This Week’s Topic: Geriatric Representation in YA
Back when I was a wee lass, my weekends were spent visiting my grandparents. Every Saturday, we spent the day with my Oma and Poppy Kozbial, and every Sunday, we visited with my Grandma Elsie and Grandpa Patty. I was always surrounded by my older relatives, and therefore had no fear of them, and a great appreciation for the knowledge they possessed.
I don't have a lot of older pictures scanned,
but I found these lovely pictures of my grandparents and me
(left - red shoes, right sunglasses)
My daughter is lucky enough to have all four of her grandparents, and has even met five of her great-grandparents, with my grandmother being one of her caregivers when she was an infant and toddler.
I know that my experiences are not the norm, and many children are not as fortunate to grow up with multiple generations in their lives. That is why I love seeing older character featured in MG and YA.
I feel it's crucial for our younger generation to see, that just because you're older, it doesn't mean you are useless. I love that I have encountered such a spectrum of senior characters in YA books. Some are ill and some even die in the stories, but others are rather able bodied and sharp. It's important to show aging affects people in different ways.
I also adore seeing these characters looked to for wisdom. We gather wisdom and hindsight through experience, and being older usually means you have experienced a little more, just by the sheer fact that you have been on this earth longer. They have lived through more decades and eras, and hold a lot of history in their memories too. It's so wonderful what they can share these experiences, and can provided guidance to the younger generation.
The following is a list of books, which featured such wonderful senior characters.
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Now it's your turn! Do you have a favorite book featuring older characters?
Do you have a favorite book featuring older characters?
Let us know in the comments!
What a great topic!!! I love senior characters in books. They definitely add something. Here There Everywhere and Goodbye Days are great examples. I also like when there are older characters then flashbacks to when they are younger.
ReplyDeleteFlashbacks are one of my favorite ways for authors to share a character's past. I appreciate it a lot more when I am reading adult books, since it's not such ancient history with YA characters, but it's a wonderful way to get that glimpse into how the character became who they are.
DeleteCool topic. I’ve read some middlegrade with great older characters. I liked A Long Way From Chicago and Missing May. In both of those books, older relatives are helping raise the kids.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I have read several books, with older relatives severing as parents, and I am really happy that is represented in children's literature, because it is a reality, and those kids need to see their family in books too. I have to check those two out.
DeleteGrandparents are just the best thing in the universe! At least mine were .I'm so glad for your daughter! Unfortunately my kids are among those children are not as fortunate to grow up with grandparents. I also love seeing older characters in books! Thank you for those wonderful recommendations!
ReplyDeleteI know I am lucky, and my daughter too. I look at pictures, where there are 4 generations of us, and I am well aware that a lot of people cannot do this.
DeleteI don't think I've come across this too much in YA, but an adult fiction I'm reading now featured a grandmother in the early part of the book; she was so hip and had a great relationship with her granddaughter. And I recently read a book that had a 70-year-old man as the MC - it was the sweetest book.
ReplyDeleteI love a good parental relationship in YA books, and great grandparent relationships would be just as amazing!
My favorites are the cool, hip older folk, because they exist and they play against the stereotype that is most prevalent. I have such a long list of YA families I love. I could go on for quite a while. Have you read Britt-Marie Was Here? I loved the way Backman wrote that character (note to self - need to read more of his books)
DeleteI haven't, I'll have to check that out! Thanks!
DeleteInteresting topic. I've only read Goodbye Days from your list. I didn't have a close relationship with my grandparents growing up, so this isn't really something I've noticed much in books, but I get what you mean. It is good to show different types of older characters and how they aren't useless or should be forgotten just because they aren't as young anymore. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
The grandmother in Goodbye Days owned me. I can understand not noticing something in a book, when you cannot relate to it on a personal level. I think that is why some things people dislike in books rolls right off me.
DeleteI completely agree with you I love to see books focused on younger and older generations interacting. I find it to be a topic you don't see to often actually. Great topic!
ReplyDeleteI think we don't see the interactions often in YA, because they are not the norm. Teens like to spend a lot of time with their peers. Adolescence is marked by that pulling away and trying to exercise their autonomy, but there will be some kids, who make or have these connections, and I am so happy to see them in some books. I especially like when the cross generational connection is from outside the family.
DeleteI'm thinking of the MG graphic novel Sunny Side Up and the MG book The Fourteenth Goldfish, both of which feature grandpas.
ReplyDeleteI agree that older people are underrepresented in fiction as a whole, and specifically YA and MG novels. I really enjoyed Elizabeth is Missing, but it's an adult novel.
I got chills reading the synopsis for Fourteenth Goldfish. It sounds wonderful!
DeleteAh yes, I love seeing seniors in books! I personally never had a very close relationship with my grandparents due to seeing them very rarely, but it's interesting and sweet to see the different dynamics between teen and their grandparents, as well as the characterization of the grandparents themselves. There's such a variety and I love seeing that in books! Goodbye Days was such a good one. :) Lovely post!
ReplyDeleteThe beautiful thing in most of the books I mentioned, is that the characters weren't related. These young people just developed a friendship with an older person, and they were really sweet and reciprocal relationships.
DeleteMy grandma is my best friend, so I also love seeing characters with great relationships with older relatives and just great rep of older characters period! I specifically read a book once because it seemed like it was gonna be about a grandma going on an adventure and saving her grandson from another realm, but it ended up being a disappointment. I still want to find a book like that though. We need more grandma adventure books lol.
ReplyDeleteThe books I mentioned are a mix of grandparents and just older adults the teens have relationships with. I love seeing both as well. I just went through my fantasy and paranormal GR shelves and I got nothing. I hope you can find a book like that in the genres you enjoy.
