CHILD LIT ESSAY
Don’t let there be a Spring Awakening.
Personally, Young Adult fiction has always been my favourite kind of books to read, especially throughout my teenage years. It was my favourite YA texts that helped get me through personal issues, and understand the issues that I did not personally face. I believe that an avid reader lives many lives, and a young girl going through high school can highly utilize the tools that the morally driven stories contain in Young Adult literature.
Young Adult Literature is a great spectrum of texts to examine because not only does it get young adults excited about reading, but it also explores relevant issues of adolescences in a very realistic light. However, the issue with YA literature is that the texts chosen by most of the powers of authorities for these young adults—such as teachers, parents, and librarians—hinder the potential of these tools by sticking to the same tired “canon” novels that have young adults hindering away from reading and not itching towards it, while novels that are both educational and engaging for adolescence are usually deemed inappropriate. So the fact of the matter is, Young Adult literature is great because it teaches young adults all about the dangers they may face during their adolescent years in a safe way. Novels like Hold Fast by Kevin Major, Looking for Alaska by John Green, and Go Ask Alice by
Beatrice Sparks, are all prime examples of books that deal with many serious adolescent topics.
These novels, especially Go Ask Alice, deal with many issues that most school systems— especially Catholic school systems like the one I, myself, attended—refuse to discuss in a
1
classroom. I believe that educational systems should not shy away from YA novels that deal with serious topics, because ignoring issues such as sexual initiation and substance abuse does not make the issues go away, it just hinders an adolescents ability to deal with it in a productive and safe way. Ignorance is not always bliss, and
Personally, Young Adult fiction has always been my favourite kind of books to read, especially throughout my teenage years. It was my favourite YA texts that helped get me through personal issues, and understand the issues that I did not personally face. I believe that an avid reader lives many lives, and a young girl going through high school can highly utilize the tools that the morally driven stories contain in Young Adult literature.
Young Adult Literature is a great spectrum of texts to examine because not only does it get young adults excited about reading, but it also explores relevant issues of adolescences in a very realistic light. However, the issue with YA literature is that the texts chosen by most of the powers of authorities for these young adults—such as teachers, parents, and librarians—hinder the potential of these tools by sticking to the same tired “canon” novels that have young adults hindering away from reading and not itching towards it, while novels that are both educational and engaging for adolescence are usually deemed inappropriate. So the fact of the matter is, Young Adult literature is great because it teaches young adults all about the dangers they may face during their adolescent years in a safe way. Novels like Hold Fast by Kevin Major, Looking for Alaska by John Green, and Go Ask Alice by
Beatrice Sparks, are all prime examples of books that deal with many serious adolescent topics.
These novels, especially Go Ask Alice, deal with many issues that most school systems— especially Catholic school systems like the one I, myself, attended—refuse to discuss in a
1
classroom. I believe that educational systems should not shy away from YA novels that deal with serious topics, because ignoring issues such as sexual initiation and substance abuse does not make the issues go away, it just hinders an adolescents ability to deal with it in a productive and safe way. Ignorance is not always bliss, and
Bibliography: 46.8 (2003): 638-653. 3. Major, Kevin. Hold fast. Groundwood Books Ltd, 1978. Print. 4. Nilsen, Alleen Pace, and Kenneth L. Donelson. “Literature for today 's young adults.” New York: Longman, 2001. 5. Sparks, Beatrice. Go ask Alice. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1971. Print. 6. Sullivan, Edward T., Carol Jago, and Kate Evans. "Young Adult Literature Issue." English Journal (1997): 11-11. 7. Younger, Beth. (2003). “Pleasure, Pain, and the Power of Being Thin: Female Sexuality in Young Adult Literature.” National Women’s Studies Association Journal