Young adult fiction

Young adult fiction or young adult literature, often abbreviated as YA, is fiction written, published, or marketed to adolescents and young adults. The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) of the American Library Association (ALA) defines a young adult as someone between the ages of 12 and 18. Authors and readers of young teen (YA) novels often define the category as literature traditionally written for ages ranging from 15 to early 20s. The terms young adult novel, juvenile novel, young adult book, etc. refer to the works in the YA category.

The subject matter and story lines of YA literature are typically consistent with the age and experience of the main character, but YA literature spans the spectrum of fiction genres. YA stories that focus on the specific challenges of youth are sometimes referred to as problem novels or coming-of-age novels. According to 2013 statistics by the speculative fiction publisher Tor Books, women outnumbered men by 68% to 32% among YA submissions to the publisher, a gender distribution converse to that observed in adult science fiction and most other fantasy.

History

Beginning

The history of YA literature is tied to the history of how childhood and young adulthood are imagined. Beginning in the 1920s, it was said that "this was the first time when it became clear that the young were a separate generation" (Cart 43); yet, multiple novels within the YA category had been published long before. One early writer to recognize young adults as a distinct group was Sarah Trimmer, who, in 1802, described "young adulthood" as lasting from ages 14 to 21. In her children's literature periodical, The Guardian of Education, Trimmer introduced the terms "Books for Children" (for those under fourteen) and "Books for Young Persons" (for those between fourteen and twenty-one), establishing terms of reference for young adult literature that remain in use today. Nineteenth century literature presents several early examples that appealed to young readers (Garland 1998, p. 6) including: The Swiss Family Robinson (1812), Waverley (1814), Oliver Twist (1838), The Count of Monte Cristo (1844), Tom Brown's Schooldays (1857), Great Expectations (1860), Alice in Wonderland (1865), The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), Kidnapped (1886), The Jungle Book (1894), and Moonfleet (1898).

A few other novels published around the start of the 20th century include Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, Heidi by Johanna Spyri, and Black Beauty by Anna Sewell. J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, published in 1937, and Betty Smith's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, published in 1943, although not specifically written for a younger people, are read by many adolescents today at that level.

Mid-20th century

In the 1950s, shortly before the advent of modern young-adult publishing surrounding the teen romance market, two influential novels drew the attention of adolescent readers: The Catcher in the Rye (1951) and Lord of the Flies (1954). Unlike later fiction classified as YA, these novels were written with an adult audience in mind and were not initially marketed to adolescents.

The modern classification of young-adult fiction originated during the 1950s and 1960s, especially after the publication of S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders (1967). The novel featured a truer, darker side of adolescent life that was not often represented in works of fiction of the time. Written during high school and published when Hinton was only 17, The Outsiders also lacked the nostalgic tone common in books about adolescents written by adults. The Outsiders remains one of the best-selling young-adult novels of all time, and Hinton is often considered to be one of the founders of the genre.

As the decades moved on, the 1960s became the era "when the 'under 30' generation became a subject of popular concern, and that research on adolescence began to emerge. It would also be the decade when literature for adolescents could be said to have come into its own" (Cart 43). This catapulted discussions about adolescent experiences and the new idea of adolescent authors; 1967 sparked the production in growth of this now thriving genre. In the 1970s, what has become to be known as the "fab five" were published. "For the record, the fab five are: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou; The Friends by Rosa Guy; The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath; Bless the Beasts and Children by Glendon Swarthout; and Deathwatch by Robb White" (Cart 77).

Through the decades

As publishers began to focus on the emerging adolescent market, booksellers and libraries began creating YA sections distinct from either children's literature or novels written for adults. The 1970s to the mid-1980s have been described as the golden age of young-adult fiction, when challenging novels began speaking directly to the interests of the identified adolescent market.

In the 1980s: "the 1980s contained a large amount of Young Adult publications which pushed the threshold of topics that adolescents faced such as rape, suicide, parental death, and murder." Also in the 1980s, "teenagers seemed to want to read about something closer to their daily lives-romance novels were revived" (Cart 99). In the 1990s, young adult literature pushed adolescent issues even further by including topics such as "drinking, sexuality, drug use, identity, beauty, and even teen pregnancy" (Lubar). Also in the 1990s, it seemed as though the era of young adult literature was going to lose steam but "due in part to an increase in the number of teenagers in the 1990s the field matured, blossomed, and came into its own with the better written, more serious, and more varied young adult books published during the last two decades" (Tomlinson and Lynch-Brown 5).