DeleteI LOVE this topic! I usually don't read books that feature any grandparents or older characters which is pretty sad actually. I haven't read any of the books you highlight! My grandma is a pretty big part of my life, so I would love to see more of those relationships featured in YA.
ReplyDeleteI have been seeing more and more books that span generations. I actually culled my list, I wanted to include more. Maybe it's a movement in lit right now in the same way that we are seeing more and more positive YA families than we used to. And Grandmas = <3
DeleteI could probably count on one hand the number of books that I've read that feature seniors in a good way. Most seniors in the books I read tend to be the "villains" or just down right nasty toward the main character's for a set of very shallow and specific reasons. It's refreshing to see seniors and parents, for that matter, represented well in books :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I was trying to think of SFF books featuring older characters, the only thing that came to mind was the "elder" type in the world, who usually was in the midst of some nefarious plot.
DeleteI grew up spending a ton of time with my grandparents. I can't say that my kids have had the same experience. My mom has played a bit part in their life but my father died when I was only 20. They did get to have relationships with my grandmothers so that is a very good thing. I do love to see seniors playing important roles in books. I loved the grandpa in A Short History of the Girl Next Door.
ReplyDeleteShort History had such a beautiful focus, and the grandfather was stellar.
DeleteOh my gosh that GIF is killing me! And I totally agree- we need more of this. I think there is so much to learn from the older generations, and for YA books to represent that more would be awesome. When I think about my grandparents (who are all gone now) it saddens me that my kids won't ever really know them, or experience just sitting around and spending time with them. Thanks for sharing too the books you've seen good representation in!
ReplyDeleteI always feel so fortunate that I knew all my grandparents, and 3 of them met my daughter. I hope this becomes a trend in the same way that we are seeing a higher number of great YA families
DeleteThis is such a wonderful post! I love that you have such strong family ties that include the older members of your family. There are some books here that are new to me that I will definitely need to check out. I really enjoy books that feature extended family as well, and To Bring the Distant Near has a few older characters that I really enjoyed. Lovely post! :)
ReplyDeleteYou Bring the Distant Near was on my list, but I had to shorten it. I love multigenerational stories.
DeleteGreat post, Sam! I love the inclusion of older/senior characters. They often play a big role in a teen’s life and it’s good when that’s reflected in books. How lucky your daughter is to have so many older influences in her life. I grew up with only two grandparents (my dad’s parents both died before I was born) and I was at their house a lot as a child. I used to spend the night with them on weekends and in the summers and was close with both of them. They’re gone now, too, but I’m thankful to have those memories. They definitely played a role in my childhood.
ReplyDeleteI like the inclusion of Fletcher’s grandfather in Breaking the Ice. He’d obviously been a strong influence on Fletcher. One of my favorites is from Katie McGarry’s Thunder Road series. Cyrus and Olivia may not have been the stereotypical grandparents, but they were a strong and stable presence in the lives of the young people around them and I loved that.
Breaking the Ice made my short list. I loved the interactions between the three generations in that book. I totally forgot about Olivia. She was awesome.
DeleteOMG I love this!!! I was super close with my grandfather before he passed, and I have a pretty good relationship with my grandmother right now, as well, so I love seeing older people in books, too. <3 I've only read Flipped from this list (which I loved, especially the movie)! Will have to check out the others. Thanks so much for putting this list together!
ReplyDelete- Aimee @ Aimee, Always
Flipped was one of the most precious books I have ever read, and it had a depth that I didn't expect. Grandparents are very special. My father's parents were my biggest fans and over indulged me as a child. I am glad I had them in my life for as long as I did. We were both so lucky. =)
DeleteI count my grandmothers as the most people in my childhood. One taught me strength and the other kindness and I would love to see more of that in YA. I'm delighted with your recs -- I shall check them out immeidtaely!
ReplyDeleteI like that these books remind us (sometimes explicitly), that even though they may be getting older, they are still people and useful. They have years of life experience to share, and I love seeing them appreciated for it.
DeleteOh I LOVE this post, I low key want you to turn it into a tag where we can all gush about the elderly. I was so, so close to 3 out of my 4 grandparents- and I mean, I still loved the 4th one and all hah. All but one have passed now, but I'm glad that my kids got to meet the ones they did- my daughter met both of my grandmothers. They were so, so good to me, and I miss them- even my grandma who is still living has had a lot of health problems lately and is now in a nursing home, so even though I saw her yesterday... it's not the same. And I am SO glad that my kids have my parents in their lives, and I hope that they do for many, many years to come.
ReplyDeleteAs for books, YEP- I find that I adore books with great examples of grandparents/older folks. Wanderlost is a great one- like, the best actually, it came to mind as soon as I saw your topic. Goodbye Days is an awesome pick too. Breaker and the Sun is another good one.
I would read that tag. =)
DeleteI totally understand it not being the same. My most beloved grandmother had dementia towards the end, and that wasn't the Oma who spoiled me and called me her little stinker.
Wanderlost is a book I have and plan to read (some day), and now I have to go check out Breaker and the Sun.
I can't say I've come across this too much in YA now that I think about it... I love those pictures you shared. You know on my mom's side of the family, when my (older) cousin's grandkid is with my grandmother it's five generations... For me to go back 5 generations on my dad's side though, my great-great-grandfather fought in the Civil War. It's odd to think there can be such a difference - there can be 5 generations of my family together on one side, but on the other it goes back so far! :)
ReplyDeleteWow! Five generations is incredible. Talk about longevity! My roots in America are really shallow, so I am always fascinated when people share things like Civil War veterans in their family.
DeleteMy mom is a huge part of my kids' lives, so I love to see grandparents in YA books as well. Loved both Goodbye Days and It Started with Goodbye!
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
We are lucky our kids have grandparents in their lives. I am grateful for all the years I had with my own.
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