Young Adult Literature |
Not just for tweens and teens...
(adults like 'em, too!) |
An origin story...Just as we can identify the first picture books written for children, we can also pinpoint the origins of literature written for young adults. "Teenagers" as such did not exist before World War II. Of course, there were young people in their teens, but there was no social demographic or culture that fostered peer group development. However, throughout the 1920's and '30's, attendance in high schools begin to rise dramatically and this certainly was an extremely important factor in the creation of teenage culture. And by the early 1940's, teenagers were recognized as consumers with purchasing power and style preferences.
Seventeenth Summer, by Maureen Daly, was published in 1942. It is widely thought to be the first book written explicitly for an adolescent audience. Predictably, it was a novel about first love, written mainly for a female readership. It was followed by more romances and then sports novels, which were written to appeal to the boys. In the 1960's and '70's, came the first blossoming of contemporary realistic fiction that addressed adolescent issues of alienation and teen angst. Authors such as S.E. Hinton (The Outsiders), Judy Blume (Forever) and Robert Cormier (The Chocolate War) explored the high school experience in all its pain and glory. The 1980's brought all the "problem" novels about divorce and drug abuse, as well as genre fiction, including horror from R.L. Stine (the Fear Street series) and the Sweet Valley High drama queens. The baby boomlet of the 1990's has led to another enormous flowering of young adult literature and the book world and libraries finally began marketing directly to teens. In 1998, the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of ALA, launched its first Teen Read Week. And suddenly, book shelves were groaning under the weight of vampires, werewolves, and dystopian societies, as well as the classic boy-meet-girl scenarios. And the books are certainly attracting their readers. According to a Pew Survey, 16- to 29-year-olds are the largest demographic checking out books from their local libraries. However, young adult literature is popular with readers of all ages. Bowker Market Research reports that 55% of all young adult books purchased in 2012 were bought by adults between the ages of 18 and 44 years old. And you know they weren't all given as gifts! |
A Medal of its own...The Michael L. Printz Award is awarded to the best book written for teens each year. The Printz Committee may also name up to four honor books, which also represent the best writing in young adult literature.
Mr. Printz, the award's namesake, was a school librarian in Topeka, Kansas with a passion for reading, books and authors who wrote books for young adults. He was instrumental in establishing an author-in-residence program at his high school. |
Looking for great YA books? Follow the links: |