Young adult literature ( YA ) is typically written for readers aged 12 to 18 and includes most of the themes found in adult fiction, such as friendship, substance abuse, alcoholism, and sexuality. Stories that focus on the challenges of youth may be further categorized as social or coming-of-age novels .
80-624: Alexandra Flinn (born October 23, 1966) is an American writer of novels for young adults . Her books have appeared on the New York Times and USA Today Bestseller lists and have been translated into over twenty foreign languages. Many of her books have made the American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults lists, as well as Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. Many of her novels are modernized versions of classic fairy tales. Flinn
160-439: A 2014 study shows that using Laurie Halse Anderson 's novel Speak aided in discussions on consent and complicity. Those who read about tough situations like date rape are more emotionally prepared to handle the situation if it arises. It is important to use diverse literature in the classroom, especially in discussing taboo topics, to avoid excluding minority students. Literature written for young adults can also be used as
240-705: A 2018 conference of educators found that the most frequently taught YA texts in America from 2013 to 2018, ordered from most to least taught, were Speak , The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian , The Giver , The Outsiders , The House on Mango Street , American Born Chinese , Monster , The Book Thief , Persepolis , and The Perks of Being a Wallflower . Many young adult novels feature coming-of-age stories. These feature adolescents beginning to transform into adults, working through personal problems, and learning to take responsibility for their actions. YA serves many literary purposes. It provides
320-546: A Crackt one . Chapbooks were the literature of the poor and Trimmer attempted to separate children's literature from texts she associated with the lower classes. Trimmer criticized the values associated with fairy tales, accusing them of perpetuating irrationality, superstition, and unfavorable images of stepparents. Rather than seeing Trimmer as a censor of fairy tales, therefore, children's literature scholar Nicholas Tucker has argued, "by considering fairy tales as fair game for criticism rather than unthinking worship, Mrs Trimmer
400-495: A consensus on a definition". Victor Malo-Juvera, Crag Hill, in "The Young Adult Canon : A Literary Solar System" note that in 2019 there was no consensus on a definition of young adult literature and list a number of definitions, including: Librarians first defined this new category of fiction, in particular librarians from the New York Public Library . The NYPL's first annual Books for Young People list
480-532: A designated demographic in most respects until around World War II, due in part to advances in psychology and sociological changes, like the abolishment of child labor". With this development came the marketing of "clothes, music, films, radio programs, and ... the novel" for young adults. All the same Sarah Trimmer in 1802 recognized young adults as a distinct age group describing "young adulthood" as lasting from ages 14 to 21. In her children's literature periodical, The Guardian of Education , Trimmer introduced
560-552: A genre". In 1942, Seventeenth Summer – called by some the first young adult novel – by 17 years old Maureen Daly, was published. Its themes were especially relevant to teenagers, underaged drinking, driving, dating, and angst. Another early example is the Heinlein juveniles , which were science fiction novels written by Robert A. Heinlein for Scribner's young-adult line, beginning with Rocket Ship Galileo in 1947. Scribner's published eleven more between 1947 and 1958, but
640-625: A lack of books with a main character who is a person of color , LGBT , or disabled . In the UK 90% of the best-selling YA titles from 2006 to 2016 featured white, able-bodied, cis-gendered, and heterosexual main characters. The numbers of children's book authors have shown a similar lack of diversity. Between 2006 and 2016, eight percent of all young adult authors published in the UK were people of color. Some consider diversity beneficial since it encourages children of diverse backgrounds to read and it teaches children of all backgrounds an accurate view of
720-451: A pamphlet, she proposed her own comprehensive educational program. The Guardian of Education was the first periodical to take the reviewing of children's books seriously. Trimmer's over four hundred reviews constituted a set of distinct and identifiable criteria regarding what was valuable in this new genre. As a high-church Anglican , she was intent on protecting Christianity from secularism as well as evangelicalism , particularly as
800-540: A part of this movement. In its pages, Trimmer denounced the Revolution and the philosophers whose works she believed were responsible for it, particularly Jean-Jacques Rousseau . She argued that there existed a vast conspiracy, organized by the atheistic and democratic revolutionaries of France, to undermine and overthrow the legitimate governments of Europe. From her perspective, the conspirators were attempting to overturn traditional society by "endeavouring to infect
880-433: A phenomenon, a work has to "conform to the standards [...] set by the mass media and promoted by the culture industry in general." Zipes complains of similarities between Harry Potter and other well known heroes. Professor Chris Crowe argues that criticism of young adult fiction arises from the fear that the genre will replace classic works. He also suggests that because there is much poorly written young adult fiction, and
