What the Heck Is YA Lit?

Sometimes random things pop up from the deep recesses of my brain like a flash mob of dancers in Times Square. For example, the phrases “Please don’t squeeze the Charmin; Mikey likes it, and you’re soaking in it,” along with the theme song from Welcome Back Kotter occasionally creep into my thoughts. This phenomenon happened to me while thinking about the definition of young adult literature. While trying to process its meaning, I recalled a Bible passage my cousin read at my wedding.

Love is always patient and kind; it is never jealous, love is never boastful or conceited; it is never rude or selfish; it does not take offense, and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people’s sins but delights in the truth; it is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes. Love does not come to an end.

 I’m not sure that this thought was so random though. Unlike the old songs and commercial taglines for which I can offer no explanation, I can connect the bible passage to YA lit. You see, the breadth of the definition of love reminds me of the ubiquitousness of YAL.

The Bible passage discusses attributes of love without nailing down a specific definition; much the same way we toss around the features of young adult literature without creating concrete meaning. While it is clear that YA lit can be defined as literature geared toward young adults, what does this actually signify? I look for lucidity and consistency, yet I’m not sure it exists. YAL is not something we can neatly compartmentalize. We couch the term in a way that lumps together all novels aimed at a single age group. Not only is the definition of YA lit problematic, but the definition of “young adult” poses equal trouble. “Historically the designation “young adult” is based on audience. Isn’t that odd? We define no other art form that I can think of by its primary audience. Paintings? No. Sculpture? No. Music? No. Audience is a moving target. We can’t even agree on what a young adult is, let alone what the literature is” (Roxburgh, 2004.) As Aronson sees it, “A book a teenager should read is any book” (p. 96). Well, that certainly doesn’t raise the bar as far as criteria go, does it? But Aronson does say that a young adult book is one that presents “art and ideas in a fashion that communicates especially well to teenagers” (p. 96).  O.k., now we have something to work with. A cross between the ideals of the art illuminatos and the moralists could well be a keystone of YA lit. Building on this notion, educators must determine what role YA lit plays in the English classroom. How much should educators concern themselves with the ethical message a book brings to a teenage reader? Aronson substantiates that researchers have not been able to confirm or deny that young readers are influenced by acts or language in a text, and apparently it is not much of an issue. To that end, we must trust that our students are mature enough to deal with adult subject matter and language. Compelling novels must provide some sort of transformation, no matter how small, to the reader--a new insight into something or a reframing of his or her original view. This makes perfect sense since we know that for learning to take place, students must undergo transformation.   

As English teachers, however, we must consider the pure intellectual quality of the writing.  Do we need to find a writing style that fits distinctly within canonical literature? I am inclined to say no. Teens want to read text with a sophisticated style of writing, interesting plots, and good character development. Perhaps the best way to integrate YAL into the English classroom would be to use it to try to create text-to-text connections. If we challenge students to make connections between “interesting” novels and traditional literature, for example, the themes of love and dreams in A Midsummer’s Night Dream could easily be connected to most YA novels, we can broaden the appeal of literature. By exposing students to YA and, well, let’s just call them less interesting novels, we can get our students to appreciate not only YA lit, but all lit.

The Literati Glitterati #bookhenge

As I reflect on the 2011 Melinda Awards, I find myself wanting to write a witty review flush with hip teen terms like shizzle  (Yes, I do know what shizzle means.), dope,  and the bomb, but the words won’t come, at least not as shrewdly and fluently as I would like. That’s because I was awestruck, not by the event itself, the tech-savvy production, the books, or even the authors, but rather by the readers. The members of the Eva Perry Mock Printz Book Club spoke with the passion, intelligence, and eloquence of seasoned readers--and they certainly are. But, how did they become accomplished readers? This question led me to an inquiry into my middle school-aged daughter’s perception of reading and literature, which went like this:

Me: What is your favorite book?

K: Huh?

Me: I asked, what is your favorite book?

K: Dunno.

Me: I though you liked Maniac Magee?

K: Yeah.

