What is Young Adult Literature?

Part 5: What is Young Adult Literature?

Young Adult lit, YA for short, is a subcategory of what we have already discussed to be the only two true genres: fiction and nonfiction. The YA distinction transcends genres, subject matter and literary formats, but is in fact a distinction based on intended audience. Although YA is most often thought of as falling into the genre of fiction, great nonfiction reads for teens can be found through this link.

As a distinction based on intended audience, YA is geared at readers ages thirteen to eighteen, or the teen years. As previously discussed in another post, it has popular appeal with both older and younger readers, but subject matter and elements may be too gritty for the younger students. At the heart of any YA novel is a teenage protagonist, viewing the world from an honest teenage perspective, and going through a significant life change.

These elements were initially defined by researchers Mertz and England from 1975 to 1983. Maria Pank Mertz wrote that a novel’s “dominant themes” must be examined when identifying its “dominant values,” and that this is below the surface of genre or storyline. Further dominant values of YA they identified were that the protagonist is highly independent, reaps the consequences of decisions, and grows incrementally, but not completely, over the course of what is likely a short time period. In other words, YA deals with identity development. These stories also address contemporary issues through the worldview of an adolescent, and draw upon how they develop. Mertz further described the “taboo” themes of “New Realism” as necessary to teen readers, stating that objections raised by critics “disregard substantive issues raised by the novel.”

At its earliest termed “junior novels,” the growth of YA over the past few decades is considered to be due to both its increased sophistication and social acceptance (Mertz 1978). No longer just a bridge between children’s and adult literature, it often addresses relevant, difficult social issues such as racism, divorce, teen pregnancy, sexuality, drugs and alcohol. Among other influential novels, Lord of the Flies and The Outsiders have frequently been cited as very early installations in this category due to their publications in the 50’s and 60’s, adolescent protagonists, and troublesome elements and themes, including violence and death, that were not typically presented as teen reading before that time. That is not to say that earlier works did not feature children and teens as main characters while addressing difficult themes, but these were most often intended for adult reading.

I have to agree with the assertion that social acceptance of this type of literature in the hands of teens has increased over time, and yet I am always surprised by the vehement opposition that arises to certain novels each year. While we seem generally more accepting of its literary value and purpose to adolescent readers, it never ceases to amaze me that individuals continually take it upon themselves to not only remove it from their own students’ hands, but all students’, everywhere. Still, it's clear that acceptance has helped to grow the category. This is true not just of societal acceptance, but the regular incorporation of contemporary YA in the classroom.

I also feel that the enjoyment adults, such as myself, gain from reading YA has increased its expansion and advancement. As YA becomes more sophisticated, it promotes critical thinking in even older readers, who themselves have already lived through their teen years but may yet meet the YA criterion of being “incomplete” in their personal growth. Difficulties arise, of course, when the adult (and hopefully mature) perspectives that I have gained in my life thus far interfere with my ability to abandon reality and accept the pure adolescent perspective. However, I also gain enjoyment from reading YA in part due to evaluating it even as I read it for recommendation to actual young adults, both my own and my students.

For further reading on audience and evolution of YA, click:

Who Is Young Adult Literature For? (2015, September 18). Retrieved June 13, 2019, from http://www.yalsa.ala.org/thehub/2015/09/18/who-is-young-adult-literature-for/