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#1732797820339960-405: A pleasurable reading experience for young people, emphasizing real-life experiences and problems in easier-to-grasp ways, and depicts societal functions. An analysis of YA novels between 1980 and 2000 found seventeen expansive literary themes. The most common of these were friendship, getting into trouble, romantic and sexual interest, and family life. Other common thematic elements revolve around
1040-500: A pre-eminent role for speculative fiction in the field, a trend further solidified by The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. The end of the decade saw a number of awards appear such as the Michael L. Printz Award and Alex Awards , designed to recognize excellence in writing for young adult audiences. Philip Pullman 's fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials , published between 1995 and 2000, added another controversial topic to
1120-577: A stepping stone to canonical works that are traditionally read in classrooms, and required by many school curriculums . In Building a Culture of Readers: YA Literature and the Canon by Kara Lycke, Lycke suggests pairing young adult literature and canon works to prepare young adults to understand the classic literature they will encounter. YA can provide familiar and less alienating examples of similar concepts than those in classic literature. Suggested pairings include Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series with
1200-534: A young boy's adventures on the Mississippi in the nineteenth century". The same description can be applied to its sequel, Huckleberry Finn . Huck is 12 or 13. According to journalist Erin Blakemore, "Though young adult literature had existed since at least Laura Ingalls Wilder 's Little House series , which was published in the 1930s, teachers and librarians were slow to accept books for adolescents as
1280-548: Is "excellently accommodated to the fancies of old or young". A number of works by eighteenth and nineteenth-century authors, though not written specifically for young readers, have appealed to them. Novels by Daniel Defoe , Jonathan Swift , Jane Austen , Walter Scott , Charles Dickens , Lewis Carroll , Robert Louis Stevenson , Mark Twain , Francis Hodgson Burnett , and Edith Nesbit . Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll , published in 1865 and one of
1360-450: Is a well-known example of the YA problem novel. Following its publication, problem novels became popular during the 1970s. Librarian Sheila Egoff described three reasons why problem novels resonate with adolescents: A classic example of a problem novel, and one that defined the sub-genre, is Go Ask Alice anonymously published by Beatrice Sparks in 1971. Go Ask Alice is written as
1440-573: Is at one with scholars today who have also written critically about the ideologies found in some individual stories". Trimmer's views of the French philosophes were shaped by Abbé Barruel's Memoirs Illustrating the History of Jacobinism (1797–98) (she extracted large sections from this text into the Guardian itself) but also by her fears of the ongoing wars between France and Britain during
1520-577: Is difficult. A Wrinkle in Time , written by Madeleine L'Engle in 1960, received over twenty-six rejections before publication in 1962, because it was, in L'Engle's words, "too different," and "because it deals overtly with the problem of evil , and it was really difficult for children, and was it a children's or an adults' book, anyhow?" In 1957 the Young Adult Library Services Association – initially called
1600-567: Is inside". YA has been integrated into classrooms to increase student interest in reading. Studies have shown that YA can be beneficial in classroom settings. YA fiction is written for adolescents and some believe it to be more relevant to students' social and emotional needs instead of classic literature . Use of YA in classrooms is linked to: Students who read YA are more likely to appreciate literature and have stronger reading skills than others. YA also allows teachers to talk about " taboo " or difficult topics with their students. For example,
1680-424: Is often labelled "children's literature", Garner himself rejects such a description. Critic Neil Philip, commenting on Garner's early novels, notes that "It may be that Garner's is a case" where the division between children's and adults' literature is "meaningless". Judy Blume author of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. (1970), has significantly contributed to children's and young adult literature. She
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#17327978203391760-468: Is perhaps most famous now for her condemnation of fairy tales , such as the various translations of Charles Perrault's Histoires ou Contes du Temps passé (1697). She disliked fairy tales because they endorsed an irrational view of the world and success without work. Trimmer's view of fairy tales, although often ridiculed by modern critics, was widespread at the end of the eighteenth century, in part because most educators accepted John Locke's theory that
