Intro to Young Adult Literature
Appreciating the Complex World of YAL
What is young adult literature (YAL)? How is it distinguished from other literary genres? And what misconceptions are prevalent in defining this complex world of YAL?
I will never forget my academic introduction to young adult literature (YAL) by Dr. Faith H. Wallace. It was fall of 2005, and I was interviewing for a position to be her student assistant. Dr. Wallace and her associate, Dr. Pam B. Cole, were working on a textbook, contracted with McGraw-Hill, dedicated to the world of YAL—what it is, what it isn’t, the many genres involved and, ultimately, how to teach with it. Dr. Wallace and Dr. Cole are professors in Secondary and Middle Grades Education at Kennesaw State University, located just outside of Atlanta in Kennesaw, GA; both are reading specialists. I, on the other hand, was an undergraduate English major who needed a job, and I really didn’t see where YAL would really be all that different from what I was studying in the English department, except, of course, for the fact that it would be much less complex, much less demanding and, ultimately, much less interesting.
Man, was I wrong.
“Young adult literature is not classic literature written by dead white men,” Dr. Wallace told me. To this day, she laughs at my wide-eyed reaction.
But, she got my attention.
Before I began working with Dr. Wallace, I was the classic literature snob when it came to YAL. I had the same misconceptions as so many others—young adult literature is silly; it’s simple; it’s childish; it’s of poor quality; it doesn’t incorporate traditional genres; it doesn’t require any thought to read; and, overall, YAL doesn’t add anything to the reading education of a young reader.
Wrong.
Young adult literature is an awesomely complex literary genre, with several standard defining features, including:
- It is written for the young adult and, therefore, projects the voice of the young adult, i.e. the narrator / consciousness of the story is from the point of view of a young adult.
- The themes of young adult literature are contemporary and meaningful to adolescents of today. YAL should be current, and interest the young reader of today, not 30 years ago. This doesn’t mean, of course, that YAL cannot include, for example, historical fiction—it absolutely does include this important genre. But, what it does mean is that the consciousness and feel of the YAL, even when the theme is a historical event, will appeal to the adolescent reader of the present day. It also means that the YAL a parent may have read in her day and loved may not have the same effect on a reader of today. For example, take Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by the incredible Judy Blume. Published by Bradbury Press in 1970, this book was a rite of passage for millions of young girls. But, even when I read it in about 1981, it was already outdated—I had no idea what she was talking about with all that “belt” stuff. It didn’t help that, in the early eighties, monogrammed belts were all the rage, and I couldn’t imagine why someone would want to hook THAT to one’s belt. Today, it may be even more confusing to adolescent girls, who are now 25+ years removed from the “belt” generation. But, in its heyday, it was THE young adult book adolescent girls wanted to read.
- YAL does not always have a happy, neat ending. This is probably the most misunderstood point about YAL. Life is not neat, life is not perfect, and good YAL does not try to make readers think that it is. In the real world, people do bad things. They use rough language. They die. They cry. They get depressed. They recover. They laugh. And, yes, they even smile. And, they do all of these things in YAL, as well.
- YAL encourages readers to think. It not only allows but encourages readers to make their own choices, make their own decisions. Good YAL does not preach and force ideas upon adolescents. It often teaches a lesson, yes, but not by ramming a solitary idea down the throats of readers. Like Hemingway and Faulkner, the best young adult authors do not condescend in their writing. Rather, they give their readers credit for being able to read, comprehend, draw conclusions, and make decisions for themselves.
- And, without a doubt, YAL pushes boundaries. Authors ask, “What if?” and then make it happen. Young adult literature, then, is not stagnant and is not predictable. YAL is innovative, exciting, and, yes, a highly complex literary genre, worthy of both reader and academic respect.
Today, thanks to a great opportunity to work with Dr. Wallace, I have developed a passion for young adult literature. And, as the weeks go by, I will be filling this site with material that I hope you will find useful in the understanding of YAL—articles, blogs, reviews, and, yes, interviews with the authors themselves. I certainly look forward to hearing from you, too—your suggestions, questions, comments, and requests are always welcomed and appreciated.
Enter curious!
