Young Adult: a Book by Any Other Name
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JonathanLori Goodson Stephens & Jim Blasingame Young Adult: A Book by Any Other Name . .: Defining the Genre hildren’s. Bildungsroman. Adolescent. Juvenile. such as The Gossip Girl, Clique, The Au Pairs, and The Teen. Young Adult—so many names for such a Seven Deadly Sins deluging the market with what C controversial body of literature. many consider pulp entertainment. If one were to As America’s readership continues to shrink, judge the books by their covers, one might assume marketing departments scramble for new strategies for that the graphic-rich dust jackets, many pink with pop getting books into readers’ hands. Bookstores have femininity, offer nothing but surface reading of candy reshuffled their shelves and recategorized their writing. And indeed, many people have. sections, drawing titles from both Children’s and Other converted critics have embraced Young Grownup Fiction (Sadly, “Adult Fiction” doesn’t ring Adult so dearly that they have scoured the canon for the way I wish it could) to create the new Teen, or any classics they could adopt into the Y.A. family. J.D. Young Adult, sections of their stores. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, Mark Twain’s The Because the Young Adult umbrella seems to Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Maya Angelou’s I shelter the many simpler, aimed-for-children books as Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Harper Lee’s To Kill a well as the overabundance of catty, chick-lit-ish Mockingbird, C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, Charles novels, this new category has brought with it certain Dickens’ Great Expectations, and William Golding’s negative assumptions from critics across the board. Lord of the Flies are just a sampling of the claimed Young Adult Literature has been accused of being: classics, not to mention more recent Grownup novels •For children only such as Stephen King’s Carrie, Mark Haddon’s Curious • Somewhat simplistic Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, and Markus • Chick lit for teens Zusak’s I Am the Messenger. • Less than literary Still other critics have rejected • Not serious enough for use in the Young Adult expansion by chal- schools lenging and banning books they •A marketing ploy As America’s readership thought contained subject matter •Written by less serious or continues to shrink, too mature for children and teens. amateur writers Among the most contested titles • Experimental marketing departments are some that many would consider • Not established enough to bid Young Adult classics—Robert for spots in the canon scramble for new strate- Cormier’s The Chocolate War, Judy Indeed, a cursory riffle through gies for getting books into Blume’s Forever and Are You There a local bookstore’s Young Adult God? It’s Me, Margaret., J.K. Rowl- section might lead a critic to these readers’ hands. ing’s Harry Potter series, and Lois conclusions, especially with series Lowry’s The Giver, among others. 34 THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007 f34_42_TAR_Fall07 34 10/2/07, 2:42 PM All arguments considered, the majority of the fun and emotion in a academic, serious side of society still seems to cast book, I’m not greedy, I’ll My reading list included negative light on Young Adult Literature. Many have happily take that” (Carroll asked, “What exactly makes Young Adult any different 106). And I might add award winners and new from Grownup or Children’s literature?” and “What truth to his list. His words does it mean for a book to be Young Adult?” Discus- make me wonder if his releases, historical and sion has arisen about: goal is any different from futuristic fiction, single • The look and age of the characters—from the the majority of Grownup lightning bolt on Harry Potter’s forehead (J.K. writers. If “child” were and multiple P.O.V., Rowling’s Harry Potter series) to the shaved head of changed to “person” or Egg (Cecil Castelluci’s Boy Proof) “reader,” then his state- straight and homosexual • The location of the stories—from a 1452 AD copy ment would still seem a relationships, science shop in Mainz, Germany (Matthew Skelton’s noble writerly cause. Endymion Spring) to the exotic tarpits (Margo This led me to choose fiction and fantasy genres, Lanagan’s Black Juice) twelve recent Young Adult • The action and plotting—vivid, fast-paced scenes novels, a wide variety of smart kids and mental and action books from the past five patients, school lit and • The core conflicts—blackmail (Markus Zusak’s I years (2002–2006), to Am the Messenger), date rape (Chris Lynch’s study as a sampling of high culture, and the Inexcusable), telekinesis (Stephen King’s Carrie), Y.A. Literature, through performance enhancing drugs (Robert Lipsyte’s which I could analyze outcasts. Raiders Night), and