1840-479: Is sometimes targeted by critics for religious reasons, including religious debates over the Harry Potter series and Philip Pullman's trilogy His Dark Materials . Criticism has also been leveled at young adult fiction authors for alleged insensitivity to marginalized communities or cultural appropriation . English language young adult fiction and children's literature in general have historically shown
1920-414: Is usually seen as originating in the 19th century, though there were precursors in the 18th century, like Amelia by Henry Fielding (1751), and Caleb Williams (1794) by William Godwin . They are typically a type of realistic fiction that characteristically depict, in the YA version of this genre, issues such as poverty , drugs , and pregnancy. Published in 1967, S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders
2000-1000: The Percy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan , The Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins , and Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney . Examples of young adult novels and novel series include the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz and the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare . Middle grade novels are usually shorter, and are significantly less mature and complex in theme and content than YA. YA novels are for ages 12–18, and tackle more mature and adult themes and content than middle grade novels. The latter usually feature protagonists between
2080-730: The Guardian appeared monthly; from then until it ceased publication in September 1806, it was issued quarterly. There were 28 issues in all. Trimmer undertook a challenging task in publishing her periodical. According to Grenby, she aimed "to assess the current state of educational policy and praxis in Britain and to shape its future direction". To do so, she evaluated the educational theories of Rousseau, John Locke , Mary Wollstonecraft , Hannah More , Madame de Genlis , Joseph Lancaster , and Andrew Bell , among others. In her "Essay on Christian Education", subsequently published separately as
2160-685: The Iliad or the Odyssey , or Stephenie Meyer 's Twilight with Wuthering Heights . When discussing identity, Lycke suggests pairing Hawthorne 's The Scarlet Letter with Sherman Alexie 's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian . The trend to include same-sex relationships and transgender characters in young adult fiction has caused considerable controversy. Conservative activists and religious groups have also criticized young adult fiction for violence, explicit sexual content, obscene language, and suicide. Speculative young adult fiction
2240-615: The sentimental works of Edward Augustus Kendall , such as Keeper's Travels in Search of His Master , did little to dampen the sales of his works. With its four hundred reviews, The Guardian of Education , as Grenby writes, "contributed to the establishment of children's literature as a secure, permanent and respectable literary genre". By excluding novels , chapbooks , tracts , ballads , and fairy tales , it effectively decided what counted as children's literature and what did not. Furthermore, in one of her early essays, "Observations on
2320-436: The 1790s . Trimmer emphasized Christianity above all in her writings and maintained that one should to turn to God in times of trial. As children's literature scholar M. Nancy Cutt argues, Trimmer and writers like her "claimed emphatically that the degree of human happiness was in direct proportion to the degree of submission to the divine Will. Thus they repudiated the moralists' view that learning should exalt reason and work to
2400-576: The Bible, such as William Godwin's Bible Stories (1802), and secondarily to books that promoted ideas she associated with the French Revolution . She also criticized the inclusion of scenes of death, characters who were insane, and representations of sexuality, as well as books that might frighten children. She typically praises books that encourage intellectual instruction, such as Anna Barbauld's Lessons for Children (1778–79). Trimmer
2480-512: The Changes which have taken place in Books for Children and Young Persons", Trimmer wrote the first history of children's literature. Its landmark books, such as Sarah Fielding's The Governess (1749) and John Newbery's The History of Little Goody Two Shoes (1765), are still cited today by scholars as important in the development of children's literature. It was not until the last quarter of
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2560-493: The Philosopher's Stone , was published in 1997. Originally marketed in the UK under the broad category of children's literature, the books received attention and praise for their increasingly mature and sophisticated nature, eventually garnering a significant audience of adult readers. This phenomenon led many to see Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling as responsible for a resurgence of young adult literature. It also established
2640-464: The Rings (1954-5) by J. R. R. Tolkien are highly successful fantasy novels, which are read to young children and read by both children and adults They are found in the teen or young adult section of American public and school libraries. However, Lord of the Rings is generally not on the curriculum of high schools. This is because the paperback version can run to almost 1200 pages and the vocabulary
2720-597: The Young Adult Services Division following a reorganization of the American Library Association – had been created. YALSA evaluates and selects materials for young adults, with the most active YASLA committee being the book selection committee. Michael Cart argues that the 1960s was the decade when literature for adolescents "could be said to have come into its own". A significant early example of young adult fiction
