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106-494: The Subtle Knife is a young-adult fantasy novel published in 1997 and the second book in Philip Pullman 's His Dark Materials trilogy. The novel continues the adventures of Lyra Belacqua (now known as Lyra Silvertongue) recounted in the first novel, Northern Lights , as she investigates the mysterious phenomenon of Dust . Will Parry is introduced as a companion to Lyra, and together they explore new worlds in

212-594: A two-part, six-hour performance for London's Royal National Theatre in December 2003, running until March 2004, and starring Anna Maxwell Martin as Lyra, Dominic Cooper as Will, Timothy Dalton as Lord Asriel and Patricia Hodge as Mrs Coulter, and a second run between November 2004 and April 2005. The second series of the joint BBC - HBO television adaptation of His Dark Materials , approved in September 2018, covers The Subtle Knife , with introductions to

318-439: 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

424-705: 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

530-600: A Jewish teacher. Jesus compared the act of raising up the Mosaic serpent on a pole , with the raising up of the Son of Man on a cross ( John 3:14–15 ). In the temptation of Christ , the Devil cites Psalm 91:11–12 , "for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in [their] hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone." He cuts off before verse 13, "Thou shalt tread upon

636-533: A debate about whether the serpent in Eden should be viewed figuratively or as a literal animal. According to one midrashic interpretation in Rabbinic literature , the serpent represents sexual desire ; another interpretation is that the snake is the yetzer hara . Modern Rabbinic ideas include interpreting the story as a psychological allegory where Adam represents reasoning faculties, Eve the emotional faculties, and

742-401: A demon, but one of the wild animals created by God ( Genesis 3:1 ), and the only thing that differentiates it from the others in Eden is the ability to speak: The serpent which now enters the narrative is marked as one of God's created animals (ch. 2.19). In the narrator 's mind, therefore, it is not the symbol of a "demonic" power and certainly not of Satan. What distinguishes it a little from

848-550: A divine plan stretching from Creation to Christ and the Second Coming . The first deuterocanonical source to connect the serpent with the devil may be Wisdom of Solomon . The subject is more developed in the pseudepigraphal - apocryphal Apocalypse of Moses ( Vita Adae et Evae ) where the devil works with the serpent. Following the imagery of chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation , Bernard of Clairvaux had called Mary

954-552: 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

1060-625: 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

1166-513: 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 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

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1272-433: 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

1378-405: 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

1484-447: A power coming from without. That he transferred the impulse to temptation outside man was almost more a necessity for the story than an attempt at making evil something existing outside man. [...] In the history of religions the snake indeed is the sinister, strange animal par excellence [...], and one can also assume that long before, a myth was once at the basis of our narrative. But as it lies now before us, transparent and lucid, it

1590-543: A powerful knife that he covets, now in Cittàgazze. Will defeats a youth who has taken the knife from its holder, Giacomo Paradisi, but loses two fingers in the fight. Paradisi explains that this is a sign that Will is the knife's new bearer, and he explains its power: the ability to cut through any material, even the fabric between worlds. Will and Lyra learn that Cittàgazze is haunted by soul-eating spectres, which prey on adolescents and adults but ignore children. Will uses

1696-500: 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

1802-521: A reference to Christ defeating and triumphing over Satan. The passage led to the Late Antique and Early Medieval iconography of Christ treading on the beasts , in which two beasts are often shown, usually the lion and snake or dragon, and sometimes four, which are normally the lion, dragon, asp (snake) and basilisk (which was depicted with varying characteristics) of the Vulgate. All represented

1908-478: A species of vicious snakes whose venom burns upon contact. According to Wilhelm Gesenius , saraph corresponds to the Sanskrit Sarpa ( Jawl aqra ), serpent; sarpin , reptile (from the root srip, serpere ). These "burning serpents" infested the great and terrible place of the desert wilderness (Num.21:4-9; Deut.8:15). The Hebrew word for "poisonous" literally means "fiery", "flaming" or "burning", as