In 1997, J.K. Rowling's first Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was published. This novel kicked off the seven-book Harry Potter series, which was praised for its complexity and maturity, and attracted a wide adult audience. It was essentially about three adolescents trying to lead a normal life and cope with the banal struggles of coming of age and deal with their loss of innocence in an increasingly war-ridden 1990's Wizarding Britain. The success of the Harry Potter series lead many to pinpoint Harry Potter and its author, J.K. Rowling, as the force responsible for the modern resurgence of YA literature seen in such successes as The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, and The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer.

Themes

Young adult literature uses a wide array of themes in order to appeal to a wide variety of adolescent readers.

These themes include:

• identity
• sexuality
• racism
• science fiction
• depression
• suicide
• drug abuse
• alcohol abuse
• familial struggles
• bullying

Some issues discussed in young adult literature include: friendship, love, race, money, divorce, relationships within families. "The culture that surrounds and absorbs young adults plays a huge role in their lives. Young Adult Literature explores themes important and crucial to adolescence such as relationships to authority figures, peer pressure and ensuing experimentations, issues of diversity as it relates to gender, sociocultural, and/or socioeconomic status. Primarily, the focus is centered on a young lead character and the reader experiences emotions, situations, and the like through this character and is able to see how these problems/situations are resolved. It also needs to play a significant role in how we approach this group and the books we offer them to read" (Lesesne 14). Reading about issues that adolescents can relate to allows them to identify with a particular character, and creates a sense of security when experiencing something that is going on within their lives. "Whether you call them archetypes or stereotypes, there are certain experiences and certain kinds of people that are common to adolescents. Reading about it may help a young person validate his or her own experience and make some kind of meaning out of it" (Blasingame, 12). In a paper written by April Dawn Wells, she discovers seventeen common traits of young adult novels. These include: "friendship, getting into trouble, interest in the opposite sex, money, divorce, single parents, remarriage, problems with parents, grandparents, younger siblings, concern over grades/school, popularity, puberty, race, death, neighborhood, and job/working".

Characteristics

Young adult literature contains specific characteristics that are present throughout the genre. These characteristics encompass: "multi-themed story, tension versus shock effect, memorable characters, accurate facts and details, memorable voice, authentic dialogue, effective/clear writing style, sense of humor, widespread appeal, intriguing openings and memorable closings" (Cole 61–65). Other characteristics of Young Adult Literature include: "(1) Characters and issues young readers can identify with; those issues and characters are treated in a way that does not invalidate, minimize, or devalue them; (2) Is framed in language that young readers can understand; (3) Emphasizes plot above everything else; and (4) Is written for an audience of young adults" (Blasingame 11). Overall, young adult literature needs to contain specific elements that will not only interest readers of this genre, but elements that relate directly to real situations adolescents in all generations may encounter, and contain believable, empathetic characters.

Usage in education

Research suggests young adult literature can be advantageous to reluctant student readers by addressing their needs. Authors who write young adult literature have an adolescent’s age and interests in mind. The language and plots of young adult literature are similar to what students are accustomed to finding in reality, television, movies, and popular culture (Bucher, Manning, 328-332).

The following are criteria that researchers have come up with to evaluate the effectiveness of young adult literature in the classroom (Bucher and Manning, 9-10).

• The subject matter should reflect age and development by addressing their interest levels, reading and thinking levels.
• The content should deal with contemporary issues and experiences with characters adolescents can relate.
• Subjects can relate to dealing with parents and adults, illness and death, peer pressure with regards to drugs, sex, and the complications of addiction and pregnancy.
• The content should consider existing global concerns such as cultural, social, and gender diversity; environmental and political issues as it relates to adolescents.

Young adult literature has been integrated into classrooms in order to increase student interest in reading. Research has been performed on what type of impact the introduction YA Literature has on students, particularly adolescent males and struggling readers: "Researchers have shown that introducing YA Literature to males improves their reading ability. YA Literature, because of its range of authors and story types, is an appropriate literature for every adolescent male who needs compelling material that speaks to him" (Gill). Research shows that not only adolescent males have been labeled as reluctant readers, struggling readers use reluctance as a coping mechanism. Young Adult Literature has been used to open up the door of reading literature to these readers as well: "When voluntary reading declines, the problems of struggling readers are only aggravated. By allowing adolescents to read good young adult literature, educators are able to encourage independent reading, which will, in turn, help adolescents develop the skills necessary to succeed." (Bucher and Manning)

Another reason that young adult literature has been incorporated into classrooms is to be paired with classic texts that are traditionally read in classrooms, and required by many schools curricula. Using YA Lit alongside a canonical piece of text can increase a student's comprehension of the common themes the various texts have, and make reading a classic text more enjoyable: "Young adult literature can spark interest in the classics and vice versa. Although it's clear that young adult literature is more accessible, that doesn't warrant denying the classics to struggling readers. The classics shouldn't be reserved for exceptional students, and Young Adult Literature shouldn't be reserved for at-risk readers." (Cole 513).

