A couple weeks before it happened, I was lucky enough to find out about a little event at a library near Seattle billed as a ”conversation” between E. Lockhart and Deb Caletti. I wasn’t quite sure what that meant, but as I’d read and very much enjoyed a YA book by each of them, it seemed worth going to. Then, I ended up reading the whole Ruby Oliver series (Lockhart’s) right before the event. If you saw my review for them a couple weeks ago, you’ll know I liked them. 

The event basically was a conversation between the two authors. They sat in front of the audience in two big, comfy library chairs and chatted with each other. Occasionally, the event organizer asked a question, which would get them going back and forth and sometimes down shallow rabbit holes. It was fun. 

They talked a bit about themes that repeatedly come up in their novels, and decided that the predominant one has to do with the reinvention of self. Teenagers are finally at a point where they have enough power that they can reinvent themselves to some degree. This was a bit of a revelation for me, because I’ve long wondered what appeals to me so much about YA. The coming-of-age aspect didn’t make a lot of sense, since that wasn’t a good time for me. But I think the reinvention aspect is it, for the very reason that I hated my teenage years and have forever believed that I would be a happier person if had I lived them somewhere less conservative than Oklahoma. Even today, I wish I could have a big do-over for much of my life. 

While talking about this theme, it emerged that both Lockhart and Caletti have always had a secret plan for what to do when they need to go on the lam (what color to dye their hair, what to bring, where to go, etc.). They were both amazed and asked the audience if they too had such a plan. We were all cracking up about that. Lockhart said that reading and writing are sort of like running away without changing your hair color. 

They also talked about who their characters are really based on, and admitted that while they often start off thinking that their main characters are totally different from them, in the end they usually realize they’re writing themselves to a significant degree. 

Lockhart also ended up talking a bit about the true self, and how it doesn’t really exist because who a person is is always relative to the situation they’re in and the people they’re with. This was pretty interesting, but also intuitively true when you give it some thought. It’s code switching, basically. 

Then they talked a little about topics in YA versus adult fiction, pointing out that sometimes themes can be explored a little more deeply in adult for a couple reasons: adult readers have a tad more patience; and, they’ve seen more so need more depth for the ideas to be novel. YA readers aren’t yet as jaded simply because they haven’t had enough time to “read all the things.” Additionally, Lockhart pointed out that often teen readers are facing a topic or idea for the first time with the book they’re reading, and it’s important to present that authentically. 

It was an interesting event and I bought several of their books and had them signed. 🙂 I was glad I went out even though it was in the middle of NaNo.