2014-577: 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

2120-529: A supplement to the documentary hypothesis of the Hebrew Bible, the snake in the Eden's narrative was more an expedient to represent the impulse to temptation of mankind (that is, disobeying God's law ) rather than an evil spirit or the personification of the Devil, as the later Christian literature erroneously depicted it; moreover, von Rad himself states that the snake is neither a supernatural being nor

2226-549: A vision of seraphim in the Temple itself: but these are divine agents, with wings and human faces, and are probably not to be interpreted as serpent-like so much as "flame-like". In the Book of Numbers , while Moses was in the wilderness, he mounted a serpent of bronze on a pole that functioned as a cure against the bite of the "seraphim", the "burning ones" ( Numbers 21:4–9 ). The phrase in Numbers 21:9, "a serpent of bronze,"

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2332-471: A window to another world. Seeking refuge from his pursuers, he enters and finds himself in the city of Cittàgazze where he meets Lyra and her dæmon Pantalaimon , who have arrived from her world via the opening in the sky created by her father, Lord Asriel (in Northern Lights ). Mrs Coulter, Lyra's mother, tortures a witch for a prophecy said to concern her daughter. Before the victim can reveal

2438-534: 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

2544-548: 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

2650-450: 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

2756-550: Is a wordplay as "serpent" ( nehash ) and “bronze” ( nehoshet ) are closely related in Hebrew , nehash nehoshet . Mainstream scholars suggest that the image of the fiery serpent served to function like that of a magical amulet . Magic amulets or charms were used in the ancient Near East to practice a healing ritual known as sympathetic magic in an attempt to ward off, heal or reduce the impact of illness and poisons. Copper and bronze serpent figures have been recovered, showing that

2862-546: Is also used in conjunction with seraph to describe vicious serpents in the wilderness . The tannin , a dragon monster, also occurs throughout the Hebrew Bible. In the Book of Exodus , the staves of Moses and Aaron are turned into serpents, a nāḥāš for Moses, a tannin for Aaron. In the New Testament, the Book of Revelation makes use of ancient serpent and the Dragon several times to identify Satan or

2968-461: Is anything but a myth. When God had revealed himself to the prophet Moses in Exodus 3:4–22 , Moses recognized that the call of God was for him to lead the people of Israel out of slavery , but anticipated that people would deny or doubt his calling. In Exodus 4:1–5 , Moses asked God how to respond to such doubt, and God asked him to cast the rod which he carried (possibly a shepherd's crook) onto

3074-468: Is biting Christ's heel, as in the curse. Serpent ( Greek: ὄφις ; Trans : Ophis , /ˈo.fis/ ; "snake", "serpent") occurs in the Book of Revelation as the "ancient serpent" or "old serpent" used to describe "the dragon", Satan the Adversary, who is the devil . This serpent is depicted as a red seven-headed dragon having ten horns, each housed with a diadem . The serpent battles Michael

3180-577: 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

3286-438: 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 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

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3392-567: 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,

3498-425: Is killed by a vengeful witch whose love he had once spurned. Will returns to find a pair of angels waiting to guide him to Asriel. He goes to awaken Lyra, but finds that she is missing and that her guardian witches' souls have been drained by spectres. The Subtle Knife won Parents' Choice Gold Book Award; American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults; Booklist Editors' Choice; Publishers Weekly Best Book of

3604-424: 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

3710-524: Is regarded as the malevolent Demiurge and false god of the Old Testament who generated the material universe and keeps the souls trapped in physical bodies, imprisoned in the world full of pain and suffering that he created . However, not all Gnostic movements regarded the creator of the material universe as inherently evil or malevolent. For instance, Valentinians believed that the Demiurge

3816-479: 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

3922-523: Is then cast into the abyss and sealed within until he is released (Revelation 20:1–3). In Christian tradition, the "ancient serpent" is commonly identified with the Genesis serpent and as Satan. This identification redefined the Hebrew Bible's concept of Satan ("the Adversary", a member of the Heavenly Court acting on behalf of God to test Job 's faith), so that Satan/Serpent became a part of

