Genres for Young Adult Literature

1
Genres for Young Adult Literature

• Definition of genre
• Classes of genre
• How to approach them with young adults
• Betty Marcoux, Ph.D.
• Winter Quarter 2004

2
What is a genre?

• Kind or type of literatures that has a common set
  of characteristics
• Many differences and variables within a genre
• Classification of literature by genre not always
  simple
• Seen often as arbitrary
• Way of organizing literature for readers
• Literary elements may vary according to genre and
  within genre (ie poetry vs sonnet/lyric poetry)
  Different genres have different emphases on
  different elements
• More of a helpful guide than anything else
  readers advisory concepts

3
Genre classes/types

• Adventure
• Mystery
• Fantasy
• Horror
• True Stories
• Romance
• Sports
• Science Fiction
• Autobiographies/Biographies
• Hobby

4
Genre classes/types (Carlson, 1984)

• Sport stories
• Animal stories
• Stories of olden times
• Science fiction
• Stories of foreign cultures
• Boys and cars
• Adventure stories
• Mystery stories
• Vocational stories
• Stories of moral/ethical dilemmas

5
Genre classes/types (Carter, 2000)

• Too good to miss
• Adventure
• Animals
• Family
• Fantasy
• Friendship
• Historical fiction
• Holocaust
• Humor
• Mtstery
• Not quite human
• Other lives
• Quest
• Romance
• Short takes
• Sports
• Starting over
• Survival
• Suspense

6
Text classifications of YA Lit.

• Realism
• Life
• Problems
• Romanticism
• Adventure
• Mysteries
• Supernatural
• Humor
• Fantasy
• Science Fiction
• Utopias and Dystopias
• History
• People
• Places
• Non-fiction
• Information
• Poetry
• Drama

7
Top 10 Types of Characters 2002

• Characters like reader
• Characters different from reader
• Characters do or have done amazing things
• Fantasy characters
• Characters face tough issues
• Animal characters
• Sports figures
• Musicians
• Historical figures
• Detectives

8
Top 10 Books-2002 Read for fun Ever

• Harry Potter series
• Lord of the Rings series
• A child called it
• Holes
• Chicken soup for the teenage soul
• A walk to remember
• Left behind series
• Artemis Fowl
• His dark materials series
• The Giver

• Harry Potter series
• Lord of the Rings series
• Where the red fern grows
• A child called it
• The Outsiders
• To kill a mockingbird
• The Giver
• A walk to remember
• Hatchet
• Bible

9
YA statistical evidence

• 1997-2007 13 increase of secondary school
  enrollment
• YAs say they mostly like reading a lot and are
  advanced readers
• 58 of YAs believe they always read things that
  they are passionate about
• 54 read constantly for their own pleasure
• 26 read what they are supposed to for school
• 21 basically dont read much at all
• 55 read for fun
• 54 read to learn new things
• 42 read for school lessons
• 30 read due to boredom/not anything else to do
• 21 read and talk about books with friends
• 19 dont read because it is boring
• 19 dont read because they dont have the time
• 7 dont read because it isnt cool
• 54 indicate they were read to a lot as a child
• 34 indicate they were read to sometimes
• 10 indicate they hardly ever were read to

10
Approaches to genres with YAs

• Be aware that genre similarities/differences may
  or may not be helpful with readers advisory work
• Works are popular for a time and then fade as
  they are replaced with more timely material
• Some works become icons
• A classic is news that stays news (Ezra Pound)

11
Librarian competencies for YA work

• Leadership and professionalism
• Knowledge of client group
• Communication
• Administration
• Planning
• Managing
• Knowledge of materials
• Access to information
• Services

12
Magazine appeal to YAs

• Capitalize on fads
• Self-help
• Social relevance
• Special interests
• Time commitment
• Universal interest
• Visual appeal

13
The Chocolate War

• Author Robert Cormier 1925-2000
• Often took news stories/life experiences and put
  them into a novel
• Wrote from early in life to death
• Often censored due to uncompromising depiction of
  real YA life
• Books read by all ages
• History of publications 1940-2000
• The Chocolate War 1974
• I Am the Cheese 1977
• After the First Death - 1979

14
Issues of the Chocolate War

• Still a bestseller
• Has been censored
• Has won many awards/honors
• Translated into 12 languages
• Treats evil and intimidation of YAs unlike many
  others since
• Has a voice that comes through even though dark
  and foreboding
• Moral focus leads teen to consider their own
  feelings/ethics
• Considered icon of YA literature

15
Graphic novels/comic books

• Misunderstood medium
• Close relatives graphic novel usually larger
  version of comic book (long short story)
• Story more visual than textual
• Usually less substantive than regular novel
  format
• Considered a self-contained story that uses a
  combination of text and art to articulate the
  plot ( K. Decandido, LJ 90)
• Can be a single story or set of stories
• Format is appealing to YAs as is visually
  oriented
• Nonlinear format to the text not unlike
  hypertext
• Seen as more like real conversations
• Develops characters through dialogue rather than
  narrative
• Usually in paperback format
• Usually in a series
• Tend to tackle on the edge issues