RavenCon and The Rise of YA Dystopias

[eldritchhobbit]

I'll be off soon to RavenCon. My con schedule is here. I look forward to seeing some of you there! And I wish all of you, wherever you are, a fantastic weekend.


FYI: Parenthetical.net (parenthetical_n) has named this month "Old-School Apocalypse April" and will be posting book reviews of classic young adult apocalyptic fiction all month long.


On Friday at RavenCon I will be giving the presentation "The Rise of YA Dystopias." For those attendees and others who may be interested, I am posting the bibliography of primary and secondary sources used to prepare my talk.

(Note: If you follow/bookmark this link, you'll always be directed to the most recent iteration of this list.)



Note: I am intentionally casting a wide net by defining "dystopian" works as those that imply a warning by describing a world gone wrong: utopias that took a bad turn, worst-case scenario post-apocalyptic societies, post-disaster tales that focus more on the undesirable communities that develop after the disasters than on the disasters themselves, etc.

Or, to put it another way (quoting The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition), "dys·to·pi·a (dĭs-tō'pē-ə): 1.An imaginary place or state in which the condition of life is extremely bad, as from deprivation, oppression, or terror."

I am defining YA as books specifically written and marketed for young adult readers.

I welcome any and all suggestions for additions to this list.


Half a Century of English-Language Young Adult Dystopias

1960s
The Time Quintet by Madeleine L'Engle (1962-1989) (original trilogy counted: dystopian elements)
The City Underground (a.k.a. Surreal 3000) by Suzanne Martel (1963)
Legend of Lost Earth by Hope Campbell (1963)
The Changes Trilogy by Peter Dickinson (1968-1970)
Dark Piper by Andre Norton (1968)
The Tripods Series by Samuel Youd (as John Christopher) (1968-1988)
The Day of the Drones by A.M. Lightner (1969)

1970s
Earth Times Two by Pamela Reynolds (1970)
The Hydronauts Series by Carl L. Biemiller (1970-1974)
The Incredible Tide by Alexander Key (1970)
The Sword of the Spirits Trilogy by Samuel Youd (as John Christopher) (1970-1972)
Andra by Louise Lawrence (1971)
The Far Side of Evil by Sylvia Engdahl (1971, revised edition 2003)
The Guardians by Samuel Youd (as John Christopher) (1971)
Out There by Adrien Stoutenburg (1971)
Sleep Two, Three, Four! A Political Thriller by John Neufeld (1971)
Time Gate by John Jakes (1972)
The Endless Pavement by Jacqueline Jackson and William Perlmutter (1973)
The Morrow Duology by H.M. Hoover (1973, 1976)
House of Stairs by William Sleator (1974)
Outside by Andre Norton (1974)
The Pale Invaders by G.R. Crosher (as G.R. Kestavan) (1974)
Wild Jack by by Samuel Youd (as John Christopher) (1974)
Conversations by Barry Malzberg (1975)
The Girl Who Owned a City by O.T. Nelson (1975)
No Man's Land by Simon Watson (1975)
No Night Without Stars by Andre Norton (1975)
Noah's Castle by John Rowe Townsend (1975)
Odyssey from River Bend by Tom McGowan (1975)
Ransome Revisited and The Travelling Man by Elisabeth Mace (1975, 1976)
Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O'Brien (1975)
City of Darkness by Ben Bova (1976)
Kennaquhair by Ruth Hooker (1976)
The Missing Person's League by Frank Bonham (1976)
The Delikon by H.M. Hoover (1977)
Empty World by Samuel Youd (as John Christopher) (1977)
I Am The Cheese by Robert Cormier (1977)
The Shadow of the Gloom-World by Roger Eldridge (1977)
Survival Planet: A Novel of the Future by Arthur Tofte (1977)
The Ennead by Jan Mark (1978)
Jack-in-the-Box Planet by Robert Hoskins (1978)
The Justice Trilogy by Virginia Hamilton (1978-1981)
Keep Calm (a.k.a. When the City Stopped) by Joan Phipson (1978)
The Tomorrow City by Monica Hughes (1978)
A Quest for Orion and Tower of the Stars by Rosemary Harris (1978, 1980)
The Awakening Water by G.R. Crosher (as G.R. Kesteven) (1979)
Beyond the Dark River by Monica Hughes (1979)
Dark Wing by Carl West and Katherine MacLean (1979)
The Forever Formula by Frank Bonham (1979)

