Chapter 4- What is YA Literature?

In 1983, a study was conducted by Mertz & England that identifies ten elements that are seen in Young Adult novels. They include:

• The novel includes a youthful protagonist or young adult.
• The novel uses the point of view in which we see the protagonist’s adolescent view of the event(s)
• There is a directness of exposition or some sort of direct confrontation
• There is some sort of significant change that occurs in the main character’s life
• The protagonists is highly independent
• There is some sort of gradual or incremental change (with an incomplete growth) in the main character
• There are concerns over contemporary issues that mirror society
• The main character must deal with the consequences of a (potentially bad) decision or action
• The story involves a very limited setting, in a short period of time, and has a set of a few fully developed characters that may play a significant role in the story
• There is a true sense of how adolescents develop in the story line

Reflection:

This is important information to understand as a future librarian. This information will come in handy when you have students who are unsure of what they want to read. The librarian would be able to suggest books that include these elements. Like in other chapters, we know that readers sometimes gain experiences through books and with some of these elements they will be able to do just that. This chapter although short, was very informative. I know that some of these elements can be seen in other types of books but it was important to learn the characteristics of YA novels.