Would seem to be little or no connection between Maureen Johnson's 13 Little Blue Envelopes and tricksters, other than the fact that I read the former recently, and am currently reading The Coyote Road, an anthology of trickster tales. I'd been meaning to get The Coyote Road for a while, having liked both of the previous Datlow/Windling mythic anthologies (The Green Man & The Faery Reel). But though I enjoyed several stories I wasn't really loving the feel of the whole thing at all as I had with the previous two, and was wondering why. When I read the note by Patricia McKillip after her story (which is far from her best short story, IMO) it really rang true: "The biggest hurdle for me, I think, was that tricksters [...] come into your life in order to challenge you, spin you off balance, change the way you look at the world; they themselves never change." (Had a really interesting discussion about this with O.D. this morning, but I'll keep that for when I talk about The Coyote Road properly.) Aside from explaining some of my lack of involvement with the stories I'd read up to that point, it also got me thinking how the openness to change that McKillip noted as missing in trickster figures was an important factor in my love of YA novels.
[Yes, I'll be with 13 Little Blue Envelopes soon!] Of course changing, growing are almost bound to be the focus of most older children's/teen novels, in some way, shape or form - that's obvious, But to say that's the appeal does rather suggest that an adult who loves it might be 'stuck' in a somewhat immature place, which isn't an argument I'd buy at all. Isn't one I have bought when I've heard it. And it seemed to me, on the basis of rather insufficient examination, that some of the YA books I like the most have an interesting, thoughtful hint at the idea that we shouldn't stop changing or growing once we become adults. Which can be done by showing adults who have stopped being open to change as the limited people they are, or by showing adults who are going through a sort of parallel cycle of growth & change as the kids, at a - not higher level, but maybe like on a concentric circle - with adult-shaped settings.
And this was one of the things which I really loved about this book - it's solidly centred in Ginny's experience, and shows her learning to understand and appreciate herself, as well as accepting loss. But it also shows her (dead) aunt as someone who had some of the same problems - with a totally different set of circumstances. And all this is done in the gloriously appealing construct of a terrifying, liberating, and barking mad quest around Europe (which has to be done alone and without the aid of guidebooks, extra money or 'electronic crutches'. ) Ginny starts off with the first of her tasks in a noodle restaurant in NYC, and is sent first to London, to stay with someone she's never heard of, let alone met, and for whom she only has an address. Her tasks can be harder or easier than that, and take her to Edinburgh, Rome, Paris and Amsterdam, among other places. Although I never bounced out of the story enough to notice it as I was reading, I think it's extremely impressive technically, as Johnson manages to get across a lot of emotional depth through a character who's in a stage of grief which often leaves her very uncommunicative. And it's really funny as well as being very moving, which is such a great combination.
The piece about the adult(s) in the book relates, I think, to what made Girl at Sea a bit of a let-down for me, but no time to get into that. Nobody has fallen down anything or thrown up either stomach contents or a high fever yet, so I'd better get packing, though poor Younger Daughter either studied herself into a decline tonight or something more ominous. The plan is still to bring myself and my as yet-unfinished knitted sock to help celebrate![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
steepholm's birthday tomorrow, but we shall see. (His birthday is Friday, not tomorrow, but I'm going tomorrow. And no internet access for 3 days. I can cheerfully make bets about who'll feel the deprivation more as I so know he will!)
[Yes, I'll be with 13 Little Blue Envelopes soon!] Of course changing, growing are almost bound to be the focus of most older children's/teen novels, in some way, shape or form - that's obvious, But to say that's the appeal does rather suggest that an adult who loves it might be 'stuck' in a somewhat immature place, which isn't an argument I'd buy at all. Isn't one I have bought when I've heard it. And it seemed to me, on the basis of rather insufficient examination, that some of the YA books I like the most have an interesting, thoughtful hint at the idea that we shouldn't stop changing or growing once we become adults. Which can be done by showing adults who have stopped being open to change as the limited people they are, or by showing adults who are going through a sort of parallel cycle of growth & change as the kids, at a - not higher level, but maybe like on a concentric circle - with adult-shaped settings.
And this was one of the things which I really loved about this book - it's solidly centred in Ginny's experience, and shows her learning to understand and appreciate herself, as well as accepting loss. But it also shows her (dead) aunt as someone who had some of the same problems - with a totally different set of circumstances. And all this is done in the gloriously appealing construct of a terrifying, liberating, and barking mad quest around Europe (which has to be done alone and without the aid of guidebooks, extra money or 'electronic crutches'. ) Ginny starts off with the first of her tasks in a noodle restaurant in NYC, and is sent first to London, to stay with someone she's never heard of, let alone met, and for whom she only has an address. Her tasks can be harder or easier than that, and take her to Edinburgh, Rome, Paris and Amsterdam, among other places. Although I never bounced out of the story enough to notice it as I was reading, I think it's extremely impressive technically, as Johnson manages to get across a lot of emotional depth through a character who's in a stage of grief which often leaves her very uncommunicative. And it's really funny as well as being very moving, which is such a great combination.
The piece about the adult(s) in the book relates, I think, to what made Girl at Sea a bit of a let-down for me, but no time to get into that. Nobody has fallen down anything or thrown up either stomach contents or a high fever yet, so I'd better get packing, though poor Younger Daughter either studied herself into a decline tonight or something more ominous. The plan is still to bring myself and my as yet-unfinished knitted sock to help celebrate
steepholm's birthday tomorrow, but we shall see. (His birthday is Friday, not tomorrow, but I'm going tomorrow. And no internet access for 3 days. I can cheerfully make bets about who'll feel the deprivation more as I so know he will!)
