19
Monday is the start of classes, and first up is my Literature for Young Adults class. I’m happy I arrived on campus a bit early. The tour I did with Niall helped a bit with getting around the grounds, but navigating the buildings was a whole other story.
You would think someone who’s worked a college campus for close to two decades wouldn’t be such a fish out of water.
I find Aidan’s office, my temporary office, while wandering The Arts Building. I notice my advisor’s office is one room down, the door open. I knock tentatively on the door.
“Ahh Mr. Pierce. I was wondering when I’d see you. Welcome to Dublin!” She stands and shakes my hand, as I take in her office. The room is wall to wall bookcases, overflowing with books and, when not books, what appears to be various awards. “Are we all set for your first class?”
“Yes Dr. Ryan. Very excited to meet the students. I hope they enjoy the curriculum I’ve put together.”
Dr. Ryan motions to the chair in front of her desk. “Please, call me Moira. I only use the title around those who need to be dropped down a peg.” She moves some papers around her desk. “Ahh, here it is. First class is your Literature for Young Adults class, correct?”
“Yes, that one begins in about an hour.”
“I’ll say I’ve read some young adult literature over the years but not a ton.
My reading usually ends up not being too much for pleasure.
Or, if it is, it ties into some class I’m teaching and I’m searching for new material.
I did, however, make it a point to read the books on your syllabus over the summer. ”
I pause. “You read all fifteen books.”
Moira laughs. “I had a long holiday where the wife did her own thing and I was left to my own devices for weeks at the beach. I saw your book list in my email and decided to dive in. And, to be fair, five of them are graphic novels.”
“Yes, but I think Heartstopper does touch on a number of important issues. Especially around mental health.”
“Okay, but tell me more about this Jeff Zentner guy. I’ll openly admit to never having read him before, but also his storytelling packs quite the gut punch. What are you trying to do to my students?”
I smirk. “I teach these classes to showcase that young adult novels often have great character development, stories that resonate with people. Especially the ones targeting the older side of the young adult audience, kinda bordering new adult. I feel sometimes some of the things we feel forced to read in the adult market comes off a bit stiff. People could learn a thing or two by mixing in a young adult novel here and there.”
“Irene McAllister was certainly a choice.”
It had been a bit of a choice, indeed. I really wanted to include a young adult author with Irish roots, and Irene had some of the most popular young adult books of the early 2000s. Especially here in Ireland.
But, in recent years, Irene has come under a bit of heat from some circles.
Some of her portrayals of drug use, LGBTQ relationships, and anti-government sentiment gained traction in the media.
Which, for some, caused some people to flock to her books when the more conservative crowd pushed to ban her works.
But she’s also faced some backlash from the LGBTQ community for how poorly her characters are often treated in her books.
That, by constantly pushing that narrative, made it appear those were her opinions as well.
I included a couple of her books a few years ago in my classes back home.
Let’s just say they were not well received.
“She’s one of the most successful YA authors that’s come out of Ireland. I was curious to see what the current generation has to say about her.”
Moira rolls her eyes. “Current generation. You’re not that much older than the students.”
“I’ve got, at minimum, fifteen or sixteen years on them. If not more. I fear the only thing I have in common with them is a love for reading.”
“And that may be a stretch with some of them.”
* * *
An hour later the classroom has filled in. It’s a smaller class, about ten students, so I had rearranged the furniture into a circle ahead of class to help discussion. I sit at the top of the circle.
“Welcome to Literature for Young Adults, or YA Lit as I’ll refer to it going forward. I’m Daniel.”
“Are you American?” A kid two chairs down asks.
“That I am. And you are?”
“Samuel. From Galway.”
I sigh. “Alright. Let’s get this out of the way. Before we jump into the syllabus, get all your random questions out of the way.”
“Do you like living there? Seems like a shite place to live sometimes.”
“Sometimes it’s fine. Sometimes the government fucking sucks and it’s nice to take a bit of a breather in another country. Your name?”
“Delilah”
“Nice to meet you, Delilah. Who’s next?”
The girl to my right raises her hand. “Name’s Lily. Where do you live in the States?”
“Connecticut. A town called Wethersfield.”
“Follow up question. Is there something interesting about Connecticut?”
I pause, trying to think of something. Niall’s already shit on the whole pizza capital thing.
Mentioning the Huskies won’t mean anything to them.
That we likely have the most insurance jobs per capita will put them to sleep.
But I go to what’s been my default since arriving here.
“It’s…umm…well, it’s about halfway between Boston and New York. ”
“That doesn’t sound particularly interesting Daniel.”
“I suppose it doesn’t.”
I field questions back and forth for quite a while, slowly learning the names of the students and picking up on which ones will likely lead class discussions. They, in turn, learn some less interesting factoids about myself and life back home.
Samuel raises his hand again. “Yes Samuel?”
“So, you’re, erm, properly old.”
“Ten points off your first assignment. Go on.”
Samuel laughs. “No, not old, old. Do you have a wife…girlfriend…boyfriend?”
Lily rolls her eyes. “You forgot the potential of a husband.”
And, for some reason, I find myself recounting the story of Alex and my meltdown in Casadoro.
The students eat it up, gasping at the right moments and laughing at the others.
By the time I’m done telling the story, and assuring them I’ve arrived in Dublin very single, there is only about five minutes left in class.
“Before you all go, let me pass these out.” I hand a stack of syllabi to Lily.
“Yes, I know it’s very old of me to do paper printouts, but I love a good list. If you reviewed the email I sent you all, this is the same list of books we’ll be covering over the next few months.
And, before you all start complaining, these are young adult reads.
They read quick, they are interesting unlike many of your other lit course materials, and most of your grade is based on class discussion.
Make sure to do the reading ahead of class, contribute, and you will do just fine. ”
The last student, Noah, gets the final copy.
“We are starting with the Jennifer Niven block. Please read the first 100 pages, or wherever the closest natural chapter break happens, of All the Bright Places for next class. Come prepared with discussion points on character development, how the setting is depicted, and what you like and don’t like so far. Class dismissed.”
Literature for Young Adults - Michaelmas Term Session
Lecturer - Daniel Pierce
T TH 3:30-4:45
Syllabus
Block One - Jennifer Niven
All the Bright Places
Breathless
Holding Up the Universe
Block Two - Jeff Zentner
Goodbye Days
In the Wild Light
The Serpent King
Sunrise Nights (co-written with Brittany Cavallaro)
Block Three - Irene McAllister
The Light of the Hour
Silence in the Night
The Others Before You
Block Four - Alice Oseman
Heartstopper: Volume One
Heartstopper: Volume Two
Heartstopper: Volume Three
Heartstopper: Volume Four
Heartstopper: Volume Five