1980s
The Creatures (a.k.a. King Creature, Come) by John Rowe Townsend (1980)
A Rag, A Bone, and Hank of Hair by Nicholas Fisk (1980)
Red Zone by Tom Browne (1980)
This Time of Darkness by H.M. Hoover (1980)
The Green Book by Jill Paton Walsh (1981)
The S.I.L.V.E.R. Series by Tanith Lee (1981, 2005)
The Voyage Begun by Nancy Bond (1981)
The Vandal by Ann Schlee (1981)
An Alien Music by Annabel and Edgar Johnson (1982)
The DNA Dimension, Fusion Factor (also published as It's Up to Us), Zanu, and Me, Myself & I by Carol Matas (1982, 1986, 1987)
The Huntsman Trilogy by Douglas Hill (1982-1984)
The Last Children of Schewenborn (also spelled Schevenborn) by Gudrun Pausewang (1983)
Waiting for the End of the World by Lee Harding (1983)
After the Bomb and Week One by Gloria Miklowitz (1984, 1987)
Brother in the Land by Robert Swindells (1984)
The Colsec Series by Douglas Hill (1984-1985)
The Danger Quotient by Annabel and Edgar Johnson (1984)
The Devil on My Back and The Dream Catcher by Monica Hughes (1984, 1986)
Futuretrack 5 by Robert Westall (1984)
Guardians of Time by Peter Baltensperger (1984)
The Shepherd Moon by H.M. Hoover (1984)
Beyond the Future by Johanne Masse (1985)
Children of the Dust by Louise Lawrence (1985)
Earthchange by Clare Cooper (1985)
Quest Beyond Time by Tony Morphett (1985)
Strange Tomorrow by Jean E. Karl (1985)
The Time Keeper Trilogy by Barbara Bartholomew (1985)
The Winter Trilogy by Pamela F. Service (1985-2008)
Wolf of Shadows by Whitley Strieber (1985)
The Keeper by Barry Faville (1986)
The Others by Alison Prince (1986)
Taronga by Victor Kelleher (1986)
The Fire Brats Series by Barbara Siegel, Scott Siegel, and Barbara Steiner (1987-1988)
The Makers by Victor Kelleher (1987)
Orvis (a.k.a. Journey Through the Empty) by H.M. Hoover (1987)
The Paperchaser and The Catalyst by Penny Hall (1987, 1989)
The Sword and the Dream Duology by Janice Elliott (1987, 1988)
The Obernewtyn Chronicles by Isobelle Carmody (1987-2008, ongoing)
Cityscape by Frances Thomas (1988)
Escape to the Overworld by Nicole Luiken (1988)
Eva by Peter Dickinson (1988)
The Lake at the End of the World by Caroline Macdonald (1988)
Children of Time by Deborah Moulton (1989)
The Glimpses by Laurence Staig (1989)
I Feel Like the Morning Star by Gregory Maguire (1989)
The Last War by Martyn Godfrey (1989)
Plague 99 (a.k.a. Plague) and Come Lucky April (a.k.a. After the Plague) by Jean Ure (1989, 1992)
Why Weeps the Brogan? by Hugh Scott (1989)