YA literature can also be used as a stepping stone to canon works. In Building a Culture of Readers: YA Literature and the Canon by Kara Lycke, Lycke suggests pairing YAL and canon works to prepare young adults to understand the classic literature they will encounter. By having teachers look at the connections between two texts they will prepare their students to do the same. When it comes to pairings Lycke suggests, "Riordan's YA Percy Jackson series with Homer's the Iliad and the Odyssey or Meyer's Twilight series with texts her characters reference, such as Wuthering Heights. Others suggest thematic connections such as examining the "denial of the American dream" (Herz &Gallo, 1996, p.??) by pairing the classic Grapes of Wrath with Spinelli's Maniac Magee or Meyers' Monster (Lycke, 2014, p. 24). Lycke's article is a great resource for more pairings like these as well as an explanation as to how these sources help increase student understanding in the classroom.

Situational archetypes in literature

The classic canon in high school literature classes can often be too overwhelming and far removed from the everyday life of an adolescent. Sarah K. Herz and Donald Gallo suggest using archetypes from traditional literature to "build bridges" to the classics through young adult literature. Young Adult Literature offers teachers an effective way to introduce the study of archetypes in literature by grouping a variety of titles around archetypal situations and characters. Herz and Gallo suggest before or after studying a traditional classic or contemporary novel it is a good time to introduce the concept of archetypes in literature. Based on the Jungian theory of archetypes, consider a literary archetype as a character type or theme which recurs frequently in literature (Herz and Gallo, 64-66). Recognizing archetypes in literature will help students build the foundation for making connection among various works of literature. Students can begin to grasp and identify the archetypal images and patterns that appear in new forms. Archetypes also help students become more conscious of an author’s style and to think about and recognize the way in which a particular writer develops a character or story (Herz and Gallo, 66).

Using classic situational archetypes in the classroom

A partial list of classic situational literary archetypes as comprised by Herz and Gallo in two separate editions of their book, From Hinton to Hamlet: Building Bridges between Young Adult Literature and the Classics. The young adult novels are paired with classic novels based on situational archetypes (Herz and Gallo, 66-70).

Birth/Death/Rebirth

Presents the main character in a conflict. Through pain and suffering, the character’s spirit survives the fight and through a development of self-awareness the main character is reborn. Vampire Empire by Stella Purple. Breathing Underwater by Alex Flinn / Hamlet by William Shakespeare

The Fall: Expulsion from Eden

The main character is expelled because of undesirable actions on his or her part. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson / The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Journey

The protagonist takes a journey, either physically or emotionally, that brings meaning in their life. The Crazy Horse Electric Game by Chris Crutcher / The Odyssey by Homer and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Paper Towns by John Green.

The Test or Trial

The main character experiences growth and change; he or she experiences a transformation. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi, Permanent Connections by Sue Ellen Bridgers, Dancing on Dark Waters by Alden Carter, and Driver's Ed by Caroline Cooney / The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane and The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Looking for Alaska by John Green and The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp.

Annihilation; Absurdity; Total Oblivion

In order to exist in an unbearable world, the main character accepts that life is "absurd, ridiculous, and ironic" Vampire Empire by Stella Purple. The Giver by Lois Lowry. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller and Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.. Struck by Lightning by Chris Colfer

Parental Conflicts and Relationships

The protagonist deals with parental conflict by rejecting or bonding with parents. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume, Midnight Hour Encores by Bruce Brooks, Ironman by Chris Crutcher, and The Runner by Cynthia Voigt / Ordinary People by Judith Guest, Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, and The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams.

The Wise Old Man or Woman

This figure protects or assists the main character in facing challenges. Phoenix Rising by Karen Hesse, Memoirs of a Bookbat by Kathryn Lasky, Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson, and Remembering the Good Times by Richard Peck / To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.

The Hero

The main character leaves his or her community to go on an adventure, performing actions that bring honor to the community. Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher and Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff / A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens and Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand.

