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Young Adult Fiction
Issues and Trends
Edited by
Sunita
Sinha
ATLANTIC
PUBLISHERS
&
DISTRIBUTORS (P)
LTD
Preface
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Don't make every fictional teenager
into
an
action
hero.
Show
them as they really are-flaws and all.
If
YA fiction
starts
to
challenge young adults to think differently about the world
around them, it could start to bring a
real, important
impact
to the shaping of a generation.
The Valley Vanguard
[Vol. 48, No. 23)
The young adult (YA) literature
genre
has been growing
in
popularity since the 1970s. A bright
spot
in an otherwise
fluctuating literature market and
an
integral part of the lives
of
many teens, YA literature
is
a powerhouse in the publishing
community as well as in schools and homes, reaching
out to
both non-readers and readers alike. According to Salvner, YA
literature
is not necessarily a mirror to the world, but rather
it
is
an
experience, a form of living.
Literature
also becomes a
way
of
sharing lives
together, to communicate sorrows and
joys.
Young
adult
literature also provides a
voice
for the
youth,
sometimes
sceptical, while
at
other times upbeat.
Even though today the young adult genre is popular, this
genre began quietly in
1951
with Holden
Caulfield,
a memorable
crossover character
in
Catcher in
the
Rye.
Holden was a true-
to-life character, one to whom many teens and
adults
related.
Ten
years later, Robert Lipsyte and S.E.
Hinton
made their
own impacts as
authors
of young adult literature, with
The
Contender
and
The Outsiders,
respectively.
In
the early 1970s,
with
the emergence of Go
Ask Alice,
bookstores began to
realize
the potential market for young
adult
literature
and
stocked the
shelves with more young
adult
books.
Go
Ask Alice,
a
sexually
explicit nove! by an anonymous author, was
a
controversial
glimpse
into a young teen's tumultuous life. Following the 1970s,
the
focus on realistic fiction changed.
By
the 1980s
and
1990s,
fantasy, horror, and mystery books evolved in
the young adult
1
iv
Preface
Preface
V
genre. In addition, in the late twentieth century, a considerable
shift occurred as authors began to write more books for older
teens.
In
the article, "Ice Cream/1 Scream for YA Books," Don
Gallo examines the field of young adult literature, comparing
it to ice cream-its various flavours and levels of richness. The
article proclaims the profundity of the field and the quality of
its writers, summarizes historical highlights, defends it against
its detractors, and explains the importance of helping students
make informed choices by talking about books and having them
available in our classrooms. The author also states his persona!
preferences along with his concern about the increasing length
of YA books.
Beyond a typical fiction nove!, YA literature is also found
in the form of verse nove! and the graphie novel structure. The
young adult novels in verse have sparked a debate over whether
to actually consider them novels or poetry. Since as a genre it is
still evolving, the definitions of the verse novel are necessarily
elastic. In 2004, Peter Hollindale, writing in the UK journal,
Books for Keeps,
remarked that verse novels were "a fairly
recent but fast-growing addition to the repertoire of children's
literature". Though he wondered whether the form was to be "a
passing fashion", he suggested that it also represented a major
step forward in the genres of children's literature, a way of
bringing verse back into mainstream storytelling for older readers,
opening up a new kind of realism and a new immediacy, as well
as marking out some èommon ground where poetry, fiction and
drama can meet.
·
I would like to focus on a few essential characteristics that
the YA novels in verse embody. Firstly, critics agree, young adult
verse novels offer an alternative form of poetry to students.
Ed Sullivan, in his column for the
School Library Journal,
comments, "Novels in verse can be an appealing, accessible
introduction for students turned off by poetry or reluctant to
read it. The verse authors write for these books is not like what
most students are forced to study in class-it does not require
analysis and explication". While the verse novel may have roots
in traditional epic poetry, works like Ellen Hopkins'
Crank
are
a far cry from the metaphysical poets like John Donne and
Andrew Marvell, whose formality often renders the text
inaccessible to students. Next, the novel in
verse
aims at a merging
of genres and techniques not found in other forms. While they
sometimes retain some of the straightforward narrative structure
found in fictional prose, their form is more often related to novels
written in diary entries or letters. Additionally, they also provide
a unique ground for exploring and understanding the teenage
psyche. ln her article "A Fresh Approach to YA Novels
",
Sherry
Shanan observes that "the YA novel-in-poems-a non-traditional
story form-is an apt reflection of adolescence, of a time when
youth breaks away from authority and social convention". Just as
the teens cannot relate easily to the structure of canonical poetry,
they often feel that they cannot relate to their themes either. The
young adult verse nove!, in contrast, deals with themes familiar
to teens in well-known settings: sex, depression, death, drugs,
family troubles, and academic difficulties.
