn’t exist at
all.
And even though we never see her actually in “school”, or
doing any of the normal school things someone would do in a non-dystopian
setting, Evelyn’s education is a HUGE plot point in the story (as it is in
almost every YA. Even if it
doesn’t seem like it), and makes her who she is, despite the fact she doesn’t
even realize every decision she makes is completely dependant on that
education. Even as twisted and
warped as that education was…
But…isn’t that the way it is for all of us? The teenage years are the years each
person really forms who he or she is. It’s pretty much the glue that will bond
us on our life path. And we spend the majority of the days in those years in
school. So is it really that
surprising that school and our experiences in school shape who we are and what
decisions (good or bad) we make in the future.
J.A. Souders is the author of
RENEGADE a YA dystopian that takes place in an underwater utopian
society, coming Fall 2012 from Tor Teen. For more information visit her
blog or website.
Education, or lack thereof, definitely shapes us. I'm also lucky in DESTINED that Psyche isn't confined by a school setting and has her days completely free for me to mess with her. But what she's been taught in her culture guides her every decision.
ReplyDeleteI imagine my life would have been waaaaay different if I hadn't gone to school. Or even if I'd taken school seriously!
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