1990s
Invitation to the Game by Monica Hughes (1990)
Smart Rats by Thomas Baird (1990)
The Survival Squad by Floyd Priddle (1990)
A Time of Darkness by Sherryl Jordan (1990)
The Eye Witness by Caroline Macdonald (1991)
Scatterlings by Isobelle Carmody (1991)
The Crystal Drop by Monica Hughes (1992)
The Dark Future Series by Laurence James (1992)
Dead Water Zone by Kenneth Oppel (1992)
Future Thaw by Audrey O'Hearn (1992)
River Rats by Caroline Stevermer (1992)
The Baby and the Fly Pie by Melvin Burgess (1993)
Guardian of the Dark by Beverley Spencer (1993)
The Giver Trilogy by Lois Lowry (1993-2004)
The Last Oasis by Sue Pace (1993)
Winter of Fire by Sherryl Jordan (1993)
The Disinherited (a.k.a. The Patchwork People) by Louise Lawrence (1994)
The Electric Kid by Garry Kilworth (1994)
The Parkland Series by Victor Kelleher (1994-1996)
Time Ghost by Welwyn Wilton Katz (1994)
The Tomorrow Series by John Marsden (1994-1999) and The Ellie Chronicles (2003-2006)
The His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman (1995-2000) (dystopian elements)
Fall-Out by Gudrun Pausewang (1995)
Foundling (a.k.a. Found) by June Oldham (1995)
Galax-Arena and Terra-Farma by Gillian Rubenstein (1995, 2001)
Waterbound by Jane Stemp (1995)
Cave Rats by Kerry Greenwood (1997)
The Scavenger's Tale by Rachel Anderson (1997)
Shade's Children by Garth Nix (1997)
The Virtual War Chronologs by Gloria Skurzynski (1997-2006)
The Ark Trilogy by Stephanie S. Tolan (1998-ongoing)
The Denials of Kow-Ten by Jenny Robson (1998)
Evan's Voice by Sallie Lowenstein (1998)
Forbidden Memories by Jamila Gavin (1998)
Off the Road by Nina Bawden (1998)
Originator by Claire Carmichael (1998)
The Shadow Children Sequence by Margaret Peterson Haddix (1998-2006)
Bloodtide and Bloodsong by Melvin Burgess (1999, 2005)
Cloning Miranda, The Second Clone, and The Dark Clone by Carol Matas (1999, 2001, 2005)
The Copper Elephant by Adam Rapp (1999)
The Cure by Sonia Levitin (1999)
Fabricant by Claire Carmichael (1999)
The Hermit Thrush Sings by Susan Butler (1999)
Star Split by Kathryn Lasky (1999)

