High School Confidential

If you write YA, you NEED to watch this show. Anyone who constantly asks YA authors to dumb down their books -- who claim teenagers are unable to relate to mature themes -- ABSOLUTELY NEEDS to watch this show.

In case you don't know what it's all about, it's a reality show, following 12 girls through all four years of high school. You literally get to see them grow up on screen. (Didn't they do this where they followed several adults every five years or something?) Anyway -- I thought it was a brilliant concept.

I'm completely disappointed that I've missed the first two episodes -- only catching the third tonight by chance. I remember seeing the advertising and thinking I needed to watch it. But life got in the way and I completely forgot. SO glad I stumbled upon an episode tonight.

Tonight's episode dealt with a young girl who was diagnosed with ADD, suffered from depression, and was eventually forced to go to an alternative school that could better fit her needs. She became sexually active, had a pregnancy scare, an actual pregnancy followed by a miscarriage...the list goes on.

One thing that struck me about her was that she had to be one of the most articulate teens I've ever seen. I sat there listening to her, and wanted to shout to all the naysayers of "advanced vocabulary" in YA's that THIS GIRL...THIS GIRL would get it. THIS GIRL speaks like my characters do.

It totally reinforced why I love YA. Her passion for life...wow, it was just amazing. And despite everything she'd gone through--all of the mistakes she had made--all of the hurtles she'd had to get past--she just kept bouncing back. It all serves to remind me how little credit is given to the experiences teens face today.

Inspiring. Truly.