4028-414: 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

4134-1000: 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

4240-553: The Book of Genesis refers to a serpent who triggered the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden in Eden ( Gen 3:1–20 ). Serpent is also used to describe sea monsters . Examples of these identifications are in the Book of Isaiah where a reference is made to a serpent-like dragon named Leviathan ( Isaiah 27:1 ), and in the Book of Amos where a serpent resides at the bottom of the sea ( Amos 9:3 ). Serpent figuratively describes biblical places such as Egypt ( Jer 46:22 ), and

4346-687: The British Humanist Association annual conference in 2011 that due to the first film's disappointing sales in the United States, there would not be any sequels made. An audiobook adaptation, featuring a full cast and narration by the author, was released in 2000. As the second novel of the His Dark Materials trilogy, the book has also formed part of a radio drama on BBC Radio 4 , starring Terence Stamp as Lord Asriel and Lulu Popplewell as Lyra, and as

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4452-685: 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

4558-571: The Western and Islamic civilizations. In mainstream (Nicene) Christianity , the doctrine of the Fall is closely related to that of original sin or ancestral sin . Unlike Christianity, the other major Abrahamic religions, Judaism and Islam , do not have a concept of "original sin", and instead have developed varying other interpretations of the Eden narrative. In the Hebrew Bible ,

4664-418: The biblical serpent in the Garden of Eden was praised and thanked for bringing knowledge ( gnosis ) to Adam and Eve and thereby freeing them from the malevolent Demiurge 's control. Gnostic Christian doctrines rely on a dualistic cosmology that implies the eternal conflict between good and evil, and a conception of the serpent as the liberating savior and bestower of knowledge to humankind opposed to

4770-445: The "conqueror of dragons", and she was long to be shown crushing a snake underfoot, also a reference to her title as the "New Eve". Gnosticism originated in the late 1st century CE in non-rabbinical Jewish and early Christian sects. In the formation of Christianity , various sectarian groups, labeled "gnostics" by their opponents, emphasised spiritual knowledge ( gnosis ) of the divine spark within, over faith ( pistis ) in

4876-670: The Archangel in a War in Heaven which results in this devil being cast out to the earth. While on earth, he pursues the Woman of the Apocalypse and gives power and authority to the Beast . Unable to obtain her, he wages war with the rest of her seed (Revelation 12:1–18). He who has the key to the abyss and a great chain over his hand, binds the serpent for a thousand years. The serpent

4982-770: The Demiurge or creator god , identified with the Hebrew God of the Old Testament . Gnostic Christians considered the Hebrew God of the Old Testament as the evil, false god and creator of the material universe, and the Unknown God of the Gospel , the father of Jesus Christ and creator of the spiritual world, as the true, good God. In the Archontic , Sethian , and Ophite systems, Yaldabaoth (Yahweh)

5088-598: The Devil ( Revelation 12:9 ; 20:2 ). The serpent is most often identified with the hubristic Satan, and sometimes with Lilith . The narrative of the Garden of Eden and the fall of humankind constitute a mythological tradition shared by all the Abrahamic religions , with a presentation more or less symbolic of Judeo-Christian-Islamic morals and religious beliefs, which had an overwhelming impact on human sexuality , gender roles , and sex differences both in

5194-493: 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

5300-464: 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

5406-628: The Year; Horn Book Fanfare Honor Book; Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book; Book Links Best Book of the Year; and American Bookseller Pick of the Lists. Before the release of The Golden Compass , a film adaptation of the first book in the series, on 7 December 2007, New Line Cinema said that an adaptation of The Subtle Knife would go into production only if the first film was a success. The Golden Compass made over twice its budget worldwide but

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5512-597: 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

