Group Presentation
Background or history of the genre
Key Concepts and Ideas
Literary Techniques Associated With the Genre
The set Text!
Other Notable Texts and Authors
Big Issues or Controversies
Two-three Questions for the Class
The Hate You Give
John Green
Holes by Louis Sachar
Scholarly
Non Scholarly
2000's Second Golden Age of YA
Catcher in the rye, Lord of the flies
1940's and 50's Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys
More realistic and controversial titles
Blossomed in the 1960's and 70's
"Golden Age of young adult literature"
They were originally written for adults and were later categorised as young adult
The outsiders was one of the first books published for YA
2000's new book awards were created for YA lit (Printz Award, Edwards Award, Alex Awards).
Non Scholarly
Age appropriate struggles
Protagonists are aged between 12 and 18
Relateable
Coming of age
Easily adaptable to screen and other media
The Hunger Games
Scholarly
Twilight
The Selection Series
Divergent
Non Scholarly
LGBTQ+
Too many clones of the same stuff.
Harry Potter
Introduces controversial ideas like death, sex, underage drinking, homelessness and drug use
Issues are more accessible for younger generations
Not high brow but is super widespread
Does it need to be a series
Greater representation???
Bridge to Terabithia
Scholarly
Non Scholarly
Told in first person
Close third person
Focuses on one character's perspective without speaking directly from that perspective (i.e. using 'he'/'she' instead of 'I').
"Children are the only ones to read YA"
The writing is not as professional
Themes are immature
Philip Pullman
What percentage of Adults read YA fiction?
Reasons......
How many of you read/consume YA fiction
YA fiction relies on Tropes
The chosen one
The love Triangle
"I'm different from other girls"
The outsider
Geek becomes beauty
Good vs Evil
First love
Lynette Noni
According to the Atlantic in 2017 55% of YA readers are adults.
Monomyth (the hero's journey)
Characters embark on a journey that leads to self discovery through quest patterns.
“it is about everybody's inevitable and recurring transformations and renewals, about continuous rebirth and rediscovery of the self”
This three stage adventure can be seen in Harry potter, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and Star Trek.
Sources
Sources
Sources
Sources
No strings attached. YA books frame sexuality as problematic and shame women
Sources
Sources
Representations of happiness and excluding outsiders.
Scholarly
Hero's have the stereotypical characteristics of social outcasts, have special gifts, they are in a place they aren't familiar with and so on.
Bullying
The affirmation of non-traditional families.
Tool used to show that bullying is not presented as dysfunctional adolescent behaviour, but as a tool for addressing issues of difference and discrimination on the grounds of race, class, sexual orientation or personality; issues that filter into adolescent culture
Used in The Outsiders, The Lord of the Flies, or The Catcher in the Rye as a technique.
It is now being used as a tool to teach peace in school locations.
Dystopian
Dystopian writing presents the global concerns: liberty and self-determination, environmental destruction and looming catastrophe, questions of identity and justice.
Used to convey social issues through literature. Telling the story from the point of view of real people going thorough it.
The Love Triangle
"main character being forced into making the choice between two people who love them equally."
Examples: Twilight and The Hunger Games (an example I know (not from source) The Selection Series).
This device can be compelling, but it can also distract from the main plot.
"make the protagonist deal with conflict that does not further the main plot."
The Tyrannical Government
Found in many dystopian novels.
"The rulers of the government are portrayed more like machines than humans"
"often accompanied by the poor majority, who live under the wrath of evil"
Romance Plot (Gothic YA)
"Most Gothic YA texts contain a romance plot, often because the protagonists typically occupy the liminal space between childhood and adulthood demarcated by sexual experience."
"the school story—a conventionally realist genre—has begun to include supernatural gothic characters including vampires, witches, angels, and zombies"
"The heroines’ romantic interests place them in conflict with the ultimate aims of the institutions to protect their pupils, conservatively linking their sexual maturation with danger to themselves and others."
"In Vampire Academy, for example, Rose’s attraction to Dimitri is deemed inappropriate because of the age difference of seven years, his role as her mentor, and their shared guardian duty to keep Lissa safe."
"In an attempt to stray from the stereotypical cheerleader or bitchy teenage character, YA fiction has inadvertently created another trope: female protagonists who are 'different from other girls'."
"We’ve all read a novel where the protagonist starts off seemingly completely normal, until they’re suddenly thrust into a new world and discover that only they have the power to fix the universe. A lot of YA fantasy and science fiction novels feature this trope."
"The coming-of-age novel features a teenage protagonist growing up. The character goes through significant changes, either in their circumstances (such as graduating from high school) or as a result of an event (such as a death or breakup)."
"While having problems relevant to the protagonist’s age is important, the challenges of growing up don’t have to be the story’s central obstacle. This is particularly obvious in YA novels of other genres, such as fantasy and dystopian."
New Adult.
About coming of age but it looks at what happens after the messiness of adolescence.
Left childhood in the rearview
"New adoult is the 'I'm officially an adult, now what?' phase."
Sarah J Maas
Fangirl Rainbow Rowell
Red white and Royal Blue
Colleen Hoover
Often has more steamy romance than would be allowed in YA fiction.