The Status of Young Adult Literature in Today's Society By: Barb Rohleder

Literature has always been a tool that reflects the time and society during which it was written. Many classic novels that teens have read in the past include, The Jungle, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Of Mice and Men. These classic pieces of literature expose the truth behind the society of the time. Not only were these pieces of historical fiction used to make a statement, but they also had characters in which readers of the time found relatable. Nowadays, the influence of the meat packing industry has subsided in Chicago, racial segregation is no longer legally allowed, and the United States is not in the midst of a Great Depression. Even though these are great novels, their storylines no longer engage the young adults of today’s society because these problems no longer affect them. As society changes so must the literature in which young adults are exposed to.. As educators, we must keep current with the trends of young adult literature or risk losing young readers because we are too afraid to capture them with engaging literature that pushes our comfort level.

For people who do not want to lose the value of the classics, don’t worry there are still pieces of young adult literature that value the classics and history, authors are just finding new ways to express these stories. Some authors such as Lisa Klein have taken on traditional pieces of writing and changed them to have a different outcome from the original. In Klein’s work Ophelia: A Novel, she rewrites Shakespeare’s Hamlet through the eyes of a female character. Not only does this express a desire to keep the classics around, but it also shows support for strong leading female characters, which is an expression of feminism in literature. Too often books written in the past, revolved around the struggles of a male protagonist, leaving the female readers searching for someone with which to identify.

Another tool that authors use in today’s literature to express the classics is a graphic novel. In Gareth Hinds’ account of Beowulf, the reader is thrown into a visual as well as literary retelling of this epic poem. The illustrations do not take away from the story, but enhance it instead. The same goes for Malcolm X: A Graphic Biography. In this graphic novel, readers learn about Malcolm X through a blend of literature and pictures. For readers who struggle to visualize what has happened in the past, the graphic novel is a great way to engage them in the story. Graphic novels are not only used to express the classics, but they can also bring to light the current issues that teens are facing. In Nadia Shivack’s Inside Out: A Portrait of and Eating Disorder, readers follow the journey of the author’s battle with binging on food to stay physically appealing to those around her, a struggle that many teens face.

Today’s young adult literature does not hide the fact that teens or society are not perfect, it does rather the opposite by exposing it and letting teens know that they are not alone in their struggles. From stories such as Make Lemonade, SPEAK, Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, Monster, and Twisted, we learn that sometimes the choices of teens do not always have positive outcomes, but the main characters in these novels learn how to deal with these consequences they best way that they can. In all of the afore mentioned novels hard hitting issues such as date rape, physical abuse, teenage pregnancy, and underage drinking are discussed. The authors of today’s young adult literature realize that these are all issues that teenagers face. Therefore, they are creating characters that are more realistic and engaging for young adults.

In Laurie Halse Anderson’s books, SPEAK, Catalyst, and Twisted, the reader is exposed to both strong willed female and male protagonists that overcome the obstacles that they face in their lives. In all three novels when faced with an obstacle, whether it is date rape, loss of a parent, or contemplating suicide, all three protagonists, show a realistic resolution of a teenager. The novels portray the struggles that these teens face because of their actions. They do not all end neatly with happy endings, but rather they have realistic conclusions that leave the reader wondering what will happen next for these protagonists.

Teenage literature also exposes the fact that not all marriages and families are perfect. Many of today’s novels show non-nuclear families. We are no longer living in a society where the household contains a mom, dad and 2.5 children. Instead children are raised in families with a single parent, a grandparent, or divorced parents. Today’s literature reflects the changes to the typical family and lets young adults know that they are not the only ones who don’t live in a stereotypical “perfect” household. In Twisted, readers learn about a marriage that is barely staying together. Similarly, in Skin by Adrienne Maria Vrettos, the readers see how a marriage in which parents fight and argue affects the lives of their children.

Along with facing the realistic side of teenage angst and struggle, today’s young adult novels also portray the influence of war in our society. No matter how we choose to look at it, the issue of war is splashed all over the news, television, and radio. It would be foolish for people to believe that war does not affect today’s young adults. In How to Ruin a Summer Vacation, the author shows the growth of an American teenager moving from a self-centered girl who only worries about whether or not she can go shopping with her friends, to a worldly and informed teenager who learns about her Jewish heritage and the war between Israelis and Palestinians. A non-fictional account of this issue is A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, by Ishmael Beah. His story reflects upon his survival of the civil war in Sierra Leone. Even though young American adults are not drafted into wars as teenagers, the war still affects them. They may go into the military later on in life, or they may know or have lost loved ones in the war. With books such as these, authors show that they too can change with society.

I believe as educators we too need to change with society and literature. I am not saying that we need to forget the classics, but we need to realize that there is more out there for young adults to read, than just Romeo and Juliet or To Kill a Mockingbird. We need to realize that young adult literature is pointing out the significant changes in our society that many of our teens are already facing. We as educators need to use these novels as tools for safe discussions on the hard pressing issues in teenage life, so that when teens go to make decisions that will affect the rest of their lives, they are informed and aware of their consequences.