5618-603: The ability to speak and to reason: "Now the serpent was more subtle (also translated as "cunning") than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made". There is no indication in the Book of Genesis that the serpent was a deity in its own right, although it is one of only two cases of animals that talk in the Torah ( Balaam's donkey being the other). God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden to tend it and warned Adam not to eat

5724-408: The advice of her alethiometer Lyra visits the physicist Dr Mary Malone, who has a computer that can communicate with dark matter . Lyra realises that dark matter seems to correspond with what she knows as Dust. After accepting a lift from an elderly man introducing himself as Sir Charles Latrom , Lyra realises he has stolen her alethiometer. Sir Charles promises to return the instrument in return for

5830-599: 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

5936-407: 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

6042-640: The bearer of the knife and to assist Lord Asriel, who is assembling an army to rebel against an ancient angel called the Authority . They set off in Scoresby's hot air balloon but are forced to land by soldiers of the Church. The soldiers attack, and Scoresby calls Serafina for help. She leaves Lyra to follow his call, but arrives too late. Scoresby has died holding off the soldiers so that Grumman can complete his task. Mrs Coulter tricks Sir Charles into revealing

6148-776: 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

6254-453: 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"

6360-423: The book's central characters beginning in the first season. YA novel The earliest known use of term young adult occurred in 1942. The designation of young adult literature 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

6466-418: The burning sensation of a snake bite on human skin, a metaphor for the fiery anger of God (Numbers 11:1). The Book of Isaiah expounds on the description of these fiery serpents as "flying saraphs" , or "flying dragons", in the land of trouble and anguish (Isaiah 30:6). Isaiah indicates that these saraphs are comparable to vipers , worse than ordinary serpents (Isaiah 14:29). The prophet Isaiah also sees

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6572-614: The city of Dan ( Gen 49:17 ). The prophet Jeremiah also compares the King of Babylon to a serpent ( Jer 51:34 ). The Hebrew word נָחָשׁ ( Nāḥāš ) is used in the Hebrew Bible to identify the serpent that appears in Genesis 3:1 , in the Garden of Eden . In the first book of the Torah , the serpent is portrayed as a deceptive creature or trickster , who promotes as good what God had forbidden and shows particular cunning in its deception. (cf. Genesis 3:4–5 and 3:22 ) The serpent has

6678-444: 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

6784-407: The consciousness of dark matter. It instructs her to destroy the computer and to travel through the same window between worlds used by Will and Lyra, explaining that her role is to "play the serpent ". Lee Scoresby finds Grumman living as a shaman known to the people of that world as Jopari (a modified form of his English name John Parry): Will's father. Grumman has summoned Scoresby to take him to

6890-536: The details she is killed by the witch Serafina Pekkala . Realising Lyra's importance, Serafina Pekkala sets off in search of her. Meanwhile the aeronaut Lee Scoresby searches for Stanislaus Grumman , previously believed dead, who is rumoured to have knowledge of a powerful object that could protect Lyra. Will returns to his world to seek information about his father, who went missing years earlier on an expedition. Lyra, who has come with him, wants to learn about Dust —mysterious particles connected to consciousness . On

6996-424: The devil, as explained by Cassiodorus and Bede in their commentaries on Psalm 91. The serpent is often shown curled round the foot of the cross in depictions of the crucifixion of Jesus from Carolingian art until about the 13th century; often it is shown as dead. The crucifixion was regarded as the fulfillment of God's curse on the serpent in Genesis 3:15 . Sometimes it is pierced by the cross and in one ivory

7102-569: 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

7208-510: The differences between the role of the Edenic serpent in the Hebrew Bible and its connections with the "ancient serpent" in the New Testament. Modern historiographers of Satan such as Henry Ansgar Kelly (2006) and Wray and Mobley (2007) speak of the "evolution of Satan", or "development of Satan". According to Gerhard von Rad , Old Testament scholar , Lutheran theologian and University of Heidelberg professor, who applied form criticism as