2800-599: The ages of 10 and 13, whereas young adult novels usually feature protagonists from 14 to 18. New adult (NA) fiction is a developing genre of fiction with protagonists in the 18–29 age bracket. St. Martin's Press first coined the term in 2009, when they held a special call for "fiction similar to young adult fiction (YA) that can be published and marketed as adult—a sort of an 'older YA' or 'new adult ' ". New adult fiction tends to focus on issues such as leaving home, developing sexuality, and negotiating education and career choices. The genre has gained popularity rapidly over
2880-407: The basic premise of A Wizard of Earthsea , that of a talented boy going to a wizard's school and making an enemy with whom he has a close connection, is also the premise of Harry Potter . As publishers began to focus on the emerging adolescent market, more booksellers and libraries began creating young adult sections distinct from children's literature and novels written for adults. The 1970s to
2960-453: The best-known works of Victorian literature , has had widespread influence on popular culture and literature, especially in the fantasy genre. It is credited as helping end an era of didacticism in children's literature , inaugurating an era in which writing for children aimed to "delight or entertain". The tale has had a lasting popularity with adults as well as with children. A shortened version for young children, The Nursery "Alice"
3040-413: The child reader. One of the reasons Trimmer believed fairy tales were dangerous was because they led child readers into a fantasy world where adults could not follow and control their exposure to harmful experiences. She was just as horrified by the graphic illustrations included with some fairy tale collections, complaining that "little children, whose minds are susceptible of every impression; and who from
3120-444: The coming-of-age nature of the texts. This includes narratives about self-identity, life and death, and individuality. Some of the most common YA genres are contemporary fiction, fantasy , science fiction , historical fiction , and romance . Hybrid genres are also common in YA. The social problem novel or problem novel is a sub-genre of literature focusing and commenting on overarching social problems. This type of novel
3200-449: The conclusion "Trimmer was ... not nearly so vitriolic in her reviewing as her reputation suggests.... fewer than 50 [of the reviews] were chiefly negative, and of these only 18 were thoroughly excoriating. These were easily outweighed by the positive notices, although most of her reviews were mixed or – more surprisingly given her reputation for always impassioned appraisal – ambivalent." She objected primarily to texts that altered
3280-410: The content of their books, helped to define the new genre of children's literature, and greatly affected the sales of children's books. The Guardian also offered the first history of children's literature; establishing a list of landmark books, which scholars still use today. Sarah Trimmer was prompted to publish The Guardian of Education by the flood of new children's books on the market early in
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3360-569: The diary of a young girl, who, to cope with her many problems, experiments with drugs. More recent examples include Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson , Crank by Ellen Hopkins , and The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky . The boundary between books for children and adult literature is flexible and loosely defined and in particular "the young have always been efficient [plunderers] of stories from all sources, and have carried off such literary booty as pleased them". This boundary has been policed by adults and has "alternated between
3440-474: The doctrine of Biblical inerrancy illustrated her fundamentalism. She wrote to a friend: "I will only say, that the more I reflect on the subject, the more I am convinced that it is not right to supersede the figurative style in which they speak of God and divine things , my opinion is, that whoever attempts to teach the truths of divine revelation, should follow the method of the inspired writers as nearly as possible" [emphasis Trimmer's]. For Trimmer,
3520-457: The doctrine of original sin ). Although she attacked Rousseau's works, Grenby argues that she agreed with "Rousseau's key idea, later taken up by the Romantics , that children should not be forced to become adults too early", in particular that they should not be exposed to political issues too soon. Trimmer also maintained that mothers and fathers should share the responsibility of caring for
3600-563: The essays listed under her name and all of the reviews, but she was not the author of the texts she extracted. The issues did not always consist of the same sections; for example, beginning in 1804 Trimmer started including an "Essay on Christian Education" and in 1805 occasionally reviewed "School books". Beginning a tradition that persists to this day, she divided the books she reviewed by age group: "Examination of Books for Children" (for those under fourteen) and "Books for Young Persons" (for those between fourteen and twenty-one). Matthew Grenby,
