Young Adult literature is becoming more and more prominent
these days. You can't go to a bookstore, movie theater or even the internet
without hearing about the latest young adult book in some way or another. Many
people dismiss it as a new thing to market to impressionable teens or that it
surged about with Harry Potter. Truth
is, this genre has existed for quite some time.
And by quite some time, I mean more than a few centuries
back.
Young adult literature can easily be traced back to at least
the 1700's. Thought it wasn't an official genre, books like Treasure Island and Little Women which
were published throughout the years after were aimed at the fourteen to twenty
year old market. Around the early 1900's it became easier to publish materials
but at the same time it began to gather negative attention. Most of the books
aimed for this age group were considered trash and they were barely carried by
book stores.
Near the late 1950's up to the mid 1960's a small resurgence
in the young adult genre began. People began to get concerned about that age
group again and iconic books began to get published. The
Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (1967) was among the leaders in this resurgence
setting up the genre straight into the 1970's where it entered somewhat of a preemptive
golden age. Books such as The Bell Jar and
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings were
published during this era, focusing squarely on the young adult demographic and
bringing the genre into the limelight.
The 1980's was when the young adult genre truly went into
the golden age. Young adults had a voice and their representative literature
reflected that. No longer were the books rated G, instead they spoke about
issues like homosexuality, drugs, racism, AIDS and sexuality. The 1990's pushed the envelope even further,
with subjects such as suicide, abuse, parental death and bullying. Dark and
gritty as some of them were, the books published around this era dared to
provide a unique voice and a window to taboo issues. Suffice it to say, that
some of the books published around this period are still being challenged and
in some cases banned to this day for their supposedly risqué themes.
But regardless of that, the genre itself wasn't nearly as
mainstream as it is today. That is, until 1997. When a boy wizard called Harry
Potter skyrocketed the young adult literature genre into the limelight, giving
a whole new meaning to the word resurgence.
Harry Potter and the
Sorcerer's Stone was published in the United States in 1998. It became a
worldwide phenomenon, since it was just as popular in its native England. The
first book spent around 79 weeks in the New
York Times bestsellers with its sequels right behind it in sales and
pre-order records. More and more publishers saw the potential in these books
and began to give the genre more attention. As the new millennium rolled in,
many new series came to life, each with their own themes and voices for the new
generation.
As we entered the second decade of the new millennium, we
saw many of these series get adapted into movies. Some were well made, while
others weren't and the young adult genre managed get a firm stronghold in the
market with the recognition it deserved. As front running series like Harry Potter ended others appeared to
take up the slack. Series like Twilight and
The Hunger Games continue to make
sure that the genre remains right next to others like romance, fiction and
sci-fi.
Covering a variety of topics and displaying topics of all
kinds under all types of scrutiny and challenges, the young adult genre remains
stronger and more present than ever. So gather up your courage, find your
favorite topic and sit down with a young adult book. You'll find that not only
the genre will cater to your particular tastes, but it'll provide a refreshing
voice to your perspective.
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