I was very lucky, as a high schooler, to attend a school where academics were prized and it was cool, not to stay out late at a party, but to pull an all-nighter to study. All of my classmates had gotten good grades at their previous schools – that was a given. But after a time, I remember sitting around with my friends trying to figure out what our little “plus” was, the thing that had made us stand out, that made us one of the 13 percent of applicants who were admitted. One had played violin since she was three; another was an Olympics-hopeful swimmer; another was a phenomenal writer.
It wasn’t until much later that I realized how odd it was to ask 14-year-olds to already be so specialized in one thing.
This culture of excellence is pervasive in America today: kids are encouraged (or pushed) to find a passion as soon as possible, and this pressure can make those who haven’t somehow feel less-than or even identity-less. If you don’t excel at just one thing, if you don’t fit into the mold of jock or nerd or artist – or even pretty girl or queer kid – then who are you?
This culture of fitting into some box, mold, or group in American high schools doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, and that question of what to do when you don’t have a passion yet is a chief element of the conflict in This Time Will Be Different.
This recently-released YA novel tells the story of a young girl of Japanese descent living in California who finds herself constantly disappointing her over-achiever mother because of her lack of passion. Her mother has enrolled her in countless activities from sports to theater to dance, and each time our protagonist doesn’t excel, she is forced to try something new. She’s good at a lot of things but great at none, and surrounded, as she is, by a friends including history buff, an athlete, and an academic over-achiever, she feels even more less-than.
I love a book that speaks to those who feel out of place, as this one does with such success. And in a world where YA seems to be talking more and more to adults, it’s lovely to read a book that explores an issue so essential for so many teens.