Me: Well, what do you read in English class?

K: English class?

Me: Language arts.

K: I just read Wait until Helen Comes.

Me: Did you like it?

K: I guess.

Me: What did you like about it?

K: I don’t know.

Me: What do you like about reading?

K: (silence)… I don’t like reading.

Me: Why not?

K: It’s boring.

Me: Don’t you like getting lost in a good book?

K: I don’t like getting lost at all.

Me: (in my head: The snarkiness comes from her father’s side.) What do you do when you text with your friends and spend hours on Gmail?

K: I talk to my friends.

Me: No you don’t. You read, and you said reading is boring.

K: Well, I read about myself.

Me: You can read about yourself in a book.

K: There’s a book written about me? (Sarcasm again)

Me:  There’s a book written about everybody.

This exchange, as brief as it was, started the old hamster wheel spinning. I realized that perhaps young adults who don’t like reading just haven’t been reading the right books. My daughter’s explanation made me wonder if one of the more important aspects of YA literary quality is for a reader to be able to find him or herself on the pages. If this is the case, is it the educator’s responsibility to choose the right novels for teens? The answer is likely yes, but how do we find books that appeal to all teen readers? Some of the responses from the Eva Perry bibliophiles included finding novels with good plots and authors whose voices resonate with their young readers. Certainly these things are important, but we must dig deeper to engage our students.

Examples of Literature As a Performing Art

Please listen to the voice thread in the right sidebar before viewing these videos. Feel free to comment if you like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em0VEUMv42w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwK2c0Myhzc

Laudable Lit for Young Adults

Literary quality in young adult literature is unlike what we generally think of when we hear the term “literary quality.” The phrase often calls to mind the works of authors such as Shakespeare, Bronte, or Voltaire; however, the criteria for evaluating literary quality in young adult novels are much different. Read-worthy YA lit must examine traditionally taboo topics, offer exclusive access to characters’ intimate thoughts and foster a personal connection between characters and reader, teach about diversity, and, most of all, provide a pleasurable reading experience.

            One of the reasons young adult literature is so compelling is that it often has a forbidden essence. It discusses provocative teen topics in a frank, but age appropriate manner, and acts as a venue for young adults to survey their own feelings about sensitive issues; an opportunity they may not otherwise have.  It explores controversial subjects in a unique way that challenges readers to think critically about the material and draw their own conclusions. Subjects such as sexual orientation, eating disorders, death, teen pregnancy, and even rape are dealt with in a more delicate way than they are in adult novels, which accomplishes two things. First, it does not exceed the average adolescent developmental level, and second, it encourages adolescent readers to interact with the text and make connections.

YA authors spend a great deal of  time developing their characters, going deep inside of them to unearth their innermost feelings, creating a bond between characters and young readers. For example, in Speak Laurie Halse Anderson permits her readers to hear Melinda’s most secret thoughts. “I know my head isn't screwed on straight. I want to leave, transfer, warp myself to another galaxy. I want to confess everything, hand over the guilt and mistake and anger to someone else. There is a beast in my gut, I can hear it scraping away at the inside of my ribs. Even if I dump the memory, it will stay with me, staining me. My closest is a good thing, a quiet place that helps me hold these thoughts inside my head where no one can hear them" (p. 50-51).  YA novels often offer readers the opportunity to compare their thoughts with those of the characters.

Exposing young adults to people and cultures outside of their own helps them to develop empathy, one of Pink’s six senses. Learning empathy is important because it allows people to work well together, develops leadership skills, persuades others, and teaches willingness to be more open to learn from others (Pink 2005). Readers will certainly empathize with characters such as Spinelli’s Stargirl, Lee’s Bob Ewell, and Myers’ Steve Harmon.

Interesting plots and characters are what appeal to young adult readers. Engaging young readers is accomplished through creating characters the same age as readers and situating them in real-life challenges familiar to young adults. Good young adult literature has the ability to teach while entertaining. When young adults enjoy what they read, they will be eager to make text-to-self, text-to-world, and text-to-text connections.