A graphie nove! is another example of a type of formatting
within young adult literature. Given the emergent confirmation
that graphie novels entice young adult readers, Williams and
Peterson suggest that librarians evaluate their graphie novel
materials and continue to support the growing structure.
Another popular type of literature that is quite similar to the
graphie novel is
manga.
Manga is a Japanese graphie novel or
comic book. The interest factor and sales quotient of the manga
genre is growing considerably. Manga requires a multimodal
set of skills from the reader and offers cultural variety within
a curriculum because of plotlines that teens identify with, such
as self and sexual identity.
It
is but natural therefore that the
librarians and teachers are amassing this varied and visually
stimulating format within young adult literature.
Multi-platform books are also gaining popularity in YA
literature. Other than just a printed page, publishers are
promoting eBooks, a link to the Internet, a message board,
or a videogame that corresponds to the book's characters and
plotline. Digitally active teen readers are today more interested
in multi-media platforms which provide more avenues of creative
involvement in a story.
vi
Preface
Preface
vii
Various types of genres are available in young adult
literature-realistic fiction, teen romance, dystopian society, and
mixed genres novels. Begun in the 1970s, the realistic fiction
genre relates to the issues of modern teens presenting stories
about real and flawed teenaged characters. Teen romance and
sexuality are permanent fixtures within the YA genre too as
it is a realistic topic-one that pertains to teen in the present
day. Dystopian fiction focusing on dystopian societies had been
introduced by H.G. Wells and Ray Bradbury who presented grim
worlds depicting society's turmoil and eventual downfall. As for
now, the focus has shifted on marred and downtrodden societies.
However, the popularity of young adult literature is steeped
in controversy, questions, and critiques. The topical issues of
puberty, sex, drugs, and bad decision-making are challenged in
bookstores and in school board meetings. From Judy Blume's
Forever
to Chris Crutcher's
Athletic Shorts,
characters, topics,
and plotlines have been challenged. Profanity in the dialogue and
prose pushes boundaries as well; however, authors know they
can book readers by providing a realistic sampling of dialogue
in their stories. Teens have no patience for "sugar-coating" or
downplaying conversations, let alone downplaying storylines.
The YA novel's primary subtext is usually about identity
construction. Young adults are constructing their sense of self
and the books they read may be a part of that process. Since
young adult literature exerts a powerful influence over its readers
at a particularly malleable time in their identity formation, we
ought to approach YA literature with the same careful scrutiny,
even if it is written about and to young adults, rather than by
them.
Young Adult Fiction: Issues and Trends
focuses on various
issues faced by young people with a unique and understanding
perspective. While engendering a healthy understanding of
different cultures, and focusing on tht; importance of equality
between all people, this genre encourages young people to read
and to connect, helping to shape their young minds for the better.
The sixteen scholarly essays in this anthology provide the youth
of today with relevant life lessons, which are learnt by characters
similar to them.
In her scholarly essay, "ln pursuit of Young Adult Fiction",
Reena Mitra offers an analytical overview of young adult fiction.
Mitra avers, "YA fiction bas devotedly engaged itself in addressing
the issues and problems of adolescents with a sincerity and
reverberation that readers, young adults as well as adults, have
not been able to spurn and pass over.
"
"Spatial Identity and Postfeminist Girlhood in Indian Young
Adult Chick Lit" by Anto Thomas Chakramakkil focuses on
young ad~lt l!teratur~ in ln~ia and of!ers. a ~rilli~nt analysis of
Iodian ch1ck lrt, especially, V1bha Batra s Rmki senes. ~he_ seco?d
part of the essay explores how postfeminism and spatial 1dent1ty
inspire empowered girlhood.
"YA Novels in the College Classroom: A Space to Create
Social Justice Warriors" by Padma Baliga and Livia Antony
focuses on bringing in questions of social justice into t~e
classroom space by using young adult (YA) novels for th1s
purpose. The authors remark,
"ln
th_s paper,
:"'e
shall explore
i
the possibilities of introducing a select10n of Ind1an YA to college
students to open up a discussion on social justice."
Shane Peacock has created a boy who bears all the seeds of
the character who has mesmerized millions: the relentless eye, the
sense of justice, and the complex ego. The boy Sherlock Hol~es
·
is a fascinating character who is sure to become a fast favounte
with young readers everywhere. "
'I
Infer, So I Am Free!'-On
how Shane Peacock has Subverted Doylean Conception of
Inference in Persuading Young Readers in
Eye of the Crow: The
Boy Sherlock Ho/mes, His 1st Case"
by Billy Bio Feng H~ang is
a well-researched essay. .(\s he remarks, "ln this paper, I mtend
to draw parallelism between Melanie C. Green ai:id Timot~y
C.
