1 Chapter 1 An Introduction to Young Adults and Their Literature I write YA because I acutely remember being a teen, and I’m drawn to the feeling of immediacy I associate with that time of my life. I love exploring fi rsts, especially fi rst love stories (all my books are fi rst love stories). Honestly, I feel very connected to the teens I’m writing for, I have a hard time imagining writing for another audience. —Becky Albertalli, New York Times best-selling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (a fi nalist for the ALA’s Morris Award) and the other books in the Simonverse, The Upside of Unrequited , Leah on the Offbeat , and What If It’s Us (with Adam Silvera) Do you remember reading as a teen when you were one? What were your choices? Clas- sics? Adult novels? Graphic novels? Did you read the category of fiction considered young adult? Were your family members and friends reading as well? Did you read any young adult books in school and if so, was it a young adult classic such as The Outsiders or The Chocolate War ? Recently, have you read any contemporary young adult novels like The Hate U Give , The Fault in Our Stars , or Long Way Down ? While the category „young adult‰ is fairly new (as compared to the distinction of childrenÊs literature), young adult literature isnÊt a new invention. While books written for youth have existed for cen- turies, scholars of young adult literature often credit Maureen DalyÊs Seventeenth Summer published in 1942 as the first young adult novel though DalyÊs intention was for her work to be read by adults (Cart 2016). Others credit Susan Elizabeth Hinton for creating the young adult novel in 1967. Regardless of which scholarship with which you agree, Hin- tonÊs examination of the class warfare and issues at the forefront of the teens in her world, The Outsiders effectively revolutionized young adult fiction. Fortunately for young adults today, the 15-year-lag between the real life of teens and the literature of teens is gone. Authors are writing about issues and concerns important to young adults. The taboos of the twentieth century have disappeared from poetry, fiction, and informational books,
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