What YAL says about current trends by Dwilette Brooks

Young adult literature trends change just as the music they listen to, the TV shows they watch, and the clothes & shoes they wear. However, the difference between material and written trends is the intent to educate in some way. Young adult literature is what’s interesting to teens. www.theliterarylink.com, includes various suggestions and resources to help educators and partents become more informed about what teen are reading today.

The ideas of YAL have changed over the years, and yes there are some texts that have stood the test of time, but even they have to be revised in such a way to appeal to the YA audience. Rediscovered texts really don’t have a chance at fitting into the YA perception of a good book, because what was “hot” then is not today. Therefore, authors and publishers have to constantly review and stay on top of the real issues that teens are facing today, and put it in writing.
Educators and administrators have to prove and with great merit, why certain literature should be read by their students. Keep in mind however, that those same text books that parents are protesting are the very same ones their children are interested in reading. I can remember reading books like Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/taylor.htm, To Kill a Mockingbird www.harperacademic.com, and The Scarlet Letter www.thescarletletter.com to name a few, that are now on the challenged list of books at the American Library Association www.ala.org. Also the ALA offers a multitude of resources for teens and parents, as well as, incentives to get teens to read and to keep them interested. I turned out o.k. what are parents so afraid of?

Educators should, however, make sure that students take from YAL themes or useful information that can be used in real life. A lot of authors of YAL do a good job of exposing certain stereotypes that are alive in our world today, and these issues are what sell today. Whenever students want to read more, it says that they are indeed enjoying what they are reading and are learning to appreciate the love for literature, and not necessarily conforming to the characterizations of the books. A good book no matter well it's written will never, be viewed the same way twice. Meaning after all, is the meeting of the words of the author and the mind of the reader. There are certain factors that contribute to understanding and genre choices, such as personalities, memories, moods, socioeconomic status, and even physical conditions. The one thing educators and parents should be concerned with is, if students are reluctant to read, period. http://www.hip-books.com/index.php

YAL today is written to allow for students to make the necessary connections to self, to other texts, and to the world http://forpd.ucf.edu/strategies/stratText.html. Trendy choices are what make the world revolve. If ideas about what readers like never change, then learning stops, authors and publishers go out of business, and educators run out of interesting and creative ways to discuss and help their students with the issues of the world.
The most popular genres I believe today are more of the urban fiction, realistic fiction, and historical fiction. Students I tend to feel a deeper connection with stories that are relevant to what they know. Even though some novels are more graphic than others in more ways than one, it’s important to understand that students are drawn into the “hot” topics. And YAL authors give them what they want, just as the prime-time sitcoms, the rap artists, and the clothes designers. We have to understand that no matter negative some of the more popular genre choices are today, it’s real, and it’s also important that students understand and are able to make those connections. The biggest challenge, however, is to come up with more non-fictional resources, scenarios, ideas and choices the same students can read and then see the brighter side of a bleak situation.

In Baby Brother, the authors do an excellent job of separating yet blending the good and bad that can come from a negative lifestyle. Also Walter Dean Myers www.walterdeanmyer.net
does a great job of setting the scene to really draw the reader in. In instances like the two young victims in life changing situations, it’s very important that students understand that every decision they make has to be make very carefully. Sometimes it takes words from complete strangers, authors, like Noire, Aya Nakhara, and Walter Dean Myers to convince young adults to make wise decisions.

Today YAL is saying write about the real issues, because that’s what sells. And young adults are screaming for more literature that addresses the more prevalent issues in terms they can relate to. No matter how parents fight the fact that their children are reading the very same books they fought to keep off the school library shelves. Teen choice is a losing battle; therefore, give them what they want in an informative, real and educational, yet fun and interesting way.