Wrestling with Complex Characters with Charlene Thomas
We kick off season two with the author of Seton Girls with a conversation about the difference between young adult and adult literature, how to tackle the tough stuff with teens, and what we love to read during the spooky season of October.
- Welcome to season 2 of Troped Out. Today we are talking with young adult author Charlene Thomas!
- We ask Charlene what she is reading and loving right now.
- Charlene says this is her first podcast. She is reading for spooky season, JACKAL by Erin E. Adams. It is spooky, small town. Girls disappearing in the woods—so spooky and perfect for Halloween!
- Charlene is dipping her toe into an adult manuscript for the first time (we are *very* excited).
- We ask, what does Charlene feel is the dividing line between adult and YA?
- Charlene says, of course character age, however, that isn’t always the case. It can be the tone of the story. That teens can digest a lot of serious subject matter—but the tone is different in YA. YA tends to be more optimistic, whereas in adult—you can be a little darker without redemption.
- SETON GIRLS tackles some difficult issues.
- The book tackles privilege, and SA, through the lens of high school. The teens in SETON GIRLS are in a place to become a part of the solution or a part of the problem. Teens are malleable and ready to be part of the change. Whereas adults a lot of time are more set in their ways.
- Emma rambles for a moment as she tries to voice her thoughts without giving spoilers.
- Charlene does a fantastic job of creating a story that presents the struggle felt when someone you think you know and likes, is actually doing a bad thing. We discuss the intricacies of creating such a story and presenting it in a way that rings true with teens.
- Charlene says that she is hoping to open up the conversation a bit more, even though she (nor anyone else) has the full answers. And at what point does someone change from a person who made a mistake into a bad person?
- Charlene discusses why Aly is the narrator of SETON GIRLS. She is a part of Seton, but also a kind of outsider. We get to discover Seton through Aly’s eyes as she herself is learning the truth of the private school.
- Aly is a scholarship kid with more to lose than many of the characters in Seton. She has major stakes in the story.
- Time to play TROPED OUT!
- Sick Kid Lit OR Dystopia?
- First Love OR Disillusioned With Society?
- Dead Parents OR Generation Wars?
- Secret Baby OR Secret Villain?
We had such a blast chatting with Charlene. You can find SETON GIRLS everywhere books are sold—but we’d appreciate it if you checked out our TROPED OUT book shop (link below).
TROPED OUT Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/shop/TropedOut
All of our episodes are available on www.TypoProductions.Com
You can find our hosts on all social media platforms—but they’ve been loving TikTok.
EJ WENSTROM is @ejwenstrom
EMMA C WELLS is @emma.c.wells.books (for all things bookish) and @thatadhdauthor (for all things querying, ADHD, and more).
CHARLENE THOMAS is online at www.CharleneThomasBooks.com
You can find her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Charlene_Thomas
You can find her on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/charlenethomasbooks/
Consider adding SETON GIRLS on Goodreads, and if you’ve read it and loved it—leave a review on your fav retailer/book review site!