Tots to Teens
Star Mag, 27th August 2006
ONE of the books I read last weekend was Vampire Beach: Bloodlust. Basically, it’s The A-List with fangs. In fact, the back cover blurb says “The A-List bites!”
In case you don’t know, The A-List
is a series of books about beautiful, popular teenagers living fast,
furious and glamorous lives. You should not confuse it with The Clique, Gossip Girls, It Girl or The Au Pairs, although it would be completely understandable if you did.
These series are such guilty pleasures. I know they are trash, but they
fascinate and entertain me anyway. Once I start reading I can’t stop
and I want more, despite the fact that I invariably really dislike the
characters in the books. They are a despicable lot – mean and shallow.
I would be disappointed if my children turned out like them.
Guilty pleasures
The teen fiction from my adolescence (remember Sweet Dreams romances?) was chock-a-block with girls who triumphed despite the lack of designer wardrobes and flashy cars. Sometimes they were actually pretty, but even if they weren’t, they were always good kids, moderately brainy and ever so kind. Their enemies were the bitchy rich girls with perfect hair, skin and outfits.
Sometimes these Plain Janes would be transformed with a little tasteful make-up and a good haircut. Often they would end up with the most coveted boy in school whom, once you got to know him, would really be a friendly, sensitive soul despite the movie star looks and cool convertible. At other times, they would realise that the boring, bookish boy-next-door was quite cute after all.
I loved these books. I went to a convent where the only men were doddery teachers and the gardener. Sunset mass on Saturdays was the social highlight of the week. I don’t think I could have handled the debauchery of The A-List and other series like it, but teens who like that sort of thing would probably find Sweet Dreams romances really boring. The A-List makes even The Valley of the Dolls (some say the ultimate swinging adult novel of the 1960s) look like Little House on the Prairie!
In Sweet Dreams, no one gets drunk, there’s no mention of designer labels, and there are definitely no steamy bedroom scenes. But the worlds inhabited by the characters in these innocent love stories were sufficiently different from my own to be exciting. The cheerleaders, the malls, playing frisbee on the beach were miles away from cycling to Math tuition and window shopping at The Store Emporium in Batu Pahat, Johor.
Last night I read two books by Lisa Yee (Millicent Min, Girl Genius and Standford Wong Flunks Big-Time) and I really enjoyed them. By A-List standards, the kids in these books are serious losers. They worry about their grades. They bike to school. They shop at K-Mart. They are nice people.
Yee isn’t the only one who writes funny, touching stories about kids you can believe in and whose values aren’t questionable. Check out authors like Jacqueline Wilson, Jean Ure, Hilary McKay, Ann Brashares and Louise Rennison. Even Meg Cabot’s Princess Mia is miles more believable than the glossy inventions of Zoey Dean and co.
I do, however, acknowledge the irresistible attraction of the eye-popping lifestyles of the rich and shameless. Escapism is important. It’s relaxing, mindless entertainment and, yet, it can also be fuel for the imagination. It’s why people read The Lord of the Rings and watch Latin American soaps.
I’ve had a wearying week, but I have a stack of Mills & Boon romances to look forward to this weekend. Hardly The A-List, but definitely not real life either. Sometimes guilty pleasures are just what the doctor ordered.
Millicent Min is grand.
Have you read any of the Judy Moody books by Megan McDonald?
Posted by: Little Willow | Saturday, September 09, 2006 at 11:38