The Sacrificial Redeemer

The protagonist is willing to die for a belief; the main character maintains a strong sense of morality. Harry Potter by J K Rowling, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins,The Chocolate War and The Bumblebee Flies Anyway by Robert Cormier, Divergent by Veronica Roth, Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, and Antigone by Sophocles, The Maze Runner by James Dashner, "The Giver" by Louis Lowry

Trends

The category of YA fiction continues to expand into other media and genres: graphic novels/manga, light novels, fantasy, mystery fiction, romance novels, even subcategories such as cyberpunk, splatterpunk, techno-thrillers, and contemporary Christian fiction. Formats such as ebooks make it possible for teens to access these online.

Young adult problem novel

See also: Social novel and Social protest novel

Recently the term "problem novel" has been applied to works that deal exclusively with an adolescent's first confrontation with a social or personal problem. The term was first used this way in the late 1960s with reference to contemporary works like The Outsiders, a coming-of-age novel by S. E. Hinton, first published in 1967. The adolescent problem novel is rather loosely defined. Rose Mary Honnold in The Teen Reader's Advisor defines them as dealing more with characters from lower-class families and their problems and as using "grittier", more realistic language, including dialects, profanity, and poor grammar, when it fits the character and setting. Sometimes, the term problem novel is used almost interchangeably with "young adult novel", but many young adult novels do not fit these criteria.

S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders (1967) and Paul Zindel's The Pigman (1968) are problem novels written specifically for teenagers. However, Sheila Egoff notes in Thursday's Child: Trends and Patterns in Contemporary Children's Literature that the Newbery Award winning novel It's Like This, Cat (1964) by Emily Cheney Neville may have established "the problem novel formula." Go Ask Alice (1971) is an early example of the subgenre and is often considered an example of the negative aspects of the form (Although the author is "Anonymous", it is largely or wholly the work of its purported editor, Beatrice Sparks). A more recent example is Adam Rapp's The Buffalo Tree (1997).

Boundaries between children's, YA, and adult fiction

The distinctions among children's literature, YA literature, and adult literature have historically been flexible and loosely defined. This line is often policed by adults who feel strongly about the border. At the lower end of the YA age spectrum, fiction targeted to readers age 9 to 12 is referred to as middle-grade fiction. Some novels originally marketed to adults have been identified as being of interest and value to adolescents, and vice versa, as in the case of books such as the Harry Potter series of novels.

Some examples of middle grade novels and novel series include the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, by Rick Riordan, The Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. Some examples of young adult novels and novel series include the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, and the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare.

Middle grade novels are for the ages of 8-12. They tend to have an ATOS level of 5.0 or below, have a smaller word count, and are significantly less mature and complex in theme and content. Young adult novels are for the ages of 12-18. They tend to have an ATOS level of 5.0 or above, have a larger word count, and tackle more mature and adult themes and content. Middle grade novels usually feature protagonists under the age of 13, whereas YA novels usually feature protagonists within the age range of 12-18.

Sometimes, a variety of subcategories are recognized. These include early readers and picture books (If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, The Magic Treehouse,) chapter books (The Boxcar Children,) lower middle grade (Charlotte's Web, Roald Dahl's works,) upper middle grade (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the first two Harry Potter installments,) new young adult (The Golden Compass, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,) young adult (The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Harry Potter numbers four, five, and six,) and (Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Mockingjay, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Go Ask Alice).

New adult fiction

New adult fiction (also known as NA or post-adolescent literature) is a recent genre of fiction aimed towards post-adolescents and young-adults ages 18 to 30. The term is believed to have been first coined by St. Martin's Press in 2009. The genre tends to focus on issues prevalent in the young adult genre as well as focusing on issues experienced by individuals between the area of childhood and adulthood, such as leaving home for university and getting a job.

New adult is typically considered a subcategory of adult literature rather than young adult literature. Some popular new adult titles include The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, The Magicians by Lev Grossman, The Cuckoo's Calling by J.K. Rowling, and the upcoming play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Jack Thorne and J.K. Rowling.

Awards

Various young adult fiction awards are presented annually, and mark outstanding adolescent literature writing.

• The Michael L. Printz Award is an award for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature. It is named for a Topeka, Kansas school librarian who was a long-time active member of the Young Adult Library Services Association.
• The William C. Morris YA Debut Award first awarded in 2009, honors a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens and celebrating impressive new voices in young adult literature. The first William C. Morris award was given to Elizabeth C. Bunce for A Curse Dark as Gold.
• The Margaret A. Edwards Award was established in 1988, honors an author, as well as a specific body of his or her work, for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature. The annual award is administered by YALSA and sponsored by School Library Journal magazine. It recognizes an author's work in helping adolescents become aware of themselves and addressing questions about their role and importance in relationships, society, and in the world.
• The Alex Awards are given annually to ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults. The winning titles are selected from the previous year's publishing. The Alex Awards were first given annually beginning in 1998 and became an official ALA award in 2002.
• Odyssey Award honors the producer of the best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States. Co-administered with Association for Library Service to Children.
• YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults (ages 12–18) during a 1 November – 31 October publishing year.

