At the base of one of the more insightful books ever written about juvenile literature, Don't Tell the Grown-Ups, by Alison Lurie, are two central points. First, that adults rarely read the books which their children are reading. Second, that the books which kids love tend to be far more subversive than adults ever realize. These observations are of interest in a number of ways. How should the natural concerns of parents be moderated by Lurie's assertion that this subversion is healthy and developmentally important, for example. The fact that, with one or two notable exceptions, (S.E. Hinton), these books are written by adults, also fascinates. Amongst all the interesting permutations raised by Lurie, one thing is certain, it behooves us to read the books that our children are reading. Quietly and to ourselves perhaps, but's it is unquestionably a fascinating, instructive, and sometimes pleasurable exercise. Indeed, our surface expectations are usually found to be misdirected and off center. The thankfully defunct Goosebumps phenomenon provides a good example. During their period of wild popularity most parents assumed that the success of Goosebumps books was founded in their allegedly macabre themes. The Goosebumps appeal rested not in horror however, their macabre elements were relatively tame and insipid, but in the positively repulsive first person narrations which author R.L. Stine featured. The children narrating the books constantly broke taboos by lying, stealing, deceiving friends and parents, and acting on sadistic and masochistic impulses. The fascination of the books had to do with their moral grotesquerie, the physical horror was very secondary. A new series which has great appeal to children from 8-12 is Garth Nix's Seventh Tower books. Nix's books, however, have a great deal to recommend them. Despite the fact that one if its central elements was lifted directly out of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series, the world of the Seventh Tower is vivid, well realized, and engaging. A dark veil, blocking out the sun, has been created to protect humanity from the shadow beings in the world above the veal, the Aenir. Seven towers rise to heights above the veil. The towers are ruled by an aristocratic meritocracy called the Chosen, who are served by the Underfolk. Outside the towers a forgotten, independent people, the Icecarles, lurk. Taking a page from Pullman, Nix's Chosen have living, sentient shadows, Spiritshadows who protect and advice them. Nix's hero, Tal, is surrounded by many stock elements. His father has disappeared an his mother can't get out of bed. He is essentially an orphan with younger siblings to look after. He teams up with an icecarl girl who starts out hating but who gradually becomes a friend. These tried
and true formulaic elements are augmented by Nix's three great virtues as a
juvenile author, he's good storyteller, has a vivid visual imagination, and
keeps his story spare and taut enough to keep young readers constantly engaged.
Tal's growing sense of class issues and understated moral dilemma's adds another
dimension to the story. |
