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Age Group-Self-Discovery In M. G. Leonard's Beetle Boy

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Important to realize, How I Live Now is intended for teenagers and young adults. Daisy’s story fits into the themes commonly explored for that age group - self-discovery. young love and survival. As much as consumer culture, and chaos and societal breakdown fits into Fight Club’s older age bracket.

Whereas, Darkus is actively finding his father in Beetle Boy by M.G. Leonard - demonstrating that family is an important theme in standalone novels. His endeavour is the driving force of the plot. He is faced with malicious neighbours, army beetles and a monstrous woman which are light-hearted, fictitious elements that readers (ages 8 - 12) would still enjoy. Even though Leonard’s writing tends to be wicked - ‘ “I’d have to skin you before I could put you in a pie,” he grinned, “because human skin is pretty chewy.” ‘ - it’s a slight shift from what early readers are used to. For example, the witch from Hansel and Gretel did intend to eat Hansel and Gretel; however, these components are bearable because the protagonists get their happy-endings nonetheless. Once readers start shifting to young adult and adult fiction, as discussed in How I Live Now and Fight Club, ‘happy-endings’ are not as straightforward.

Characters also become more complex. Readers delve into Darkus’ emotions where he is …show more content…

If a fight club existed within Beetle Boy, it would be highly unbefitting and irrelevant to readers. Older readers may also find Darkus’ interest in beetles boring and childish. Although, I find that authors have to be careful in picking an element that works best with their targeted audience. My own story includes a childhood game - hide and seek. By including another element (i.e., fight club, beetles, war, bottled heart) alongside the overall theme of fatherlessness, it further attracts readers - instead of directly writing about

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