The Aughts
Floodland by Marcus Sedgwick (2000)
The Heaven and Earth Trilogy by Richard Harland (2000-2003)
Incognito by Claire Carmichael (2000)
The Last Book in the Universe by Rodman Philbrick (2000)
Songs of Power by Hilari Bell (2000)
The White Fox Chronicles by Gary Paulsen (2000)
Hole in the Sky by Pete Hautman (2001)
Memory Boy by Will Weaver (2001)
Mortal Engines Quartet and two prequels (a.k.a. The Hungry City Chronicles) by Philip Reeve (2001-2006, 2009, 2011)
The Noughts and Crosses Series by Malorie Blackman (2001-2008)
The Remnants Series by K.A. Applegate (2001-2003)
This Side of Paradise by Steven L. Layne (2001)
Violet Eyes and Silver Eyes (sequel Angel Eyes pending) by Nicole Luiken (2001)
The Wintering Trilogy by Stephen Bowkett (2001-2002)
Bootleg by Alex Shearer (2002)
Feed by M.T. Anderson (2002)
The Fire-Us Trilogy by Jennifer Armstrong and Nancy Butcher (2002-2003)
Green Boy by Susan Cooper (2002)
The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer (2002)
The Books of Ember by Jeanne Duprau (2003-2008, ongoing)
The Dirt Eaters by Dennis Foon (2003)
Green Angel and Green Witch by Alice Hoffman (2003, 2010)
The Lionboy Trilogy by Zizou Corder (2003-2006)
The Silver Sequence by Cliff McNish (2003-2005)
The Bar Code Tattoo and The Bar Code Rebellion by Suzanne Weyn (2004, 2006)
The Big Empty Series by J.B. Stephens (2004-2005)
Bringing Reuben Home by Glenda Millard (2004)
Epic and Saga by Conor Kostick (2004, 2006)
The Galahad Series (The Comet's Curse, The Web of Titan, and The Cassini Code) by Dom Testa (2004-2007)
Flux and Fixed by Beth Goobie (2004, 2005)
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff (2004)
The Pack by Tom Pow (2004)
Sharp North and Blown Away by Patrick Cave (2004, 2005)
Sleepwalking by Nicola Morgan (2004)
The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer (2004)
Thinner Than Thou by Kit Reed (2004)
The Truesight Trilogy by David Stahler, Jr. (2004-2007)
Useful Idiots by Jan Mark (2004)
The Destiny of Linus Hoppe and The Second Life of Linus Hoppe by Anne-Laure Bondoux (2005)
The Diary of Pelly D and Cherry Heaven by L.J. Adlington (2005, 2007)
The Goodness Gene by Sonia Levitin (2005)
The Hunted by Alex Shearer (2005)
Maddigan's Fantasia by Margaret Mahy (2005)
Pure by Karen Krossing (2005)
Surviving Antarctica: Reality TV 2083 by Andrea White (2005)
The Secret Under My Skin and The Raintree Rebellion by Janet McNaughton (2005, 2006)
Siberia by Ann Halam (2005)
Stolen Voices by Ellen Dee Davidson (2005)
The Traces Series by Malcolm Rose (2005-2o08, ongoing)
The Uglies Series by Scott Westerfeld (2005-2007)
GemX by Nicky Singer (2006)
Ads R Us (a.k.a. Leaving Simplicity) by Claire Carmichael (2006)
The Caretaker Trilogy by David Klass (2006, 2008, ongoing)
Life As We Knew It, The Dead and the Gone, and This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer (2006, 2008, 2010)
Mergers by Steven L. Layne (2006)
Rash by Pete Hautman (2006)
The Six of Hearts Series by Jack Heath (2006-ongoing)
Winter Song (also released as Winter's End by Jean-Claude Mourlevat (2006)
The Atherton Trilogy by Patrick Carman (2007-2009)
The Declaration and The Resistance by Gemma Malley (2007, 2008) [O] [R 1st]
Escape from Genopolis and Fearless by T.E. Berry-Hart (2007, 2009)
Fearless by Tim Lott (2007)
First Light by Rebecca Stead (2007)
Hybrids by David Thorpe (2007)
Incarceron and Sapphique by Catherine Fisher (2007, 2008)
The Inferior by Peadar ó Guilín (2007)
The Rule of Claw by John Brindley (2007)
The Silenced by James DeVita (2007)
Silverhorse by Lene Kaaberbøl (2007)
Titanic 2020: Cannibal City by Colin Bateman (2007)
Tug of War by Catherine Forde (2007)
Unwind by Neal Shusterman (2007)
The Witness by James Jauncey (2007)
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson (2008)
Bad Faith by Gillian Philip (2008)
The Carbon Diaries 2015 and The Carbon Diaries 2017 by Saci Lloyd (2008, 2010)
The Cure by Michael Coleman (2008)
The Compound by S.A. Bodeen (2008)
Daylight Runner by Oisín McGann (2008)
Exodus, Zenith, and Aurora by Julie Bertagna (2008, 2009, third book pending)
Gone, Hunger, and Lies by Michael Grant (2008-2010)
The Grassland Trilogy by David Ward (2008-2010)
The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (2008-2010)
In the Company of Whispers by Sallie Lowenstein (2008)
The Chaos Walking Trilogy (The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Ask and the Answer, and Monsters of Men) by Patrick Ness (2008, 2009)
The Last Free Cat by Jon Blake (2008)
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (2008)
The Lost Art by Simon Morden (2008)
Neptune's Children by Bonnie Dobkin (2008)
The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman (2008)
Reavers Ransom (also released as Flood Child and Raiders Ransom) and Flood and Fire by Emily Diamand (2008, 2010)
Shift by Charlotte Agell (2008)
The Sky Inside and The Walls Have Eyes by Clare B. Dunkle (2008, 2009)
Streams of Babel and Fire Will Fall by Carol Plum-Ucci (2008, 2010)
Test by William Sleator (2008)
Truancy, Truancy: Origins, and Truancy City by Isamu Fukui (2008-2010)
Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner (2009)
Candor by Pam Bachorz (2009)
The Enemy by Charlie Higson (2009)
The Farwalker's Quest by Joni Sensel (2009)
The Forest of Hands and Teeth and The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan (2009, 2010)
Furnace: Lockdown, Furnace: Solitary, and Furnace: Death Sentence by Alexander Gordon Smith (2009)
Genesis by Bernard Beckett (2009)
Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines (2009)
Legend by John Brindley (2009)
Libyrinth by Pearl North (2009)
Lifegame by Alison Allen-Gray (2009)
The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials by James Dashner (2009, 2010)
Pastworld by Ian Beck (2009)
Skinned, Crashed, and Wired by Robin Wasserman (2009-2010)
A Small Free Kiss in the Dark by Glenda Millard (2009)
Vulture’s Gate (also released as Vulture's Wake) by Kirsty Murray (2009)
Witch and Wizard by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet (2009)
X-isle by Steve Augarde (2009)

