This post is a part of Contemporary Conversations, hosted by The Thousand Lives and Talking Bookworm.
You know what there isn't enough of in Contemporary YA? Male protagonists.
I know there are a lot of people complaining about diversity in YA, and I feel like that can even apply to gender. There are way too many white, female protagonists.
I guess one of the reasons for this is that there aren't that many male YA authors out there. Especially not male YA contemporary authors. In fact, the only one I can think of off the top of my head is John Green. Oh, also David Levithan. But that's kind of it... ask me to name female contemporary YA authors, and you'll have recommendations spilling at you for weeks.
I suppose it's hard to write from a male perspective as a female author, because obviously you have to kind of change your own way of thinking. But really, I do feel like that's what you do as an author anyway- you're creating a character who usually doesn't think the same way that you do. Whether that's a male or a female, it's still "a different person", so to speak.
And it's disappointing, because I really like reading from a male POV. But at the same time, I kind of second guess that- is it because they're so rare that I like them? Because they feel refreshing and different and unique? I just don't know.
Some contemporary books written from a male perspective:
Looking for Alaska
Paper Towns
Fan Art
Liars, Inc
Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda
The Beginning of Everything
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Some dual POV:
Eleanor and Park
The Sea of Tranquility (NA)
All the Bright Places
Jesus why are all these titles so long haha
Would you like to see more male protagonists in contemporary YA?
Any recommendations of male POV contemporary books for me?