3680-440: The family. Like the progressive educational reformers and children's authors Maria Edgeworth and Thomas Day and even Rousseau himself, Trimmer opposed rote learning and advocated flexible and conversational lessons that encouraged critical thinking in children. She also promoted breastfeeding (a controversial position at the time) and parental involvement in childhood education. In his analysis of her reviews, Grenby comes to
3760-716: The field by attacking established religion, especially Roman Catholicism . Northern Lights , the first volume in the trilogy, won the 1995 Carnegie Medal as the year's outstanding English-language children's book. Pullman has written other YA fiction, including the Sally Lockhart series (1985–94), as well as books for younger children. The category of young adult fiction continues to expand into other media and genres: graphic novels / manga , light novels , fantasy , mystery fiction , romance novels , and even subcategories such as cyberpunk , techno-thrillers , and contemporary Christian fiction . A survey of attendees at
3840-729: The foremost expert on Trimmer, estimates that the Guardian' s circulation was between 1,500 and 3,500 copies per issue. Thus the Guardian 's circulation was probably comparable to political periodicals such as the Tory Critical Review and the British Critic , which both reached 3,500 by 1797, or the Analytical Review , which reached about 1,500, but not to the Monthly Review , which reached approximately 5,000. From June 1802 until January 1804,
3920-401: The genre's recent development, it has difficulty in establishing its value in relation to the classics of literature. The Guardian of Education The Guardian of Education was the first successful periodical dedicated to reviewing children's literature in Britain. It was edited by 18th-century educationalist, children's author, and Sunday school advocate Sarah Trimmer and
4000-449: The importance of British fantasy writer Alan Garner . According to Pullman Garner "is indisputably the great originator, the most important British writer of fantasy since Tolkien , and in many respects better than Tolkien". Similarly Ursula le Guin in a review praising Garner's novel Red Shift , argues that "Some of the most interesting English novels of recent years have been published as children's books". Although Garner's early work
4080-542: The last few years, particularly through books by self-published bestselling authors such as Jennifer L. Armentrout , Cora Carmack, Colleen Hoover , Anna Todd , and Jamie McGuire . The genre originally faced criticism, as some viewed it as a marketing scheme, while others claimed the readership was not there to publish the material. In contrast, others claimed the term was necessary; a publicist for HarperCollins described it as "a convenient label because it allows parents and bookstores and interested readers to know what
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#17327978203394160-565: The late 1960s and early 1970s, five other very popular books were published: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), an autobiography of the early years of American poet Maya Angelou ; The Friends (1973) by Rosa Guy ; the semi-autobiographical The Bell Jar (US 1963, under a pseudonym; UK 1967) by poet Sylvia Plath ; Bless the Beasts and Children (1970) by Glendon Swarthout ; and Deathwatch (1972) by Robb White , which
4240-543: The latter manifested itself in Methodism . Her reviews also reveal her to be a staunch monarchist and opponent of the French Revolution. As Grenby puts it, "her initial questions of any children's books that came before her were always first, was it damaging to religion and second, was it damaging to political loyalty and the established social hierarchy". Religion was Trimmer's first priority and her emphasis on
4320-477: The liveliness of their imaginations are apt to convert into realities whatever forcibly strikes their fancy" should not be allowed to see such scenes as Blue Beard hacking his wife's head off. Fairy tales were often found in chapbooks —cheap, disposable literature—which contained sensational stories such as Jack the Giant Killer along with lewder tales such as How to restore a lost Maidenhead, or solder
4400-422: The lives of adolescents. Particularly noteworthy was S. E. Hinton 's " The Outsiders ". French historian Philippe Ariès argues, in his 1962 book Centuries of Childhood , that the modern concept of childhood only emerged in recent times. He argues that children were in the past not considered as greatly different from adults and were not given significantly different treatment. Furthermore, "Teenagers weren't
4480-451: The manuscript more than two years later. A number of novels by Robert Louis Stevenson were first published in serial form, in a weekly children's literary magazine Young Folks , including Treasure Island , Kidnapped , and The Black Arrow . This magazine was for boys and girls of an older age than many of its contemporaries. Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer is described by publisher Simon & Schuster as "The classic tale of
4560-527: 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, young adult literature began pushing the envelope in terms of the subject matter that was considered appropriate for their audience: Books dealing with topics such as rape , suicide , parental death, and murder which had previously been deemed taboo, saw significant critical and commercial success. A flip-side of this trend
