Mythic Fiction for Young Adults (Continued)

by Julie Bartel

"Fairy Tales" by Mary L. Gow

In contemporary fiction, the historical House of the Winds by Mia Yun (2000) is narrated by the youngest child of a family living in Korea in the 1960s. As their less than desirable life proceeds, moving from house to house, each more shabby than the last, the narrators' mother, Young Wife, tries to give her children magic in the form of stories about Korea in a happier time. Truth and Bright Water: A Novel by Thomas King (2001) explores the relationship of two young men, Tecumseh and Lum, who live in towns separated by the Shield River–Truth in Montana and Bright Water on an Ottawa Indian reservation. Steeped in mystery and Native American lore, the story begins when the two boys watch a young woman dump the contents of a suitcase over a cliff and then jump off herself.

The Midnighters series by prolific writer Scott Westerfeld begins with The Secret Hour (2004) and features present–day Oklahoma as the epicenter of a phenomenon known as the "blue time," the 25th hour of the day that only a select few experience. Jessica Day, new resident of Bixby, Oklahoma, discovers a mythic world of extraordinary powers, ancient lore, and truly scary monsters when she meets up with The Midnighters, a group of teens who, like Jessica, were born at exactly midnight and exhibit unusual talents as a result. Looking at first glance like a typical work of science fiction (or perhaps horror), The Midnighters series, which also includes Touching Darkness (2005) and Blue Noon (2006), is actually an unusual and stunning tale of the clash of science and faith, technology and myth, progress and responsibility.

Ghosts play a pivotal role in both Tamsin by Peter Beagle (2001) and A Stir of Bones by Nina Kiriki Hoffman (2003). Tamsin tells the story of Jenny, recently transplanted from New York City to the haunted moors of Dorset, and vocally unhappy about the change. Distracted from her own problems by her new friend, Jenny must help the ghostly Tamsin confront the Wild Hunt, free her lost love, and reconcile herself to the past. A Stir of Bones features another tragic ghost, Nathan, who killed himself after learning of the death of the rest of his family. The young adult prequel to adult novels A Red Heart of Memories (2000) and Past the Size of Dreaming (2002) the book tells the story of troubled teen Susan's abusive father, her relationship with Nathan, the new "real" friends she makes after meeting him, and the preternaturally sentient house that takes the group in.

Authors better known for their adult work, Michael Chabon and Alice Hoffman, have both written mythic fiction for younger teens (and Hoffman's magical adult fiction is increasingly popular with older teens.) Summerland by Michael Chabon (2002) takes its inspiration from stalwarts like Lewis and Tolkien, but also owes a great deal to American folklore. Entwining baseball, the trickster Coyote (who has decided to end the world), and Native American lore, Summerland recounts the adventures of Ethan Feld, the worst player in the history of baseball, after he is chosen by a band of fairies to put together a team of fantastic creatures and play in a series of games, the outcome of which will determine the fate of the world. Hoffman's Green Angel (2003) takes on a more serious topic, echoing as it does the events of September 11th. Green, known as such for her uncanny abilities with plants, is forced to stay home when the rest of the family travels across the river to the city. When the city is destroyed by fire, Green must learn to survive on her own, to replant her garden, to connect with people, and to hope again. As with much of Hoffman's work, the magic is subtle but unmistakable, a trademark she repeats in the two watery tales Aquamarine (2002) and Indigo (2003), and in The Foretelling (2005), a coming of age story set in an exotic Amazonian world of horses, warrior women, and violent sexual conflict.

Though originally published for an adult audience, War for the Oaks by Emma Bull (2001) has definite teen appeal. A rock–n–roll novel that inspired a new sub–genre (and was one of the first novels to be labeled urban fantasy), War for the Oaks tells the story of Eddi McCandry, a musician who's just lost her boyfriend and her band when she's drafted, not altogether willingly, into the never–ending war between the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. Alternately pursued and guarded by the fantastic phouka, Eddi must battle the evil Unseelie Queen of Air and Darkness, rebuild her life, and find a new band. In a darker and more horrific vein, older, sophisticated readers will relish the myth–steeped adult novel American Gods by Neil Gaiman (2002), which posits that the old gods — the gods of old countries and old religions — are at war with the new American gods of television, credit cards, the internet, the telephone. Shadow, just released from prison and grieving for his recently deceased wife, embarks on a cross country road trip with the creepy Mr. Wednesday, unwittingly gathering up players for the final epic battle between old gods and new. (Gaiman's incomparable Sandman comic, published in a series of ten graphic novels, also offers more sophisticated readers an astounding epic of mythic fiction.)

