But you dont have to wait till next summer for fun, fantastic, and decidedly highconcept tales. School lifeteen fiction, school teen fiction, books. For the purposes of this list of 10 great books, i focused on titles that hit the older end of of the ya spectrum, and that were originally written for young adult audiences so, no. Feb 24, 2020 young adult historical fiction novels can be particularly captivating, and offer details that arent found in the average school textbook. Lerner creates highquality fiction and nonfiction books for children and young adults. Admittedly, some ya is crap but every category of fiction has crappy books. These are sons of anarchy meets mission impossible. Explore the themes and genres of young adult books whsmith blog. Later this week, well feature nonfiction resources on technology and science. Nonfiction social justice books for high school amy. If you like that kind of fiction, then youre likely to write it.
Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. Not every adult nonfiction title gets a ya adaptation, and in fact, i dont think its a particularly big phenomenon. The naturals by jennifer lynn barnes, dreamology by lucy keating, the westing game by ellen raskin, cloud atlas by david m. Jan 07, 2015 ya historicals set in bce times tend to focus on egypt, rome, or greece, and while i like those well enough, im always eager for books about places i know less about.
If youve got a coming of age story, where everyone is a regular human being that goes to a. A ninebook mystery series where a prison chaplain and excon is released early to investigate murders in the prison system. This is the reason why films like pulp fiction, star wars and sideways could never be sold from a pitch. Julie berry is the master of young adult historical fiction, exploring medieval france in the passion of dolssa, the victorian era in the scandalous sisterhood of prickwillow place. What is highconcept fiction, and how can i write it. High concept is a type of artistic work that can be easily pitched with a succinctly stated premise. It can be contrasted with low concept, which is more concerned with character development and other subtleties that are not as easily summarized. You usually had your childrens books and then your adult books and your classics.
See more ideas about books, books to read and ya books. These are great fiction in spite of certain wellknown flaws in craft because they are both high in concept and at the same time intensely personal. A minister becomes a detective after two members of his congregation are murdered. In defining high concept, we talk about the premise of your story, not what happens in acts 1, 2 and 3. The hunger games, for example deals with adult situations combat to the death, stardom, but what makes such books ya is that they look at these issues from a teenage perspective. Jesus had a wife and child, and the proof is hidden in works of art that you already recognize. Young adult literature is better than you think world. Consider adding flyers that also remind patrons of the availability of digital books and audiobooks or sharing a virtual display on social media. Ill say its easier to have a high concept spec fic book. I wanted to write this mostly because of one ya writer who has begun the trend of basing her ya fiction books on real crimes.
When an agent says they want high concept, theyre looking for an idea that can be captured in just a title and a brief, pithy taglineand from that brief description, will immediately attract interest. Nov 10, 2011 i want to say there is no such thing i really do. Technically, the film kids can be described in one sentence a group of inner city youths do drugs and have sex until they realize their actions can have horrific consequences. Browse through and read high school fiction stories and books. The premise or logline is the core of high concept. High concept books with veronica rossi october, 2011 on saturday at the california writers club, mt. Whilst ya fiction in a sense existed before the 21st century, it was never a properly defined genre that you could visit in the bookstore. Initially, i thought i would focus on the increasing.
Some of the most innovative writing happening in the world of fiction is happening in ya right now. Some genres dont for example, womens contemporary fiction or historical romance but remember that your story will be easier to sell to agents, editors and consumers if its a higher concept idea. You should not stress too much on whether your novel is highconcept. Author, title, publication year, for sciencefiction novels by type. Shes awkward, clumsy, and socializing just isnt her thing. Teens who love historical fiction are hungry for stories about new and faraway places. Here are 11 science fiction books that are often taught in college. Non fiction social justice books for high school amy, ericka, nancy convicted in the womb by carl upchurch once carl upchurch was an elementary school dropout fighting for survival on the streets of south philadelphia, a gang member wedded to a life of violence, a bank robber facing a future in federal penitentiaries. Jan 26, 2015 and high concept properties should be appropriate for mass. Explore the themes and genres of young adult books. Finally, sexuality is different in ya not just because.
Realms of fantasysiblings kate, michael, and emma have been in one orphanage. Jul 10, 20 admittedly, some ya is crap but every category of fiction has crappy books. Consider adding flyers that also remind patrons of the availability of digital books and audiobooks or sharing a. Lerner creates high quality fiction and nonfiction books for children and young adults. But i dont think that a realistic high concept book is impossible. A ya book doesnt have to deal strictly with issues that are unique to teens, like peer pressure or bullying. High concept fiction for childrens or teen books writing. Diablo branch, we were treated to a highly entertaining talk by young adult novelist veronica rossi, whose book, under the never sky, will.
