Road Trip Wednesday is a blog carnival hosted by YA Highway. This week they've asked:
What non-YA character would you like to see star in a YA book as themselves?
It took me a while to think of an answer for this question, since (if I'm being honest) I don't really read too many grown-up books. Even though I'm 24, I've found that it's a lot easier for me to identify with and lose myself in YA or middle grade stories. Adult fiction is just so...dull, for the most part. That's not to say that I never read it; I'm just very picky about it.
Anyway, when I did finally come to a conclusion about the adult character I'm most interested in seeing in their teen years, I knew it had to be a villain. Sure, the nice guys have great stories too, and some of them come from very fascinating backgrounds. That being said, as a psychology major, I'm far more interested in the paths that brought the villains to their villainy. After some careful thought, I think the character I'd most like to see in a YA novel is Captain Hook.
Peter Pan has always been one of my favorites. I mentioned it in this post (which was also birthday related), and I'm sure I'll discuss it again. Captain Hook is quite a character, and one of the main reasons I loved that book so much. For one thing, he's a pirate, which is the ultimate in cool when you're 8. Now that I think about it, pirates are still pretty cool...
Also, he's a very angry man, and harbors a very intense hatred for Peter Pan. I'm curious to know what exactly happened to Hook that made him so angry. I mean, there's the whole chopping-off-his-hand-and-feeding-it-to-a-crocodile thing, but there had to be a reason they were fighting in the first place. What was Hook's childhood like? How did he get to Neverland? Is he really such an evil villain, or is he more like Snape and was just horribly misunderstood? If only Jim Barrie were alive to answer all these questions!
So what about you? Which adult character would YOU like to see in a YA novel? Leave your answers in the comments! :)
J
Hi J! What an excellent post! It's SO intriguing to think about how an adult character would've been as a teen. The thoughts and questions you had about Captain Hook are great and really got me thinking in a whole new way.
ReplyDeleteI'm a fellow campaigner in Fantasy and YA. I'm not in your groups, but I wanted the fun of getting to know more writers. It's so great to meet you!
I LOVE the one-liner by your profile photo!
I think you might be interested in this book. XD
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amazon.com/Capt-Hook-Adventures-Notorious-Youth/dp/0060002204
Explores the possibilities of Captain Hook's youth... Pretty interesting. ;)
*ponders which adult characters she would've liked to see in a YA book*
Great answer with Captain Hook (says the fellow psych major with a love for villains). And pirates are definitely still cool!
ReplyDeleteI love your answer, now I'm intrigued as to what Hook's story is :-)
ReplyDelete