Young Adult Literature

In the article, “Why Literature Matters,” Dana Gioia predominantly focuses on the use of logos, logical fact-based evidence and stimulating, emotional-based language to entice the audience. Gioia elaborates on the theme of correlation between young adult Americans and the decline of literature in this age group. He continues his argument with the consequences with the decline of literature in the lives of these Americans.

Some might claim the YA genre has grown to be too dark for its target audience. Meghan Gurdon, a firm believer of this idea, explains why she believes this in her article, “Darkness Too Visible”. Gurdon describes the experience of a mother of three in a bookstore looking to purchase a YA novel for one of her children, when she found herself leaving the bookstore empty-handed due to the content of the teen books. While teen books decades ago contained less violent/corrupted material, times have changed along with the genre. She is concerned that these books could have an effect on these young readers’ brains as they are merely transferring from childhood to adulthood. Gurdon still has faith that YA books would sell just as well and connect with young readers today without all of the dark subject matters discussed in them these days.

Dark themes are on the rise in young adult literature, and parents can’t help but wonder if this is due to the abundance of these subjects in adult literature. Literary critic Meghan Cox Gurdon’s editorial “Darkness Too Visible” and author Sherman Alexie’s response “Why the Best Kids Books are Written in Blood” have contrasting views on this subject. However, with the superior techniques Alexie Sherman is more effective. Both authors use themes and style in their writing, but with his superior use of persuasive techniques Alexie Sherman’s article is ultimately more effective.

What the book does offer a younger reader, like myself, is insight as to what it was like to

When we think of romance novels, one's first thought might be of the kind we see at the newsstand while waiting to check out at the grocery store. Visions of a white knight like Fabio whisking away the fair damsel in distress. Romance novels for the young adult are appealing because many romantic symbols relate directly to what they're experiencing both physically and emotionally in their lives; that of youthfulness and hope.

While not all works of young adult literature stand up to critical analysis, many of them do. Although no work of young adult literature may ever be raised to canonical status because of its less romantic setting or less sophisticated language, it is an important category of literature to which adolescents and young adults can relate as well as one from which they can grow personally and socially, gaining skills that can be used for critical thinking and analysis for the rest of their

I have never been as comfortable with people made of flesh and bone than I have been with those made of words. Whatever information I lose in the contours of the human face, I have no trouble locating in the unchanging, permanent text of a book. There is something about literature that felt safe to me; the worlds created within far more welcoming to little girls with problems fitting in than the one outside the pages. For this reason, fiction, from Harry Potter to The Book Thief, has remained my greatest passion ever since I learned to read.

I am satisfied with the ending with ‘the book thief’ but it was quite hard to follow. It was hard to follow because at the end Liesel died (of old age) then death/narrator walks down the street with her and shows her The Book Thief, which Death has kept all these years. Death said that he has read Liesel's book many times. Liesel asks if Death could understand it; Death does not respond. Death wants to ask her how the human race can be "so ugly and so glorious," but does not. Instead Death tells her the "only truth" it "truly knows": "I am haunted by

Death plays a significant role in this book. Death introduces itself has the narrator of this book. Death meets Liesel for the first time on the train when he pick up her brother’s  soul, after the fighter pilot crashes his plane, and then again at the bombing of Himmel Street. Death has three main colors that it associates Liesel with. The colors are white, which is a rectangle, red, which is a circle, and black, which is a swastika. These colors represent the Nazi flag which was created by Adolf Hitler. Death is also infatuated with Liesel and he never forgets about

When picking out literature keep the child’s age, gender, attention span, and personal interests in mind. An uninterested child is unlikely to pay attention to the story. Do not overwhelm the child with a complex storyline beyond their comprehension or emotional level.

The novel “Book Thief” was about a 14 year old girl named Liesel Meminger who had to experience the death of her younger brother, when they buried him a book fell out the book was called “The Grave Digger’s Handbook” she decided to take the book and that’s where her journey of book thievery had begun. Not only did her brother die but she was also separated from her mother. The first time that she had come of age was when Hans and Rosa Hubermann adopted Liesel she had to adjust to her new lifestyle she had to realize that she had new parents and this was how life was going to be like from that point on. Hans and Rosa treated Liesel completely different in the beginning Hans was sweet and polite with her while Rosa wasn’t so sweet and polite she was rude and careless towards Liesel. She had to follow the new rules and had to realize they were her new parents and they were a family.

It seems natural to think about novels in terms of dreams or psychoanalytical realities. Like dreams, novels are fictions, inventions of the mind that, though based on reality, are by definition not exactly and literally true. Conversely, dreams may have some truth to tell but like novels their truth must be interpreted before it can be grasped. Such is the case with John Green's young adult novel, Looking for Alaska. It holds many truths that are relevant to young adults, but to extract those lessons, one must first view the plot and characters through a lens of psychoanalytical theory.

Authors see that teenagers are going to be the one who help change the world and it is in every decade that a teenager will do that. Writing about teenagers helps other teenagers see that they are not the only ones going through a problem. Authors captures the coming of age for teenagers and tell the readers their journey. Influences are a major part of teenagers growing up. If they do not have the correct influence then they end up going down a wrong path but that does not mean they are stuck on that path. Every teenager in literature has a choose to make decisions if they want the path that will lead to greatness or not. Authors try to capture the true stories of what teenagers are going through. Even when they were writing them in the earlier

The targeted audience will be adults and youth. Each book will be carefully selected by a library staff member covered in a brown paper and taped. On the front of each book on the wrapping with a sharpie the book will be labeled either adult or young adult, to differentiate the reading level of each title. On the cover with a black sharpie it will also provide vague details regarding genre, and subjects included. This allows patrons make a somewhat informed decision without having any ideas about who the author is or what the cover looks like. Patrons are encouraged to try something new, that way they don’t borrow a book they have already

Books change with readers as they age from a child into an adult. Children start off with simple picture books or short stories that hold many images and grabs their attention. Picture books that teach them about their surrounds and other subjects. As they age, books grow in intensity and more complex from adventures into mysteries. Young adults, teenagers, tend to read more difficult novels that contain meaningful stories or teaches them about worldly issues. Comic books and graphic novels are loved by all ages for their creative illustrations to their spontaneous storylines. Overall, what people read affect their lives, influence their growth and impact their character.