Contemporary
Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brien (2010)
Blackout by Sam Mills (2010)
The Clone Codes by Patricia C. McKissack, Frederick L. McKissack, and John McKissack (2010)
Dark Life by Kat Falls (2010)
Empty by Suzanne Weyn (2010)
Epitaph Road by David Patneaude (2010)
For the Win by Cory Doctorow (2010)
The Gardener by S.A. Bodeen (2010)
Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder (2010)
Last Midnight by Parker Peevyhouse (2010)
The Line (sequel Away forthcoming in 2011) by Teri Hall (2010)
Matched by Allyson Condie (2010)
Nomansland by Lesley Hauge (2010)
The Owl Keeper by Christine Brodien-Jones (2010)
Restoring Harmony by Joelle Anthony (2010)
Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry (2010)
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi (2010)
The Unidentified by Rae Mariz (2010)
We by John Dickinson (2010)
Across the Universe by Beth Revis (2011)
Delirium by Lauren Oliver (2011)
The Long Walk Home by Jeff Hirsch (2011)
Memento Nora by Angie Smibert (2011)
The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann (2011)
The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher (2011)
XVI by Julia Karr (2011)
Perfect by Peter Lerangis (2012)

Note:
Books translated into English are listed by the original date published in language of origin.


Noteworthy Books That Don't Quite Fit My Parameters But Are Relevant to This List

Star Man's Son, 2250 A.D. (a.k.a. Daybreak, 2250 A.D.) by Andre Norton (1952)
Vault of the Ages by Poul Anderson (1952)
The Chrysalids by John Wyndham (1955)
Mary's Country by Harold Mead (1957)
The Future Took Us by David Severn (1958)
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (1985)
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler (1993)
Into the Forest by Jean Hegland (1996)
Battle Royale by Koushun Takami (1999)
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (2005)
The Never Ending Sacrifice by Una McCormack (2009)




A Select Bibliography of Works About Young Adult Dystopias

Ahtezak, Janice. "The Visions of H.M. Hoover." Children's Literature Association Quarterly. 10 (1985): 73-76.

Applebaum, Noga. Representations of Technology in Science Fiction for Young People: Control Shift. New York: Routledge, 2009.

Braithewaite, Elizabeth. "'When I Was a Child I Thought as a Child…': The Importance of Memory in Constructions of Childhood and Social Order in a Selection of Post-Disaster Fictions." Papers: Explorations into Children's Literature. 15:2 (September 2005): 50 (8).

