An Introduction to Young Adults and Their Literature 5 More Young Adult Literature History in Action: First Books Written for Young Adults Published almost a century before DallyÊs My Seventeenth Summer , Louisa May AlcottÊs Little Women is also sometimes referred to as the first young adult novel although there was no such designation in 1868 when it was published. Unlike previous novels heralded for women, AlcottÊs story more closely depicted read life with its joys and sadness, but devoid of extreme sentimentality. Today Little Women shines as a readable and enjoyable classic story. Published in the same year as Little Women , Ragged Dick or, Street Life in New York by Horatio Alger, Jr., was the first book of a popular series for young people. Dick leaves home to find a more affluent life and through luck, goodness, and a little work, he is transformed into a respectable young man. Unlike AlcottÊs timeless book, AlgerÊs books are seldom read for pleasure due to their stilted language, unrealistic plots, and stereotypical characters. Other popular books for boys in the last half of the 1800s in- clude „bad boy‰ books and adventure novels. Thomas Bailey AldrichÊs The Story of a Bad Boy (1870) set in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, treats readers to the charming and humorous adventures of mischievous Tom (Meigs et al. 1969, 244). Based on his boy- hood recollections in Missouri, Mark TwainÊs The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), like his adult book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), „combine[s] adven- ture, imagination, realism, humor, and human nature to a degree which makes them· especially Huckleberry Finn ·great books and books that are essentially American‰ (Meigs et al. 1969, 243). These few books mark the beginning of a flood of young adult books. Other historical books will be discussed in subsequent chapters as they relate to specific genres. Defi ning Young Adult Literature Loosely defined, young adult literature is anything that young adults read or listen to: magazines, newspapers, graphic novels, manga, comic books, novels, audiobooks, an- thologies and short story collections, poetry, podcasts, folktales, informational books, biographies, and even picture books and adult books. If young adults are reading it, it can be considered young adult literature. While itÊs expected that young adults will read broadly according to their tastes and abilities, this textbook focuses on books published specifically for young adults, ages 12 through 18. Classic Young Adult Titles The trouble is, grownups write about teen-agers from their own memories, or else write about teen-agers from a stand-off, I’m-a-little-scared-to-get-close- they’re-hairy view. Teen-agers today want to read about teen-agers today. The world is changing, yet the authors of books for teen-agers are still 15 years behind the times.” —From “Teen-Agers Are for Real” by Susan Hinton (1967, 26) Classic titles for young adults are those that have not only remained in print for at least 20 years (well beyond the age of a young adult), but they are also titles written for adults
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