Is there a literary equivalent of going back to high school?

May 26, 2016 12:41 PM

I am looking for some young adult fiction that describes current high school experience.

I am planning a high school YA novel in my head, but since I am of an age who gets mistaken for being the grandfather of my eight-year-old, I can no longer claim to be hip to the wild and groovy vibes of what it is like to be a teenager today.

I think I can write in this genre because I remember everything adults got wrong about us back when. But I don't want to invent a few more, so I thought I'd do some research.

Preferably US (or universal). I'm not interested in niches like high schools of the super-rich or a military high school. It might be nice if the story had a Latino presence, but not necessary. I realize some universal truths carry on from classics but would prefer something more contemporary.

Non-fiction articles, collections of short stories or graphic novels would also work.

posted by dances_with_sneetches to Writing & Language (8 answers total)

sneetches, my friend, I can think of some YA recommendations later, but I have a very good nonfiction book for you. I just read Dude, You're a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School, and was very impressed with it. I'm 50, and queer, and I've been reading a lot of contemporary YA about gay and trans kids, and wondering how accurate it is in its portrayal of their school experiences, and this book, in which a sociologist does participant-observer style research in a high school for 18 months, really filled the picture in for me. It focuses on what students are taught about sexuality and gender roles, so its not comprehensive in its discussion of high school culture in other areas, but it's a very good read. If you don't want to read the whole book, perhaps you can find some articles by the author or detailed reviews of the book.
posted by not that girl at 12:48 PM on May 26, 2016

Ask your question in a forum that is populated by high school students - you may also be able to get some critics to go through your first draft.
posted by Jane the Brown at 1:00 PM on May 26, 2016

"What It's Like to Be 13, Right Now"

American Girls: Social Media and the Secret Lives of Teenagers
posted by sallybrown at 1:12 PM on May 26, 2016

Weirdly, I thought the 21 Jump Street reboot movie did a good job of showing the difference between our perceptions of high school and the reality of how cliques and relationships have shifted. However, that is not literature, and I am nowhere near a teen.
posted by redsparkler at 3:43 PM on May 26, 2016

Reading:
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Reconstructing Amelia
Eleanor & Park

Films/TV:
Raising Victor Vargas
Freaks and Geeks (it's about another decade, but I think a lot of it still works)
Charlie Bartlett
posted by violetish at 8:30 PM on May 26, 2016

Not really a show or book, but there is a podcast called Still Buffering that is hosted by two sisters, one grown-up (Sydnee, who IDK how old she is, but she's a doctor, so at least old enough to have completed medical school) and one teenager (Riley, who is a sophomore, I think).

The tagline is "I am a teenager...and I was one too" and their episodes center on the differences between being a teenager now vs when Sydnee was one, but also exploring the common threads and experiences. It's fairly new (I think the first episode started in January of this year) so it'll a quick one to catch up on.
posted by helloimjennsco at 6:41 AM on May 27, 2016

Rookie might be a good place to look. It's for teenagers and a lot of is BY teenagers. It's also amazing, and it won't let you forget for a second how brilliant teenagers are.
posted by mixedmetaphors at 9:14 PM on May 28, 2016

Rookie seems like a great example since there's so many photos and first-hand experiences.

As someone who reads a LOT of YA, I think it's too easy to fill in the blanks with your own experience, and picture things as you remember them. The most jarring examples of Kids These Days for me have come from seeing things like Rooking, or watching snippets from YouTube, or Vine, or Snapchat.
posted by redsparkler at 11:23 AM on May 30, 2016