Brians, Paul. "Nuclear War Fiction for Young Readers: A Commentary and Annotated Bibliography." Science Fiction, Social Conflict and War. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1990. 132-150.

Butts, Dennis. "The Adventure Story." Stories and Society: Children's Literature in Its Social Context. Dennis Butts, ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1992. 65-83.

Crew, Hilary S. "Not So Brave a World: The Representation of Human Cloning in Science Fiction for Young Adults." The Lion and the Unicorn. 28 (2004) 203-221.

Deane, Paul. "Science and Technology in the Children's Fiction Series." Lamar Journal of the Humanities. 16:1. (1990): 20-32.

Esmonde, Margaret. "After Armageddon: The Post Cataclysmic Novel for Young Readers." Children's Literature: The Annual of the Modern Language Association Group on Children's Literature and the Children's Literature Association. Philadelphia: 1977. 211-220.

Hintz, Carrie. "Monica Hughes, Lois Lowry, and Young Adult Dystopias." The Lion and the Unicorn. 26 (2002) 254-264.

Hintz, Carrie and Elaine Ostry, eds. Utopian and Dystopian Writing Children and Young Adults. New York: Routledge, 2003.

James, Kathryn. Death, Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary Adolescent Culture. New York: Routledge, 2009.

Kennan, Patricia. "'Belonging' in Young Adult Dystopian Fiction: New Communities Created by Children." Papers: Explorations into Children's Literature. 15:2 (September 2005) 40(10).

May, Jill and Perry Nodelman. "The Perils of Generalizing about Children's Science Fiction." Science Fiction Studies. 13:2: "Nuclear War and Science Fiction." (July 1986) 225-229.

Mendlesohn, Farah. "The Campaign for Shiny Futures." The Horn Book Magazine. (March/April 2009) Online here.

___. The Inter-Galactic Playground: A Critical Study of Children's and Teens' Science Fiction. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., 2009.

Milner, Joseph O. "Oathkeepers and Vagrants: Meliorist and Reactive World Views in Science Fiction." Children's Literature Association Quarterly. 10 (1985): 71-73.

Muller, Al. "Doomsday Fiction and the YA Reader." The ALAN Review. 16:1 (Fall 1988): 42-45.

Nikolajeva, Maria. Power, Voice and Subjectivity in Literature for Young Readers. New York: Routledge, 2010.

Nodelman, Perry. "Out There in Children's Science Fiction: Forward into the Past." Science Fiction Studies. 12: 3 (November 1985) 285-296.

Ostry, Elaine. "'Is He Still Human? Are You?': Young Adult Science Fiction in the Posthuman Age." The Lion and the Unicorn. 28 (2004) 222-246.

Reber, Lauren L. Negotiating Hope and Honesty: A Rhetorical Criticism of Young Adult Dystopian Literature. M.A. Thesis, Department of English: Brigham Young University, 2005.

Sambell, Kay. "Carnivalizing the Future: A New Approach to Theorizing Childhood and Adulthood in Science Fiction for Young Readers." The Lion and the Unicorn. 28 (2004) 247-267.

Springen, Karen. "Apocalypse Now: Teens Turn to Dystopian Novels," Publisher's Weekly (Online), 15 February, 2010. Online here.

Sullivan III, C.W., ed. Science Fiction for Young Readers. Contributions to the Study of Science Fiction and Fantasy, Number 56. C.W. Sullivan III, ed. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1993.

___. Young Adult Science Fiction. Contributions to the Study of Science Fiction and Fantasy, Number 79. C.W. Sullivan III, ed. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1999.

Svilpis, Jānis. "Authority, Autonomy, and Adventure in Juvenile Science Fiction." Children's Literature Association Quarterly. 8 (Fall 1983): 22-26.

Walton, Jo. "The Dystopic Earths of Heinlein's Juveniles." Tor.com. 5 August, 2008. Online here.

