Ingredients for a mainstream YA novel

One white, straight protagonist. A corrupt government or exciting adventure. One Asian guy, one black guy and one gay guy in a friendship circle, just so the author can pretend that their writing is modern and 'moving with the times'. Of course, there must be a few girls in the novel- the gorgeous one and the clever one. And why not throw in a meaningless love triangle for the hell of it? Now you have a chart-topping, award winning novel which is praised for its 'coming of age' themes and diversity.

But here's the issue. Tokenism and playing to stereotypes are not diversity. Just because you are considerate enough to insert one black guy into a friend group does not make your story 'racially diverse'. One gay best friend who loves to shop strewn in among the teenage pregnancies does not make you an LGBT+ hero. And just because your female protagonist can throw a few well-aimed punches does not mean you are at the forefront of equality in fiction. Although the more we bury the damsel in distress archetype the better, it's important to realise that strong female characters don't have to be defensive and emotionally detached in order to be strong.

As my years of avid reading have passed me by, I have devoured YA novels as I struggled to claw my way through adolescence, trying to find something relatable and something that made me feel slightly less alone. But it seems that the way to be relatable to teenagers these days is through the representation of mental illness, and today it feels more like romanticisation than representation. I once read the line from the Ned Vizzini novel it’s Kind Of a Funny Story 'I quite like that you're in a psychiatric ward. It makes you more interesting'. A suicide attempt is not a character quirk and mental illness is not a fascinating personality flaw. It ruins lives and it shouldn't be treated like a fashionable accessory, flaunting complexity and intrigue.

When it comes down to LGBT+ characters, sexual orientation and gender identity is seen as a status. It is a solitary function, a flashing billboard, a tool of stereotypes and a journey of self-hatred and deep, internal struggle. I want to see a story where the plot does not revolve around self-discovery and a battle for acceptance: representation, not regression.

Here's the bottom line. We need more diversity in Young Adult Literature. No more tokenism, no more stereotypes, no more two-dimensional men and women. Why not push the boat out and have someone who is neither male or female? More male characters that don't just whinge about not having a girlfriend and more female characters who do actually moan about not having a girlfriend. Let's stop putting people in boxes and having them be defined by their ethnicity or their mental illness. Labels are to be defined by us, not the other way around.