Anna Staniszewski

My husband gave me a wonderful present for my birthday: the complete “Veronica Mars” series on DVD. We were both obsessed with the show when it was on TV, so it’s nice that we’ll be able to go back and revisit it anytime we want. The other day we popped in the first disc and got sucked right back into the VM-iverse. What really stood out to me watching the first episode this time around was how much it was structured like a YA novel. This makes sense since Rob Thomas is a YA author as well as a TV writer/producer.

What gave the episode that YA novel feel? I think a big part of it are Veronica’s voice-overs which we hear from the very beginning and which lead us through the story as we go. Also, the order of the scenes helps add to the novel feeling. We start with a scene that grabs our attention: a teenage girl sitting outside of a sleazy motel, taking photographs of an alleged adulterer, and talking about the calculus test she has to take in four hours. Already we know this isn’t your average teenage girl. Then a motorcycle gang pulls up and surrounds her car, which brings the tension up. Then we flash back to twenty hours earlier, which I would imagine in a book would be: “How did I get into this situation? It all started when…”

That’s how the rest of the episode goes. We get more and more story, interspersed with backstory that the voice-over leads us through. So we’re being introduced to the world, to how Veronica’s life is now, and also to how it used to be. The first person is key here because it makes us empathize with her. However, her first person voice is also a little bit distancing because she talks about very emotional things in a somewhat emotionless way. I think it’s what adds to her being such an interesting character and what makes her the slightly snarky, teenage narrator that we often come across in YA.

Ultimately I think what really made me think of a YA novel was the sense of isolation and distance in Veronica’s life. She’s been dumped by her friends and her boyfriend for reasons she doesn’t understand; her mother deserted the family; her best friend was murdered; and her father has suddenly started lying to her. It’s enough to make anyone go crazy, but somehow she handles it all and manages to get decent grades and solve mysteries. But because her life has hit such a low, it’s rewarding to see her making new friends and slowly winning others over. We’re supposed to like her, even if no one else does, and so we root for her at the same time that we’re intrigued to figure out how all the mysteries will play out later in the series.