Paula Weston: Angels in YA Fiction - What's the Story?
YA Author Paula Weston, shares her thoughts on Angel stories in YA fiction
You only need to take a cursory glance online to know that young adult angel books tend to get a bad rap.
I should clarify: romance-based YA angel books tend to get a bad rap.
The issue, I think, is that readers who love urban fantasy/paranormal elements in their stories want more than just a hot guy with wings who falls for a human girl (similar to the way readers who love traditional vampire stories don’t want their blood suckers to sparkle).
There’s nothing wrong with the latter scenarios if that’s the reading experience you want (and plenty of readers do). But if you’re a paranormal/urban fantasy fan, you want world building, detailed mythology and action. And if all you pick up are the romance-heavy angel stories, you’re going to be less than satisfied. (Just like the romance seekers are annoyed when there’s too much world building and mythology in their angel stories).
Author Jeannie Holmes has a (broad) theory on how to separate the types, based on the perceived differences between ‘paranormal romance’ and ‘urban fantasy’, particularly when both have romantic elements:
“Urban fantasy focuses on an issue outside of a romantic relationship between two characters. Paranormal romance focuses on a romantic relationship between two characters and how outside forces affect that relationship.”
It’s possibly an over-simplification, but an interesting observation (and of course being one or the other is no determiner of quality).
The other issue for readers of angel stories (YA or adult) is the theology question. Generally, there are three ways to tackle theology in angel/demon stories: ignore it; give a nod and move on; or make it an essential part of the story. The first can sometimes mean a plot lacks substance; the second can seem like a cop-out; the third can feel heavy-handed. How this is managed comes down to the writer and the reading experience they want to deliver.
There are plenty of approaches to angels in the YA world. We have noble angels (Alexandra Adornetto’s Halo), agnostic angels (Susan Ee’s Angelfall) and fallen angels/nephilim (Lauren Kate’s Fallen and Becca Fitzpatrick’s Hush Hush ). And then there are the hybrid concepts: Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series and Laini Taylor’s stunningly original Daughter of Smoke and Bone (which, technically, is more fantasy than paranormal, and one of my favourite series in recent years).
I wanted to set my story against a backdrop that included a warrior society divided by a significant issue, with a common enemy and an uncertain future. When researching potential mythologies to work from, I found a story in the Book of Enoch (an apocryphal Jewish text) about fallen angels. It sparked a rush of ideas, and I suddenly found myself writing an angel series.
It wasn’t until Shadows was on the shelves that I realised how many angel stories were already out there – and how much angst there was towards them in some quarters (I’ll admit, some of the most rewarding responses I’ve had to the series have come from angel-weary readers who were pleasantly surprised the story exceeded their expectations).
At the end of the day, as readers we should judge books on all the usual aspects: plot, character, tension, action, etc, regardless of what genre or sub-genre they fall into.
And don’t forget: there’s always someone doing something interesting with a genre we think has been flogged to death (like Julie Kagawa’s Blood of Eden vampire/dystopian series or Maggie Stiefvater’s original take on werewolves in The Wolves of Mercy Falls series).
Shadows (Rephaim #1) is out now (Australia, New Zealand, UK) and coming to US/Canada on 10 September 2013)
Haze (Rephaim #2) is out now (Australia and New Zealand), coming soon to the UK (October 2013) and US/Canada (2014)