Highconcept is a type of artistic work that can be easily pitched with a succinctly stated premise. These stories make the children of bygone eras seem less removedand much more relatable to the modern day teen reader. All adventure fantasy mystery romance action science fiction. Summers end is nigh, and with it go the big hollywood blockbusters, those delicious why didnt i think of that highconcept stories we all know and love. He is taken in by his aunt and uncle, who are still. It can be contrasted with lowconcept, which is more concerned with character development. Nonfiction social justice books for high school amy, ericka, nancy convicted in the womb by carl upchurch once carl upchurch was an elementary school dropout fighting for survival on. In defining high concept, we talk about the premise of your story, not what.
High concept is about mass commercial appeal and wide audience potential. Aug 1, 2015 janets list of literary nonfiction books that are worth adopting in the english classroom. We all learn a lot from reading science fiction booksnot just the cool ideas, but also the fascinating thought experiments. This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and if not signed in for advertising. Outside of ya, nyt times bestseller julie ann walker kicks off a major high concept romantic suspense series with her black knights inc novels. To qualify as high concept fiction, your story should have the potential to. If youve got a coming of age story, where everyone is a regular human being that goes to a normal school, the girl breaks up with a bad boyfriend, but then realizes she was worthy without him, then thats probably not highconcept. As literary audiences go, young adults are a varied and complex bunch meaning that fiction aimed at this 1218 age group covers a broad scope of genres and themes.
Aug 05, 2011 high concept is primarily a term used in pitching movies but these days, we find it a helpful shorthand to describe a certain kind of book. Some genres almost have to be high concept to sell such as thrillers, suspense and scifi novels. Seventeen year old amelia rae is your average popular high school girl. Aug 18, 2017 summers end is nigh, and with it go the big hollywood blockbusters, those delicious why didnt i think of that highconcept stories we all know and love. Initially, i thought i would focus on the increasing number of ya historical fiction books coming out that are based on true crime stories like the jack the ripper ripoff killings in maureen johnsons shades of london series. Edward, a 12 year old boy, was the sole survivor of a plan crash that killed 191 people.
Several of my loyal blog readers have asked what a high concept novel is some of you guessed that its one where the stakes are high, and thats basically it. To older lovers of literature, for whom young adult status is in the rear view mirror and. Diablo branch, we were treated to a highly entertaining talk by young adult novelist veronica rossi, whose book, under the never sky, will be released in january by harpercollins. Highquality k12 fiction and nonfiction books the lerner blog. This is a murder mystery about all our fave high school archetypes the jock, the outcast, the prom queen, etc.
Best ya novels of all time 20 ya books every adult. He is taken in by his aunt and uncle, who are still reeling from the fact that they will never have a baby of their own. Children and ya nonfiction, kids books, picture books. Summers end is nigh, and with it go the big hollywood blockbusters, those delicious why didnt i think of that high concept stories we all know and love. In light of that, i thought it would be worthwhile to put together a list of nonfiction titles that began as adult books but then were rewritten and adapted for ya audiences. The hunger games, for example deals with adult situations combat to the death. Apr 18, 2014 i wanted to write this mostly because of one ya writer who has begun the trend of basing her ya fiction books on real crimes. When i think of highconcept fiction, i think of blockbustermoviekindoffiction. How to write a book that sells understanding highconcept. These 2015 and 2016 titles are great to highlight in a display in the library. Search people fiction fanfiction nonfiction quizzes. Author, title, summary for about 35 science fiction books for middle school and high school students from jennifer armstrong and and nancy butchers the kindling to connie williss to say nothing of the dog, or, how we found the bishops bird stump at last. High concept is primarily a term used in pitching movies but these days, we find it a helpful shorthand to describe a certain kind of book.
And high concept properties should be appropriate for mass. Enjoy, kelly xoxo book jacket amazon breakthrough novel award winner for young adult fiction, 2014 realm award winner for best speculative fiction of the year, 2016 there is. The books that have shaped young adult fiction the artifice. We just normally see realistic high concept in movies or in books with movie tieins. Sep 01, 2007 100 recommended science fiction and fantasy books for junior high students by nick published september 1, 2007 updated october 1, 2016 my list of 300 recommended books for junior high students may have been erroneously removed from scribd see my article about this here, and the ars technica article here, but its not forgotten. Defining entertainment value is like trying to define pornography.
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