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4 The Girl-Positive Library A trait of how we tend to officially decide if a story should be categorized as YA lit­er­a­ture is the use of a first-­person narrator. ­Because it is often first person, when protagonists tell their stories they seem to open a win­dow, provide a map, hold up a mirror for a teen reader in a more intimate manner. And yet we must acknowledge the role of adults in creating the story, editing and publishing the story, promoting the story, and the implications of adult gatekeepers in creating the win­dow, map, and/or mirror. The role of adults in the pro­cess the idea of YA lit­er­a­ture as a “pure” youth voice. Simply put, it ­complicates isn’t a pure youth voice (although online and self-­publishing has space to change that). The youth voice in YA lit­ er ­ a ­ ture is filtered in the pro­cess, through memory, through culture, through market needs and expectations, through community values and norms. This is why part of the We Need Diverse Books movement is to support diverse authors. It supports an idea of au­then­tic voice. That said, it is impor­tant to keep in mind the nature of the adults in creating and sharing stories of youth through YA fiction. It is with this knowledge of adult roles that I think it is impor­tant to consider repre­sen­ ta ­ tions of girls in YA lit­ er ­ a ­ ture, and how that contributes to girlhood. Whose agenda is at the core of the story? How is girlhood represented? What information might a girl take away from a story? This book examines repre­sen­ ta­tions of girlhood in the YA publishing category, not just lit­ er ­ a ­ ture but also in non-­fiction texts. It wants to examine what we are telling our girls through lit­ er ­ a­ture and non-­fiction and how can we discuss and challenge the cultural mes- sages. When it comes to repre­sen­ ta ­ tion, ­ there is no shortage of girls in YA texts. But who are ­these girls? What are the messages about being a girl that ­these texts send? How can we use ­ these texts with girls as atlases to their world? READING AS A FEMINIST To be clear, I ask ­ these questions from a par­tic­u­lar viewpoint. I read as a feminist. I am asking the question of how girl is represented from a feminist lens. This is not insignificant. I ­will expand on that idea in this chapter in order to expose how, as an adult, I interpret ­ these texts. But it suggests a par­tic­u­lar construction of our culture as primarily a patriarchy that defines girls as objects and seeks to constrain how girlhood is enacted. Simply put, I am read- ing to note how YA lit­er­a­ture is presenting a par­tic­u­lar message of how to be “girl.” ­Because I am cognizant that, culturally, we want our girls to be quiet, likable, virginal to a point and then sexy but not sexual, I am aware of how ­ these mores are presented in YA lit­er­a­ture, and the spaces in which YA lit­er­ a­ture challenges that cultural narrative. In writing this book, I am adding yet another layer of gatekeeping to YA lit­ er­ a ­ ture. I am imposing my analy­sis and experience as an adult feminist on YA lit­ er ­ a ­ ture and making suggestions to adult prac­ ti ­ tion­ers. I am acutely aware that this is problematic. I believe we need to challenge YA lit­ er ­ a ­ ture as a true repre­ sen­ ta ­ tion of youth voice, since it is authored and published by adults. I want this to be acknowledged while still recognizing the potentially transgressive nature of YA lit­ er ­ a ­ ture, as it can challenge adult notions of what youth is and should be. YA lit­ er ­ a ­ ture is a truth, not the truth.