poverty (Markus Zusak’s what is going on in the Fighting Ruben Wolfe) “genre” today. My reading •Tone, voice, and point of view list included award winners and new releases, histori- • The linguistic and structural tricks the writers cal and futuristic fiction, single and multiple P.O.V., employ straight and homosexual relationships, science fiction • The characteristics that define what many are and fantasy genres, smart kids and mental patients, calling a “genre” school lit and high culture, and the outcasts. My hope I can’t help but feel transported back to English class, was to get an up-to-date look at the current trends and the way the above list showcases the long-heralded decide for myself what makes a Young Adult book any elements of quality Literature—Character, Setting, different from its Grownup relatives. Plot, Conflict, Tone, Voice, and Point of View. I would be lying if I, as an aspiring Young Adult 12 Y.A. Novels under the Microscope writer, were to say these conflicts have not affected my world. Questions immediately shot up regarding Feed by M.T. Anderson (Candlewick, 2002) the fiction project I set out to accomplish for my Hail the future of America! The moon, the 51st Masters of Fine Arts thesis, a Young Adult novel state, is an industrialized wasteland and not too featuring two high school seniors and the clash different from Earth. Lesions are developing on people’s between one’s identity as the school clown and the skin that turn out to be pretty cool when worn by the other’s descent into the football gambling world. right celebrities. The Feed continues to provide the ideal Accomplished writers of Grownup Fiction doubted the entertainment experience for those who have taken the validity and literary capabilities of a juvenile novel, surgical step of progress. As Titus, a feed-wearing expressing concerns about whether creative writing of member of the teenage party scene, grapples with that kind belonged in a graduate program. typical teenage issues cleverly translated for the future, When asked about his goal as a writer of Young he is driven to make the same decision we all have to Adult Literature, Newbery Award-Winning author make at some point—What are we going to let define Christopher Paul Curtis said, “if the novel lets one us? child see that there is a real potential for beauty and In this ALA 2003 Best of Y.A. novel, the voice is 35 THE ALAN REVIEW Fall 2007 f34_42_TAR_Fall07 35 10/2/07, 2:42 PM the first thing to grab you—“The moon turned out to is falsely accused of a crime, earning him the different completely suck.” “I’m so null.” “I wasn’t so skip label of “wolf’s head,” a name reserved for criminals when we were flying . .” “. if any of them were who can be killed on the spot. Bear offers Crispin youch.” “. these fake birds that were the big spit.”— shelter from his pursuers in addition to teaching him all authentic and witty guesses at futuristic teen slang. the trade of juggling, something a poor, orphan boy People speak in post-email language, technobabble could not hope to survive without. This exploration of like “re: Violet” already a part of everyday use. Other personal identity is a common enough thread through- linguistic tricks such as SchoolTM and CloudsTM give out Young Adult literature. Mix that together with the the text a unique flavor. Just about when we begin to missing family relationships, an action-packed feel like “complete bonesprockets” in the face of this narrative, the mentor figure and older guide, and the creative dialect, we meet Titus and his moon-partying intrigue of the medieval world brought to life through friends. This cast of characters worries about clothing the eyes of an outcast teen, and you have the makings and social status, especially when celebrities start of a novel that belongs in the “genre.” wearing their fashionable skin lesions with pride and popularity. Bucking the Sarge by Christopher Paul Curtis The Feed, an implanted device that sustains (Wendy Lamb, 2004) biological life and enhances communication, bom- This humorous story features Luther T. Farrell, a bards them with advertisements of things they just young black boy and freshman in high school, who have to have if they expect to keep up with the in- lives with and works for the Sarge, the dictator mom. crowd. It also allows them to “null out” on some feed- With his best friend Sparky, his love for philosophy, altering drugs, which might not be considered drugs and his hatred for Flint, Michigan, Luther gets pro- by some because of their lack of physical harm. In the moted to head of the Sarge’s group home. At the same middle of this party atmosphere, Titus is thrust into a time, he is trying to find a way to win the school’s relationship with Violet, a girl who teaches him more science fair for the third year in a row and somehow about himself than he was hoping to learn.