YA Literature

    

 Young Adult Literature has quickly been growing in the past decade in order to keep up with the needs of todays adolescents.  Teens currently hold a huge chunk of the population in the United States therefore their market has increased as well.  There has been an increased number of books published recently for young adults.  Throughout the years some of the content of this genre has changed going along with the changes in society as expected.  However, some of the messages have still remained the same.  

     As with anything there are many critics of YA literature stating that these books written for teenagers are not good for them to read because they don't teach them anything good enough.  Many parents and teachers complain about this genre and believe that it may have a negative effect on the teenagers.  However, this genre of literature is important and carries value because it gives adolescents a chance to discover who they are as a person.  It gives them a better understanding.  Teens can actually relate to what they are reading.  They enjoy reading something that is similar to them which is why it has become so popular.  It also guides them in a way that other texts can not do.  As we have recently been talking about the literary canon in class many of the young adult books are taught in schools and are apart of the canon.  Some of the older books are still being taught such as Catcher in the Rye written in 1951 by J. D. Salinger but newer texts are also becoming just as popular such as The Fault in Our Stars written by John Green and published in 2012.  This genre holds significant importance in shaping the lives of young adults.  Even if these pieces of literature are not being taught in the class room kids are still learning from them.  They are discovering who they are as a person.  These are the years where a person usually finds themselves, finds and identity in the world.  Many teens struggle with this and could end up struggling with it for a long time.

   

     Being a teenager can sometimes be a very difficult time in a persons life.  Going through school being bullied or picked on for all kinds of different things such as expressing who they are.  This can be very traumatic on a person and I think that some of these young adult novels can help.  They may help by sending a message to that person or by just letting them escape it all and do something that they love.  There is so much pressure put on kids in our society today that I think being able to have something to relate to is important.  This gives them the opportunity to have a sense of understanding and they get that in their own enjoyable way.  In some ways many of these young adult books can be just as important as the classics which is what many teachers and parents are complaining about.  If a teen is going through a difficult time in their life they may not want to pick up a classic book to read especially if they are required to but if instead they pick up a young adult novel to read and end up gaining respect for themselves I think that they have learned something just as important.