My sister Amy’s really into this book. We talk about writing sometimes. She has a blog about seasonal living and has off and on been working on a young adult fantasy novel.
Nevermoor isn’t exactly young adult. I looked it up and I guess you would call it a middle grade book. It’s kind of like Matilda and Harry Potter in that starkly under appreciated kid has a bunch of magical things happen to them. There is a limit to acceptable allegories in middle grade fiction; whatever happens in the story, our readers should know that they are special. Hopefully that feeling should persist until long their first job starts taking over their self-esteem.
In Nevermoor everything is described with an intended aesthetic and there are a lot of random things to visualize and make you feel whimsical. It definitely feels like a supplement for Harry Potter fans who won’t get enough. It's part of an apparent sub-genre of magical academy-themed stories.
There is a creepy sort of voyeuristic feeling I get, reading books for the kids. It's like I can see how they have been tricked into liking something. So I might never write anything for kids. It’s not for me to lean the young toward thinking or feeling anything I think they should. I don’t need to express myself to kids. Kids suck and their opinions are uninformed. Their parents probably don't want guys like me influencing them.
Anyway, Nevermoor was fine. I probably won’t read any more books about Morrigan Crow unless someone really insists.