Brock's transportation theory and young adult hterature, m
order to address my first point: the fondamental aim of young
adult literature is to persuade young readers. My second point is
that while persuading his young audience, Peacock bas literally
subverted the Doylean conception of inference in
Eye of the
Crow: The Boy Ho/mes, His 1st Case."
"Growing out of Location" by Alessandro Monti and Carole
Rozzonelli focuses on the theme of domestic alienation in young
viii
Preface
Preface
ix
adult novels.
Fictional
young adults, either from the subcontinent,
India and Pakistan, or from the diasporic lands, the United States
and England, live in a disturbing condition of maladjustrnent the
former, due to the burden of the excessive requirements irnposed
by the family, or in isolating non-hyphenated estrangernent and
perennial rniscegenation of failed shared identities, the latter.
Elena Xeni's paper,
"Exploring
Traditional and Conternporary
Conceptions in Young Adult Literature: The Way frorn the
'Incapable' to the 'Capable' Young Reader" initiates an
exploration of predorninant traditional and contemporary social
conceptions about the young reader from the adult's point of
view. The paper aims at providing an ,overview of the journey
that took a nurnber of centuries and a greater number of
adults
to construct the role that adults play in the framework of socially
constructed conceptions of the young reader and literature for
children and adults.
"Environrnental Education through Fiction: A Study of
Deepak Dalal's Vikrarn-Aditya Series" by Shobhna Rarnaswarny
focuses on Dalal's emphasis in his works, on the conservation of
forests and wildlife, and his concept of connecting
young
people
with the wilderness.
"Reading
Frankenstein
and
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll
and Mr. Hyde
in High School: The Oscillating Worlds of
'Beautiful' and 'Ugly'" by Sharmistha Chatterjee Sriwastav
examines a wide range of issues that these two novels bring forth
to their young readers making them veritable treasure houses of
options-options which could make or mar individuals' lives,
could give wings to their talents, or toss them to purgatories.
It
is up to the readers to choose between the two.
"Postrnodernism and Indian Adult Literature: A Study of
Shiva Trilogy" by Arpa Ghosh concentrates chiefly on Arnish
Tripathi's
Shiva
Trilogy
to point out certain key features in
young adult reading habits. As Ghosh rernarks,
"WhiJe
Amish's
wonderfully written book has reignited a love for reading in
countless school-going
and
college-going readers and draws
attention to such contemporary socio-political issues
as
the
evil of war, rnisuse of atornic explosives, honour killings, and
widow remarriage, thereby holding the attention of young and
old (strength, opportunity), his representation
of
the Shiva myth
unfortunately is a far cry from the
original
myth
and
may be
viewed by purists as distortion, trivialization, and flattening of
the same
(weakness
and threat).
In her
essay,
"Pedagogical
Curiosity
in Young Adult Literature"
Mehar Fatima interrogates,
"Can young
adult literature offer
suitable way to meet literary
standards
in our English classrooms,
in schools and universities, or
is
it destined to
a
marginal
fonction of leisure reading for adolescent learners
outside English
classrooms?" She critically examines the canons of
young adult
literature and remarks,
"Its
purpose is to deal with construction
of societies, homes and persona! affairs in a democratic world."
Maitree Deb, in her paper, "The Fair and the Foui: Reading
the Journey of the Narratives of Agatha Christie's
Murder on the
Orient
Express
and Satyajit Ray's
Sonar Kella,"
tries to examine
the course of the narrative structure of the two texts, through
the primary trope of physical and psychological journey, which
forms a significant part of both the narratives,
to
explore
how
two generically opposite and contrasting forces unravel the fair
and
the foui corners of the human mind.
"Retreat to Primordial 'Id': Reflection on
the
Marooned
Boys' Transposition from
R.M.
Ballantyne's
The Coral Island
·
to William Golding's
Lord of the Plies,"
by Jyotirmoy Sil studies
the scope of the Robinsonade story from Ballantyne's
The Coral
Island
set in the Victorian times-an era ruled by the imperialist
temperament-to the war-stricken modern context and
deviates
from the story's orientation confirming/justifying Victorian
British priggishness to reveal the unethical bestial kernel
or,
in
the terminology of Sigmund Freud, 'id' active underneath the
façade of human civilization.
·
"Girlhood-Construction
of a Female's Childhood in
the
21st
Century," by lbha Gupta examines three children's
series-Harry
Potter,
Artemis Fowl
and
Percy Jackson,
that have
been
both
critically acclaimed and widely popular, to analyze how 'girlhood'
is
constructed
in the 21st century. The paper will illustrate how
'girlhood'
portrayed in children's texts can challenge stereotypes
such
as 'run like a girl' and in the
process,
empower readers
of
all genders.

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