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“In the past, I’ve always been on the writer’s side, hoping for every book’s success, cheering it on — a habit born of teaching young writers for so many years. But these days, I worry about the poor reader subsisting on clichés and foregone conclusions. I worry about young adult fiction — a worthy genre in and of itself — invading the space where more challenging and difficult and rewarding novels, novels for adults, once dwelled.”
— Alice McDermott