7314-716: 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

7420-689: The form of sentient " dæmons " in animal form which accompany, aid, and comfort their humans. An important plot device is the alethiometer , a truth-telling symbol reader. By setting the alethiometer's hands to point to symbols around a dial a skilled practitioner can pose questions, which are answered by the movement round the dial of a further hand. The Subtle Knife of the book's title is a knife called Æsahættr, which can cut windows between worlds. Twelve-year-old Will Parry lives in Oxford , where he cares for his mother who has mental health problems. After accidentally killing an intruder, Will flees and stumbles on

7526-476: The fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil , "for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." The serpent tempts Eve to eat of the tree, but Eve tells the serpent what God had said. The serpent replies that she would not surely die ( Genesis 3:4 ) and that if she eats the fruit of the tree "then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." ( Genesis 3:5 ) Eve ate

7632-399: The fruit, and gave some to Adam who also ate. God, who was walking in the Garden, learns of their transgression. To prevent Adam and Eve from eating the fruit of the Tree of Life and living forever, they are banished from the garden upon which God posts an angelic guard. The serpent is punished for its role in the Fall , being cursed by God to crawl on its belly and eat dust. There is

7738-509: 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 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'

7844-484: 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 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

7950-525: The genre's recent development, it has difficulty in establishing its value in relation to the classics of literature. Serpent (Bible) Serpents ( Hebrew : נָחָשׁ , romanized :  nāḥāš ) are referred to in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament . The symbol of a serpent or snake played important roles in the religious traditions and cultural life of ancient Greece , Egypt , Mesopotamia , and Canaan . The serpent

8056-412: The ground, whereupon it became a serpent (a nachash ). Moses fled from it, but God encouraged him to come back and take it by the tail, and it became a rod again. Later in the Book of Exodus (Exodus 7), the staffs of Moses and Aaron were turned into serpents, a nachash for Moses, a tanniyn for Aaron. "Fiery serpent" ( Hebrew : שָׂרָף ‎ sārāf ; "burning") occurs in the Torah to describe

8162-449: 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

8268-638: The knife to cut a window into Sir Charles's home where he overhears a conversation with Mrs Coulter. Lyra realises that Sir Charles is Lord Boreal , originally from her own world, and Will hears news of his father, who had disappeared after discovering a window between the worlds. Will and Lyra escape back to Cittàgazze with the alethiometer and are rescued from marauding children by Serafina Pekkala. She attempts unsuccessfully to heal Will's injured hand. Sir Charles visits Dr Malone and offers to fund her research if she will follow his directions. She refuses. At Lyra's suggestion, she uses her computer to communicate with

8374-542: 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

8480-565: 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

8586-549: The lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon ( tanniyn ) shalt thou trample under feet." The serpent in Psalm 91:13 is identified as Satan by Christians: " super aspidem et basiliscum calcabis conculcabis leonem et draconem " in the Latin Vulgate , literally "The asp and the basilisk you will trample under foot; you will tread on the lion and the dragon ". This passage is commonly interpreted by Christians as

8692-451: 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

8798-527: 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

8904-566: The nature of the relationship between the Mosaic bronze serpent and Hezekiah's Nehushtan, but traditions happen to link the two. In the Gospel of Matthew , John the Baptist calls the Pharisees and Saducees , who were visiting him, a "brood of vipers" ( Matthew 3:7 ). Jesus also uses this imagery, observing: "Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?" ( Matthew 23:33 ). Alternatively, Jesus also presents

9010-494: 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 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

9116-406: The past not considered as greatly different from adults and were not given significantly different treatment. Furthermore, "Teenagers weren't 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 ...