Secondary, or imaginary, world fiction which uses mythic themes and tropes to tell us something about the world we live in, can also considered mythic fiction, even though its imaginary setting, and subsequent "fantasy" label, may seem contrary to the concerns which inspired the term. However, rather than removing us from our world for a time — the respectable aim of much fantasy literature — secondary world fantasy which uses mythic tropes, metaphors, and symbols allows the author to comment on the real world and readers to examine it — albeit from a bit of a distance. While the majority of imaginary or secondary world fantasy does not fall within the scope of mythic fiction, some works, like J. Gregory Keyes' Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone series or Patricia McKillip's In the Forests of Serre (2003), most certainly do. The first book in Keyes' tale, The Briar King, takes place in a wholly imaginary realm, but the mysterious and frightening creature at its core is surely inspired by the archetypal Green Man. Moreover, one of the books central themes — that the behavior and beliefs of its inhabitants are reflected in their relationship with the natural world — is an old idea that's been examined through story for thousands of years. In a similar vein, while the myriad mythological references in McKillip's book are clearly inspired by Russian tales, the world itself is emphatically not, which identifies the work as mythic secondary world fiction. In the Forests of Serre features characters out of legend, mystical creatures like the Firebird and Baba Yaga, and a magical blend of Russian mythic imagery; it's certainly fantasy, with all the requisite elements of magic and adventure, and at the same time unequivocally mythic fiction, utilizing themes and tropes of myth and legend to comment on timeless concerns like hope and hopelessness, loss, love, and family.

Further Reading:

In addition to books in the article above, I recommend:

Swim the Moon by Paul Brandon (2002)
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray (2005)
Rebel Angels by Libba Bray (2006)
The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray (2007)
The Truth About Celia by Kevin Brockmeier (2003)
The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier (2006)
Dragon's Keep by Janet Lee Carey (2007)
Daemonomania by John Crowley (2001)
The Green Man edited by Datlow & Windling (2002)
The Faery Reel edited by Datlow & Windling (2004)
The Coyote Road edited by Datlow & Windling (2007)
Waifs and Strays by Charles de Lint (2002)
Tam Lin by Pamela Dean (1991)
The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue (2006)
The Antelope Wife by Louise Erdrich (2001)
Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman (2005)
The Witch's Boy by Michael Gruber (2005)
Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale (2007)
Waking the Moon by Elizabeth Hand (1996)
The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson (2003)
Listening at the Gate by Betsy James (2006)
Fudoki by Kij Johnson (2003)
Dreamhunter by Elizabeth Knox (2006)
Dreamquake by Elizabeth Knox (2007)
Black Juice by Margo Lanagan (2005)
White Time by Margo Lanagan (2006)
Red Spikes by Margo Lanagan (2007)
Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt (2006)
Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier (2007)
Snow, Fire, Sword by Sophie Masson (2006)
Firebirds Rising edited by Sharon November (2006)
The Ghost Country by Sara Paretsky (1999)
A Princess of Roumania by Paul Park (2005)
The Tourmaline by Paul Park (2006)
The White Tyger by Paul Park (2007)
East by Edith Pattou (2003)
Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell (2007)
Porcelain Dove by Delia Sherman (1994)
Hannah's Garden by Midori Snyder (2005)
The Talisman by Peter Straub and Stephen King (1984)
Black House by Peter Straub and Stephen King (2003)
Galveston by Sean Stewart (2001)
The New Policeman by Kate Thompson (2007)
The Shadow Thieves by Anne Ursu (2006)
The Siren Song by Anne Ursu (2007)

About the author:
Julie Bartel is a writer and librarian living in Salt Lake City, Utah. After earning a BA in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Utah she completed the Master of Library Science program at Syracuse University in New York and worked for a couple years selecting teen materials and graphic novels for the Salt Lake City Public Library system. After more than a decade at the City Library, she recently moved to a fantastic new position as Librarian at Judge Memorial Catholic High School and continues to serve on numerous committees for the American Library Associations' Young Adult Library Services division (YALSA). Currently a member of the prestigious Printz Award committee (for excellence in young adult literature), Bartel also serves on the YALSA Editorial Advisory Board, and was recently elected to serve on the Sibert Award committee (for excellence in juvenile non fiction.) In addition to committee work, she has written a book for librarians on zines and public libraries (From A to Zine, ALA Editions, 2004) as well as articles for magazines such as School Library Journal. Her next book on pop culture, teens, and libraries is forthcoming from Neal–Schulman.

Copyright © 2005 by Julie Bartel; updated 2007. The article is reprinted from The Continuum Encyclopedia Of Young Adult Literature (published Fall, 2005), and is reprinted by permission of The Continuum International Publishing Group, Inc.