Ilsa J. Bick was just in front of a huge crowd at Ridgeland High School this morning. We thought we’d share a little bit of an interview done for the blog Random Acts of Reading–a great place to learn about kids and young adult books.

Q. What inspired you to write about the apocalypse?

Because it could happen tomorrow? Because people can be so destructive? Because civilization is so fragile, only a construct?

Seriously, I’ve lived through some scary times, including the nuclear arms race, but the apocalypse seems much more real to me now. In part, I’m sure that’s my reaction to 9/11, but I am and always have been very nervous when it comes to environmental issues—and I gotta say, climate change is terrifying. Mass extinctions are happening. Environmental degradation is real. Resources will just become more scarce, and water is the next huge issue. People don’t realize how much time we don’t have to fool around while the ecosystem goes to hell.

Or maybe they do, on an unconscious level at least. Perhaps that’s why we’re seeing so many teen and YA dystopian and apocalyptic narratives at the moment. Now, the apocalypse is and has always been very big in sf, and we’re not talking alien invasion here but possible and probable scenarios: asteroid strikes, overpopulation, pollution, climate change, that kind of stuff. One thing about some current YA dystopias, though, is that not only are the nitty-gritty details of how the society collapsed pretty vague, but people are also somewhat shockingly well-behaved. I remember reading one book—a very fine novel, in fact—and wondering why no one had broken into the kid’s house and taken everything. Having worked with some pretty nasty inmates, being the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, dealing with highly disturbed patients . . . I know people aren’t all that nice, especially when they’re under stress. Just turn on the news for the disaster or riot of the week, if you don’t believe me. Better yet, go read some history. As scary as the world is, it can always get worse.

But if I were only about doom and gloom, then I wouldn’t have bothered with this book or subgenre. Honestly, adults can get so mopey and, yes, things are bad, but one of the things I love about YA is how redemptive it is. These kids are in crummy situations, ones their society or parents created, and what these books are about is changing the world and making it better. We desperately need that kind of energy and optimism. We need teens and young adults to realize that they’re the game-changers here. The adults had their shot. Time for a change, if you ask me.

Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick is published by Egmont, an independent publisher distributed by Random House.

Click here for the full interview at Random Acts of Reading.

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