Welcome to the Rebellion
by Charlotte Bennardo Ah, the teen years; we hate them and love them, although when asked, most people say they wouldn't want to go back to high school (young adult era) again-or ever. I'm one of them. My main insecurity was cliche; not measuring up, being 'cool,' fitting in. It wasn't until my senior year that I finally said "Screw it, I'm not staying here so I don't care." And yes, I peeled out of the parking lot on last day of classes, got reprimanded, and shrugged. (I was an honor student, NEVER got in trouble, school was over. What were they going to do?) So when I write my young adult characters, I use the "I don't care about the status quo" rebellious characteristic for two reasons: the first that life was infinitely more interesting when I didn't confine myself to what everyone else thought or lived by. It was very liberating and I haven't looked back. The second reason is that agents and editors want strong charac...