9222-401: The practice was widespread. A Christian interpretation would be that the bronze serpent served as a symbol for each individual Israelite to take their confession of sin and the need for God's deliverance to heart. Confession of sin and forgiveness was both a community and an individual responsibility. The plague of serpents remained an ongoing threat to the community and the raised bronze serpent

9328-532: The rest of the animals is exclusively his greater cleverness. [...] The mention of the snake here is almost incidental; at any rate, in the "temptation" by it the concern is with a completely unmythical process, presented in such a way because the narrator is obviously anxious to shift the responsibility as little as possible from man . It is a question only of man and his guilt; therefore the narrator has carefully guarded against objectifying evil in any way, and therefore he has personified it as little as possible as

9434-430: 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

9540-495: The search for Will's father. From 2019 to 2020, the novel was adapted as the first and second series of the joint BBC - HBO television series His Dark Materials , the former series additionally adapting Northern Lights . The main setting is a universe dominated by the Magisterium, an international theocracy which actively suppresses heresy . In Lyra's world, humans' souls naturally exist outside of their bodies in

9646-481: The secret of the knife, and poisons him. She uses the spectres, which she has learned to control, to torture a witch into revealing the prophecy: that Lyra is the second Eve . Mrs Coulter plans to destroy her daughter rather than risk a second Fall . Leaving Lyra asleep at their overnight camp, Will walks on alone and finds his father, who staunches his bleeding and tells him to join Lord Asriel's forces. Grumman

9752-484: The serpent the hedonic sexual/physical faculties. Voltaire , drawing on Socinian influences, wrote: "It was so decidedly a real serpent, that all its species, which had before walked on their feet, were condemned to crawl on their bellies. No serpent, no animal of any kind, is called Satan , or Belzebub , or Devil , in the Pentateuch ." 20th-century scholars such as W. O. E. Oesterley (1921) were cognizant of

9858-511: The snake with a less negative connotation when sending out the Twelve Apostles . Jesus exhorted them, "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents , and harmless as doves" ( Matthew 10:16 ). Wilhelm Gesenius notes that even amongst the ancient Hebrews, the serpent was a symbol of wisdom. In the Gospel of John , Jesus made mention of the Mosaic serpent when he foretold his crucifixion to

9964-509: The sovereign power of Yahweh even over the dangerous and sinister character of the desert. In 2 Kings 18:4 , a bronze serpent, alleged to be the one Moses made, was kept in Jerusalem's Temple sanctuary. The Israelites began to worship the object as an idol or image of God , by offering sacrifices and burning incense to it, until Hezekiah was made King. Hezekiah referred to it as Nehushtan and had torn it down. Scholars have debated

10070-504: The teachings and traditions of the various communities of Christians. Gnosticism presents a distinction between the highest, unknowable God , and the Demiurge , "creator" of the material universe. The Gnostics considered the most essential part of the process of salvation to be this personal knowledge, in contrast to faith as an outlook in their worldview along with faith in the ecclesiastical authority . In Gnosticism ,

10176-542: 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

10282-524: 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

10388-417: 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

10494-464: Was a disappointment in the United States, leaving the fate of its sequel unclear. The international rights were also originally sold to provide financing for the first film, thus amounting to a significant disappointment for New Line Cinema. Producer Deborah Forte, however, was adamant that she would finish the trilogy, saying, "I believe there are enough people who see what a viable and successful franchise we have." However, Philip Pullman later remarked at

10600-402: 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

10706-402: Was a symbol of evil power and chaos from the underworld as well as a symbol of fertility, life, healing, and rebirth. Nāḥāš ( נחש ‎), Hebrew for "snake", is also associated with divination , including the verb form meaning "to practice divination or fortune-telling". Nāḥāš occurs in the Torah to identify the serpent in the Garden of Eden . Throughout the Hebrew Bible , it

10812-447: Was an ongoing reminder to each individual for the need to turn to the healing power of God. It has also been proposed that the bronze serpent was a type of intermediary between God and the people that served as a test of obedience, in the form of free judgment, standing between the dead who were not willing to look to God's chosen instrument of healing, and the living who were willing and were healed. Thus, this instrument bore witness to

10918-497: 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

11024-481: 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

11130-703: 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

11236-448: 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

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