4640-411: The mind was a tabula rasa and therefore particularly sensitive to impressions early in life. Trimmer was opposed to fairy tales that were not grounded in reality and which would "excite an unregulated sensibility" in the reader. Without a proper moral or a moralizing narrator, fairy tales could lead a reader astray. Above all, she was concerned about "unmediated", unknown, and unsupervised feelings in
4720-627: The minds of the rising generation, through the medium of Books of Education and Children's Books " [emphasis Trimmer's]. She intended to combat this conspiracy by pointing parents towards properly Christian books. Each issue of Trimmer's Guardian was divided into three sections: 1) extracts from texts which Trimmer thought would edify her adult readers (grouped under "Memoirs" and "Extracts from Sermons"); 2) an essay by Trimmer commenting on educational issues (contained in sections such as "Original Essays" and "Systems of Education Examined"); 3) and reviews of children's books. Trimmer herself wrote all of
4800-536: The name of his Bible Stories to Sacred Histories after Trimmer's attack on it and the publishers of John Newbery's Tom Telescope and the Philosophy of Tops and Balls immediately removed the material Trimmer found offensive. Other scholars have argued that authors wrote with Trimmer's reviewing criteria in mind, one going so far as to call it "a manual for prospective writers". However, Trimmer's reviews were not always heeded; for example, her negative review of
4880-604: The nineteenth century and by her fear that those books might contain French Revolutionary values. The 1790s had been one of the most tumultuous decades in Europe's history, with the French revolution, increased demands for reform in Britain , and the French Revolutionary Wars . Following this upsurge in radicalism , a conservative backlash erupted in Britain; the Guardian was, in many ways,
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#17327978203394960-500: The perpetuation of the contemporary social and political order. Despite her conservatism, however, she agreed with Rousseau and other progressive educational reformers on many issues, such as the damaging effects of rote learning and the irrationalism of fairy tales . The Guardian of Education was the first periodical to review children's books seriously and with a distinctive set of criteria. Trimmer's reviews were carefully thought out; they influenced publishers and authors to alter
5040-430: The rigid and the permeable depending on the political and cultural climate". At the lower end of the age spectrum, fiction targeted to readers aged 8–12 is referred to as middle grade fiction . Some novels originally marketed to adults are 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
5120-494: The temporal happiness of the individual, which was governed by the best interests of society." Trimmer and her allies contended that French pedagogical theories led to an immoral nation, specifically, " deism , infidelity and revolution". Although one previous attempt had been made to regularly review British children's books it was not as comprehensive, did not last as long, and was not nearly as influential as Trimmer's Guardian . Grenby suggests, for example, that Godwin changed
5200-561: The term young adult literature "first found common usage in the late 1960's, in reference to realistic fiction that was set in the real (as opposed to imagined), contemporary world and addressed problems, issues, and life circumstances of interest to young readers aged approximately 12–18". However, "The term 'young adult literature' is inherently amorphous, for its constituent terms “young adult” and “literature” are dynamic, changing as culture and society — which provide their context — change", and "even those who study and teach it have not reached
5280-1001: 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 still remain in use. "At the beginning of the eighteenth century", according to M. O. Grenby: very few ... enjoyable books for children ... existed. Children read, certainly, but the books that they probably enjoyed reading (or hearing) most, were not designed especially for them. Fables were available, and fairy stories, lengthy chivalric romances , and short, affordable pamphlet tales and ballads called chapbooks , but these were published for children and adults alike. Take Nathaniel Crouch 's Winter-Evenings Entertainments (1687). It contains riddles , pictures, and 'pleasant and delightful relations of many rare and notable accidents and occurrences' which has suggested to some that it should be thought of as an early children's book. However, its title-page insists that it
5360-542: The thirteenth, Starship Troopers , was instead published by Putnam . The intended market was teenaged boys. A fourteenth novel, Podkayne of Mars (1963), featured a teenaged girl as the protagonist. In the 1950s, The Catcher in the Rye (1951) attracted the attention of the adolescent readers although it was written for adults. The themes of adolescent angst and alienation in the novel have become synonymous with young adult literature. The Hobbit (1937) and Lord of
5440-515: The truth of the Bible was not only in its content, but also in its style, and some of her harshest reviews were written against texts that altered both the style and the substance of the Bible. Trimmer's fundamentalism, Grenby argues, does not necessarily mark her as a rigid thinker. Grenby points out that Trimmer, like Rousseau, believed children were naturally good. In this view, she was arguing against centuries of tradition, particularly Puritanical attitudes towards raising children (exemplified in
