W is for Woe
W is for Woe.
It’s day 23 of
the A to Z Challenge!
Otherwise known as the letter W Day for my theme
Novels for Young Adults.
Often teens face more than the usual woe. And for teens, that woe often comes in the form of family troubles. This is the case for both of our novels today.
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
This award winning novel generates both love and hate reviews. We Were Liars is narrated by Cadence Sinclair who comes from a broken family and seeks solace in her group of friends. Truth hiding behind lies is a theme of this novel. Cadence’s family is outwardly perfect–beautiful and rich–but Cadence turns that notion on its head. Because lies are a part of the novel, the reader is often not sure how much of what she says is true until the surprising end.
White Oleander by Janet Fitch
White Oleander is a book I love, a book I have given as a gift several times. When Astrid’s narcissistic mother is imprisoned for murder, teenaged Astrid begins a long descent into foster home hell. I really felt Astrid’s despair as well as her moments of happiness. Oprah chose this as one of her dinner book group picks. One of the guests was a foster parent who said reading White Oleander helped her to connect on a deeper level with the young people in her care. White Oleander is not a young adult book, but it is a book many young people will enjoy. The writing is lush and lyrical.
What do you think of teen narrators in woe? Do you have a favorite woeful character?
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4 thoughts on “W is for Woe”
White Oleander has been on my tbr pile for awhile. I generally prefer third person narrative to first person, teen or otherwise, but if a book is well written, it doesn’t matter.
Interesting. I have sort of noticed that a lot of novels featuring teens are done in first person. Wonder why that is…
I enjoy young adult fiction, but I tend towards dystopian novels. My favorite characters may be in woeful circumstances, but they overcome them and hopefully improve their worlds at the same time. So my favorite in that situation would be Deuce of the Razorland Trilogy.
I’d never heard of the Razerland series, but it looks like a good read. Duece sure does seem to have a lot of woe in her life!