See also

3

Bibliography

• Blasingame, James. Books That Don't Bore 'Em: Young Adult Books That Speak to This Generation. New York: Scholastic, 2007. Print.
• Bucher, K., Manning, M. Lee. "Young Adult Literature and the School Curriculum" education.com Pearson Allyn Bacon Prentice Hall. 2006.Web. 12 May 2009.
• Bucher, Katherine Toth, and M. Lee. Manning. Young Adult Literature: Exploration, Evaluation, and Appreciation. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, 2006. Print.
• Cart, Michael. From Romance to Realism: 50 Years of Growth and Change in Young Adult Literature. New York: Harper Collins, 1996. Print.
• Cart, Michael. From Insider to Outsider: The Evolution of Young Adult Literature. "Voices From The Middle," 9(2), 95-97. 2001.
• Cole, Pam B. Young Adult Literature: In the 21st Century. New York: McGraw Hill, 2009. Print.
• Gill, Sam D. "Young Adult Literature for Young Adult Males". The Alan Review Winter 1999. Web. 12 May 2009.
• Herz, Sarah K., and Donald R. Gallo. From Hinton to Hamlet: Building Bridges between Young Adult Literature and the Classics. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1996. Print.
• Herz, Sarah K., and Donald R. Gallo. From Hinton to Hamlet: Building Bridges between Young Adult Literature and the Classics. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2005. Print.
• Lesesne, Teri S. Making the Match: The Right Book for the Right Reader at the Right Time, Grades 4-12. Maine: Stenhouse Publishers, 2003. Print.
• Lubar, David. "The History of Young Adult Novels". The Alan Review Spring 2003. Web. 12 May 2009.
  • Lycke, K. (n.d.). Building a Culture of Readers: YA Literature and the Canon. Retrieved December 7, 2015, from http://signal-ya.org/index.php/signalj/past-issues
• Stephens, Jonathan. "Young Adult: A Book by Any Other Name...:Defining the Genre". The Alan Review Fall 2007. Web. 12 May 2009.
• Thomlinson, Carl M., Lynch-Brown, Carol. Essentials of Young Adult Literature. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. 2007. Print.

Further reading

• Authors and Artists for Young Adults, serial publication (Gale, 1989+) with bio-bibliographies of novelists, poets, dramatists, filmmakers, cartoonists, painters, architects, and photographers which appeal to teenagers. Entries typically are six to twelve pages in length, have a black & white photo of the author/artist and other illustrations. Recent volumes include a sidebar recommending similar books/works the reader might like also.
• ALA Best Books for Young Adults. by YALSA, edited by Holly Koelling. Best Books for Young Adults, 3rd ed.
• Books for the Teen Age, annual book list selected by teens for teens, sponsored by the New York Public Library.
• More Outstanding Books for the College Bound, by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a professional organization for librarians serving teens in either public libraries or school library/media centers; a division of ALA.
• Diana Tixier Herald. (2003) Teen Genreflecting. 2nd ed. Wesport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited.
• Judging a Book by Its Cover:  Publishing Trends in Young Adult Literature, by Cat Yampbell, The Lion and the Unicorn; September 2005; 29:3; Children's Module, The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 348–372, at pp. 350–351.
• Frances FitzGerald, "The Influence of Anxiety" in Harper's, September 2004, p. 62-70
• Grenby, Matthew. "Introduction." The Guardian of Education. Bristol: Thoemmes Press, 2002. ISBN 1-84371-011-0

External links

• "In defense of mean-girl books", by Lianne George, Macleans, 15 October 2007. Archived April 3, 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
• "New Trend in Teen Fiction: Racy Reads; Parents Alarmed that Books are More 'Sex and the City' than Nancy Drew", by Janet Shamlian, NBC News, 15 August 2005.
• "Now and Forever: The Power of Sex in Young Adult Literature," by Tanya Lee Stone, VOYA, February 2006.
• NPR: Multicultural Books Offer Diverse Reading Experience Michel Martin interviews ALA President Loriene Roy, 19 July 2007.
• "Young Adult Fiction: Wild Things," by Naomi Wolf, The New York Times, 12 March 2006.nl:Jeugdliteratuur#Jeugdliteratuur