5520-524: The world around them. In the mid-2010s, more attention was drawn to diversity from various quarters. In the several years following, diversity numbers seem to have increased: One survey showed that in 2017, a quarter of children's books were about minority protagonists, almost a 10% increase from 2016. Jack Zipes , a professor of German and literature, has criticized the standardized nature of young adult fiction in Western society. He writes that to become
5600-417: Was S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders (1967). The novel features a truer, darker side of adolescent life that was not often represented in works of fiction of the time. Written during high school and written when Hinton was only 16, 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. In
5680-402: Was a strong revived interest in the romance novel, including young adult romance . With an increase in number of adolescents, the genre "matured, blossomed, and came into its own, with the better written, more serious, and more varied young adult books (than those) published during the last two decades". The first novel in J.K. Rowling 's seven-book Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and
5760-497: Was awarded 1973 Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery by the Mystery Writers of America . The works of Angelou and Plath were published as adult works but The Bell Jar deals with a nineteen year old's "teenage angst," and Angelou's autobiography is one of the ten books most frequently banned from high school and junior high school libraries and classrooms. Authors Philip Pullman and Neil Gaiman have both argued for
5840-672: Was born in Long Island, New York and grew up in Syosset, New York and Miami, Florida. At the age of five, she started thinking about being a writer and submitted early efforts to magazines like Highlights , which did not publish them. At twelve, she moved to Palmetto Bay, Florida , a suburb of Miami, where she still lives. She struggled to make friends at her new school, and she has said that this experience inspired much of her writing for young adults, particularly her book, Breaking Point. She graduated from Miami-Palmetto High School and
5920-608: Was in a performing arts program called PAVAC (Performing And Visual Arts Center), which inspired some of her book, Diva. She graduated from the University of Miami with a degree in vocal performance (opera), then went to law school at Nova Southeastern University . She practiced law for 10 years before quitting her day job to devote herself full-time to writing, following the acceptance of her third book. Young-adult novel The earliest known use of term young adult occurred in 1942. The designation of young adult literature
6000-481: Was one of the first young adult authors to write novels focused on such controversial topics as masturbation , menstruation , teen sex , birth control , and death . Ursula le Guin 's A Wizard of Earthsea , published in 1968, had a significant influence on YA fantasy fiction. It won or contributed to several notable awards for le Guin, including the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award in 1969, and
6080-703: Was one of the last winners of the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award . With regard to the Earthsea series Barbara Bucknal stated that "Le Guin was not writing for young children when she wrote these fantasies, nor yet for adults. She was writing for 'older kids'. But in fact she can be read, like Tolkien, by ten-year-olds and by adults. Margaret Atwood said that ... A Wizard of Earthsea ... since it dealt with themes such as "life and mortality and who are we as human beings", it could be read and enjoyed by anybody older than twelve. Reviewers have commented that
6160-408: Was originally developed by librarians to help teenagers make the transition between children's literature and adult literature, following the recognition, around World War II , of teenagers as a distinct group of young people. While the genre is targeted at adolescents, a 2012 study found that 55% of young adult literature purchases were made by adults. Author and academic Michael Cart states that
6240-465: Was published from June 1802 until September 1806 by J. Hatchard and F. C. and J. Rivington . The journal offered child-rearing advice and assessments of contemporary educational theories, and Trimmer even proffered her own educational theory after evaluating the major works of the day. Fearing the influence of French Revolutionary ideals, particularly those of philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau , Trimmer emphasized orthodox Anglicanism and encouraged
6320-448: Was published in 1890. It was inspired when, on 4 July 1862, Lewis Carroll and Reverend Robinson Duckworth rowed in a boat with the three young daughters of scholar Henry Liddell : Lorina (aged 13); Alice (aged 10); and Edith Mary (aged 8). During the trip Carroll told the girls a story that he described in his diary as "Alice's Adventures Under Ground" and which his journal says he "undertook to write out for Alice". She finally got
6400-437: Was sent in 1929 to schools and libraries across the country. Then "In 1944 [...] NYPL librarian Margaret Scoggin changed the name of her library journal column from 'Books for Older Boys and Girls' to 'Books for Young Adults', and the genre was christened with a name that has lasted to this day". Initially the YA genre "tended to feature the same" boy and girl love story. But in the 1960s the novels developed to more fully examining
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