Real

There is this cute blond junior high school student who comes into the library I work at. She recommends me books, I recommend her books, and we chat. When I write, girls like her are my audience, and being able to talk about books with her while getting paid for it is nothing short of a miracle.

I'll call her Jenna, as an homage to the Sara Zarr character I quoted incorrectly last time. Jenna is a voracious reader from a religious family who is currently flirting with paganism. How do I know this? I hesitantly recommended The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman to her, and she whispered her stories of frustration and skepticism to me in the stacks. I told her I had come from the same place, and she opened up to me more.

I gave her a few books that would satisfy her voracious curiosity and love of escapism fiction. I understood all too well why she needed to escape. I told her about the religious themes in the books, and why I thought them a good read.

When she left I considered my young adult characters. Would Jenna find them realistic, engaging? Would Jenna get respite from her zealous family by hanging out with them for a while? It is good to be reminded of the real people I am trying to reflect through my fiction. And it is good to be reminded how difficult it really is to be a teenager in this world.