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Young adult (YA) literature is literature written for, published for, or marketed to young adults. Many have a young adult protagonist. The American Library Association identifies young adults as ages 12-18. A YA work might not fall into all of these categories; Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, for example, was written for an adult audience, has a young child protagonist, and is frequently marketed to young adults. The boundaries between children's literature, adult literature, and YA literature are often flexible and loosely defined.
In recent years, YA literature has been increasingly treated as an object of serious study by children's literature critics.
History of YA
Nineteenth Century
The first identification of young adults as a group that needed to be addressed and taught was by Sarah Trimmer in 1802, who described "young adulthood" as lasting from ages 14 to 21. However, nineteenth century publishers didn't specifically market to young readers, and adolescent culture didn't exist in a modern sense. Nonetheless, there were certainly books published in the nineteenth century that were extremely popular to readers in the 14-21 age group, such as Tom Brown's Schooldays (1857) and Treasure Island (1883).Late Twentieth Century
Shortly before the advent of modern publishing for the teen market, in 1954 two books were published for adults which had substantial impact on adolescent readers in the United States: The Lord of the Flies and The Catcher in the Rye. From the 1950s through the social changes of the 1960s and 1970s, authors, publishers, and librarians began to recognize teens as an untapped market of readers with different literary needs than either adults or children. Teens were seen as confronting social problems inherent in adolesence, and books appeared which focused on controversial issues, particularly issues of sexuality. From Beverly Cleary's tame 1956 romance Fifteen, YA literature developed until there could be Judy Blume's controversial and frequently-banned Forever (1975), about a teen's first sexual encounter. As sexual mores have changed, so have the boundaries of YA literature: Forever gave way in 1982 to Annie on my Mind, about two high school girls who fall in love, which paved the way for the 2004 National Book Award finalist Luna, about a girl who has a transgendered brother. Not all YA books are about sex, of course, though many do deal with issues of personal or social upheaval such as drugs, gangs, illness, crime, violence, peer pressure, or divorce.The modern classification of young adult as a genre originated in libraries, in the 1950s and 1960s. As publishers increased their level of marketing to the emerging adolescent market, U.S. librarians began setting aside works which were expected to appeal to young adults in separate sections of libraries; both librarians and publishers began identifying this as a market distinct from either children's literature or books written for adults.
YA as genre
A loose definition of the term includes all works which are written for, published for, marketed to, or consumed by young adults, or books with themes that young adults might find interesting. A more strict definition of the term, however, defines young adult literature as that literature which deals with issues of adolescence, coming of age, and maturation into an adult. Occasionally the entire genre is stigmatized as problem novels, those books which focus on a child coping with an issue of concern to society or teens, such as eating disorders, sexuality, or drugs.
Examples of books that predate the classification of young adult, but are now frequently shelved in YA sections of libraries are The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, and Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger; Salinger's novel, with its troubled teenage protagonist, has been very influential on YA literature. Unlike most recent works classified as YA literature, these works were originally written with an adult audience in mind. 2004, p. 62
Graphic novels are especially popular with young adults and are being included in some public and school library collections. Diana Tixier Herald analyzed YA fiction genres in her book Teen Genreflecting (1997). She gives background on teen genre fiction and recommends specific authors and titles in dozens of categories, e.g. fantasy, mystery fiction, and romance novels. Some of the more unexpected subcategories are cyberpunk, splatterpunk, techno-thrillers, problem novels, and contemporary Christian fiction.
Publishing Market
The blooming of YA literature in the U.S. in the late 1960s may be attributed, at least in part, to the availability of Title II funds for school libraries under the 1965 Elementary and Secondary School Educational Act. However, these funds diminished to a trickle in the 1980s; since then, YA literature in the U.S. has been mostly market-driven. 2004, p. 66-67
At present about 400 titles a year are published by major U.S. publishers that are considered to fall under the heading of YA literature. 2004, p. 63 Well-known pioneers of YA fiction as a distinct category include Judy Blume, S.E. Hinton. Well-known authors of fiction for adults who have written at least one work for this genre include Michael Chabon (Summerland), Joyce Carol Oates (Big Mouth & Ugly Girl), and Francine Prose (After).
Awards
Since 1966, the ALA has put out an annual list of Best Books for Young Adults. The ALA also annually gives the Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in young adult literature. Each year ALA and School Library Journal also recognize an author for his/her lifetime contributions to popular young adult literature with the Margaret A. Edwards Award. Past winners are S.E. Hinton (1988; no award 1989), Richard Peck (1990), Robert Cormier (1991), Lois Duncan (1992), M.E. Kerr (1993), Walter Dean Myers (1994), Cynthia Voigt (1995), Judy Blume (1996), Gary Paulsen (1997), Madeleine L'Engle (1998), Anne McCaffrey (1999), Chris Crutcher (2000), Robert Lipsyte (2001), Paul Zindel (2002), Nancy Garden (2003), Ursula K. Le Guin (2004), Francesca Lia Block (2005), and Jacqueline Woodson (2006).
References
- Frances FitzGerald, "The Influence of Anxiety" in Harper's, September 2004, p. 62-70
- Michael L. Printz Award
- Margaret A. Edwards Award
- Diana Tixier Herald. (1997) Teen Genreflecting. Libraries Unlimited.
Additional links
Other Publications
- 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.
- Books for the Teen Age, annual book list selected by teens for teens, sponsored by the New York Public Library *
- Outstanding Books for the College Bound, put out by YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association), professional organization for librarians serving teens in either public libraries or school library/media centers; a division of ALA. *
- Quick Picks, also by ALA/YALSA
External links
See also
"Young adult literature"