Snarky/Critical Essay
Believe it or not, we do allow critical blog posts (of the series!) as long as they're about the books specifically. Mine is about the strange era inconsistencies in the book (in other words, why the hell does Mary Anne watch Leave it to Beaver?)
So amongst many other things, one common criticism of AMM is that all of her characters are completely and utterly familiar with old fashioned media. Kids who were, if we go by the original BSC timeline, born about 1974 grew up watching Leave it to Beaver and I Love Lucy, both canceled a decade before they were born. Children born around 1980 are also cited as watching those shows. Yet I don’t recall much if any mention of Little House on the Prairie (not even in super specials where they go to the Midwest!), Teenage Mutant Turtles, Garfield and Friends, or even Full House, which was pretty much the Leave it to Beaver for the Gen X & Y crowd. (Well, maybe more Gen Y. Gen X probably had to watch it.) The only contemporary media they seem to enjoy is Sixteen Candles, and it’s clear AMM has never seen it, because it’s definitely not appropriate for thirteen year olds. There is one book where the Archie comics are mentioned, but those are still older than Ann herself, even if they were popular enough in the 80s as well.
I think one of the problems is that Ann and her ghosties failed to consider that fads change - not only that, but quickly. I was born when the BSC was published (mid 1980s) and there’s all sorts of things friends who were born just a few years earlier know that I don’t, because I was way too young. I have friends younger than me where it’s the reverse - I’ll mention a movie or show I loved, and get a blank face staring back at me. Yet AMM has characters knowing shows their parents watched. The only reason I knew I Love Lucy and Leave it to Beaver was because of the books.
Ann M Martin also assumes everyone’s parents watched those shows - that is, that everyone is into the same thing. I loved Garfield; most of my friends weren’t into it.. Conversely, I will read a “Ten Things 90s Kids Loved” list,and be utterly confused by all the things I apparently missed.
As a writer who has attempted to pen YA fiction, I actually do understand that it’s hard to relate to the new generation; I’ve had trouble with it and I only graduated high school eight years ago. I don’t know what thirteen year olds watch now. iCarly, maybe? Is Hannah Montana still a thing? Do they watch Modern Family? Nevermind, they watch Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Boy Meets World. Also, they, like, totally don’t have those huge car phones. Oh wait...
There's two easy solutions to that. The first is to set them in my generation, although “generation stories” can be tricky. But it works if you’re trying to write about your era and your friends, and honestly, that’s what I think AMM really was trying to do. And I think it’s harder to make that obvious in a children’s book, but it might have worked.
The other option is quite simple: Research. Talk to people. . When I wanted to know what books kids like today, I asked my cousin what her kids read, my coworkers, and I looked up school book lists (... with a few grains of salt, because there’s no way more than a few kids really read The Dead Dog of Newberytown). As for shows, again, ask around. Read a teen magazine.
Of course, AMM is not the only or last writer to fall into this trap. I’m convinced “Glee” is really about Generation Y with some X mixed in, but made to appear more modern. And maybe that’s okay. But I can’t help but expect Dean Martin to show up in a snark one of these days.
So amongst many other things, one common criticism of AMM is that all of her characters are completely and utterly familiar with old fashioned media. Kids who were, if we go by the original BSC timeline, born about 1974 grew up watching Leave it to Beaver and I Love Lucy, both canceled a decade before they were born. Children born around 1980 are also cited as watching those shows. Yet I don’t recall much if any mention of Little House on the Prairie (not even in super specials where they go to the Midwest!), Teenage Mutant Turtles, Garfield and Friends, or even Full House, which was pretty much the Leave it to Beaver for the Gen X & Y crowd. (Well, maybe more Gen Y. Gen X probably had to watch it.) The only contemporary media they seem to enjoy is Sixteen Candles, and it’s clear AMM has never seen it, because it’s definitely not appropriate for thirteen year olds. There is one book where the Archie comics are mentioned, but those are still older than Ann herself, even if they were popular enough in the 80s as well.
I think one of the problems is that Ann and her ghosties failed to consider that fads change - not only that, but quickly. I was born when the BSC was published (mid 1980s) and there’s all sorts of things friends who were born just a few years earlier know that I don’t, because I was way too young. I have friends younger than me where it’s the reverse - I’ll mention a movie or show I loved, and get a blank face staring back at me. Yet AMM has characters knowing shows their parents watched. The only reason I knew I Love Lucy and Leave it to Beaver was because of the books.
Ann M Martin also assumes everyone’s parents watched those shows - that is, that everyone is into the same thing. I loved Garfield; most of my friends weren’t into it.. Conversely, I will read a “Ten Things 90s Kids Loved” list,and be utterly confused by all the things I apparently missed.
As a writer who has attempted to pen YA fiction, I actually do understand that it’s hard to relate to the new generation; I’ve had trouble with it and I only graduated high school eight years ago. I don’t know what thirteen year olds watch now. iCarly, maybe? Is Hannah Montana still a thing? Do they watch Modern Family? Nevermind, they watch Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Boy Meets World. Also, they, like, totally don’t have those huge car phones. Oh wait...
There's two easy solutions to that. The first is to set them in my generation, although “generation stories” can be tricky. But it works if you’re trying to write about your era and your friends, and honestly, that’s what I think AMM really was trying to do. And I think it’s harder to make that obvious in a children’s book, but it might have worked.
The other option is quite simple: Research. Talk to people. . When I wanted to know what books kids like today, I asked my cousin what her kids read, my coworkers, and I looked up school book lists (... with a few grains of salt, because there’s no way more than a few kids really read The Dead Dog of Newberytown). As for shows, again, ask around. Read a teen magazine.
Of course, AMM is not the only or last writer to fall into this trap. I’m convinced “Glee” is really about Generation Y with some X mixed in, but made to appear more modern. And maybe that’s okay. But I can’t help but expect Dean Martin to show up in a snark one of these days.