Literature for Young Adults

http://epaper.navhindtimes.in/epaperarchive.aspx?pdate=2016-07-10

                                                       Literature for Young Adults

In our ongoing posts about the reading habit, today we shall focus on youth literature.  Research studies in 1920 concluded that youth literature was a category by itself.  The literary world had turned its attention to writing exclusive books for young readers.  As a result, there came into being a segregation between children’s literature (which was about candy floss, fairy tales, wishes coming true etc.) and writings for young adults (where the subject matter differed greatly).  Youth literature focused on age related issues from 13 to 16 years and then 17 to 25 years. This is a period of life where growing children experience puberty and come into their own. They want to think for themselves and make independent choices. It is a tumultuous phase of weaning away from parental pressures, choosing academic careers, and vocations for themselves and striking out on their own in the adult world. ‘Catcher in the Rye’ and ‘Lord of Flies’ written in the 50s were breakthrough books which boldly portrayed such issues to young readers. ‘The Outsider’ by S.E Hinton is another such western novel dealing with the dark side of adolescence.  Susan Eloise was 17 years old when she wrote it.  The novel came to be a cult teen read for young adults.

Cultural context becomes important when we consider the subject matter for teen literature.  Issues which may be relevant in a western society may not hold well in the Orient.  However, in our global world today, cultural boundaries are dissolving and changing this paradigm. Cosmopolitanism has led to a common culture and shared themes. Reading literature from varied writers introduces young readers to different perspectives and altered realities preparing them to be global citizens. Internationally successful books by Rior Riordon, Stephenie Meyer are a craze with young people everywhere. Other notable mentions include the ‘Hunger Games’ trilogy, ‘Lord of the Rings’ and the ‘Infiniti Ring’ series.  Let’s also discover other classical gems in this genre.  

‘Anne of Green Gables’ written by award-winning Canadian writer L. M. Montgomery is part of school curriculums across the world. Robert Browning’s quote “When God’s in heaven, all’s is well with the world” forms the last line of the first book in the series. In the book, Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, siblings in their fifties and sixties, decide to adopt a boy from an orphanage to help Matthew run his farm. They live at Green Gables – their Avonlea farmhouse on Prince Edward Island.  Through a misunderstanding, the orphanage sends Anne Shirley. The novel recounts how Anne with her youthful idealism and spirituality makes her way with the Cuthberts, in school and in town. She has a very wild imagination.  Her unfailing positive energy propels her to impart the most innovative names to insipid and fabulous places alike.  The red-haired, freckle-faced girl faces the world with the sheer force of her personality.  She opines, “It’s so easy to be wicked, without knowing it.” The book series, thereafter, chronicles her life’s trials and tribulations through adolescence to adulthood.

Judy Blume and Jacqueline Wilson share something common regardless of their origins and writing styles. They both came in for censure for their themes of writing for young adults, even though their books were published half a century apart. Their focus on controversial subjects of sexuality, divorce, foster homes, adoption, mental illness, menstruation, masturbation, birth control and death had the adult world up in arms against their books.  Airing of taboo topics always creates a furore. Nonetheless they persisted in their writings and their books became bestsellers. Teenagers wanted to read them because they felt that the issues, many of which could not be discussed with their parents and teachers, were very relevant to their lives.  A young reader said, “I felt empowered to face the world after reading Blume’s books.”  ‘Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret’ and ‘Blubber’ are Blume’s famous works based on sexuality and bullying. In contemporary fiction, Wilson has received great acclaim on similar lines for her lifetime contribution as a children's writer and she was a UK nominee for the International Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2014.

Another safe bet when browsing for books to read is to look for award-winning young adult authors.  The 1970s through the mid-1980s have been described as the golden age of young-adult fiction. Lois Lowry became widely known for her book ‘The Giver’. A book reviewer said, “Lowry’s exceptional use of metaphors and subtle complexity makes it a book that will be discussed, debated and challenged for years to come...a perfect teen read.”  By the turn of the new millennium, this rage caught on and the World Wars and the Holocaust were the mainstay of many writers for young adults. ‘The Book Thief’ by Australian author Marcus Zukas and ‘The Boy in Striped Pyjamas’ by the Irish author John Boyne topped bestselling lists for years. John Green’s ‘Paper Towns’, ‘Looking for Alaska’, Sherman Alexie’s ‘The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian’ are some of the hits today.

The graphic novel was a revolutionary trend to hit the teen book world in the 80s. ‘A Contract With God’ and ‘Maus’ laid a strong foundation, and then there was no looking back. In a way, the genre opened ways of tackling sensitive and explosive subject matter with greater expressive ease using pithy text and graphics. ‘V for Vendetta’, ‘Hellboy’, ‘Invisibles’ and ‘The Tale of One Bad Rat’ have a following that seems to be ever on the increase.

Lastly the age-old classics, not of a particular age but for all time, lure young readers with their heavy contemplations and asides. Authors such as Charles Dickens, Mary Shelley, Mark Twain and Louisa May Alcott remain favorites. Amongst timeless characters, Philip Pirrip in Great Expectations (Pip) grips readers at an early age. Like him, many youngsters harbour hopes of escaping the loving, but limited, quotidian world that surrounds them at home. And like Pip, they learn to be ashamed of those good people that they love and then bitterly ashamed of that shame. On the other hand, Pip’s uncle, the modest and sweet Joe Gargery, brings out the best in young readers. He motivates and at the same time humbles young readers to let go their big EGO and to LOVE unconditionally.

The list is never ending but I hope my three-part series on the reading habit for children has given readers a glimpse into the wonderful world of books. I wish and pray that many will take to this journey of lifelong companionship with books.