Wehmeyer, Lillian B. Images in a Crystal Ball: World Futures in Novels for Young People. Littleton: Libraries Unlimited, 1981.

Yoke, Carl B. Phoenx from the Ashes: The Literature of the Remade World. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1987.

Zipes, Jack. "The Age of Commodified Fantasticism: Reflections of Children's Literature and the Fantastic." Children's Literature Association Quarterly. 9 (Fall 1984-1985): 187-190.



"I guess I always felt even if the world came to an end, McDonald's would still be open."
- Susan Beth Pfeffer, Life As We Knew It

Comments

[sittingduck1313.livejournal.com]

Perhaps you can make it to my Saturday night The Stars Are Right game for some world dooming, Great Old One summoning action. The rules are fairly simple.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

You know, I've never gamed in my entire life. But you make it very tempting! Thanks so much for your invitation!

[cookiefleck.livejournal.com]

Hope that you have a wonderful weekend.

Is most of the YA fiction being read by adults these days, rather than by the so-named target audience?

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much!

At this point I don't have any facts or figures I'd trust about who makes up the majority of YA fiction readers, but adult "crossover readers" definitely make up a significant portion the readership - to the point that there are specialized reviews and marketing strategies aimed at adult readers of YA.

[cookiefleck.livejournal.com]

That is what I have suspected, just based on random, anecdotal observation. It begs the question... why? Has YA replaced the Silhouette-style romance novel for (female) adult readers of that genre?

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

We discussed this quite a lot, and several theories seemed plausible as contributing to this phenomenon.

For one thing, great SF lends itself to YA protagonists, because it makes some sense for the POV character to be in a postition to be figuring out his/her world just as the reader is doing so. Some of the most celebrated SF of the past have had YA protagonists - Herbert's Dune, Card's Ender's Game, Butler's Parable of the Sower, for example - but they weren't marketed as YA for one reason or another. But some of the YA texts today have critical cred as well as popular cred among adults; after all, 3 of the 5 Hugo nominees last year were YA SF. So adults seem to be ignoring the caprices of marketing and going for the "good stuff," much of which just so happens to be in the YA section of the bookstore at the moment.

Some of the YA authors (some of whom had also published mainstream SF) also suggested it has something to do with editing (and the quality it produces). At the moment, one of the fads for mainstream SF is long (arguably bloated) series, in which editors are hesitant to cut and apt to suggest padding, whereas YA works are leaner (and meaner?), pared down, and at least in the best works, more carefully plotted and written prose. It's an interesting idea.

[cookiefleck.livejournal.com]

That IS interesting. So many aspects to the subject. Thank you.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

You bet! There were also suggestions that parents are reading the books that their tweens and teens are reading, and educators and librarians are doing the same.

Very interesting phenomenon, isn't it?

[cookiefleck.livejournal.com]

It's interesting, yes. It also concerns me although I lack a full understanding of the genre. It bothers me on two levels, tied to my perception that society is dumbing down in general and that escapist/lightweight fare is replacing quality fare. I enjoy a fanfic or light reading (such as a mystery) as much as anyone, but it occupies a certain place and I recognize it as such. I kind of feel that what is going on with regard to YA is the equivalent of local TV news ("if it bleeds it leads") taking the place of researched, written news that discuss events within context. How many steps are we away from Harrison Bergeron's world? But I realize I am "judging" without having taken the time to perhaps really understand. For all I know, Catcher in the Rye is categorized as YA now!

*stops whining and goes off to read a fanfic* ;o)

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Oops! I apologize for not responding sooner. I don't think I ever received notice from LJ of your post. My apologies!

I, too, worry about the dumbing down of society in general. (I've been known to tell freshman students, without any exaggeration, that my Boston terrier has a larger vocabulary than they do.) But I'm not sure that I'd equate fiction with young adult protagonists with "dumber" fare. For example, I'd put Bernard Beckett's Genesis, the YA SF novel from last year, against any contemporary "adult" novel. (It posits a future isolated community built on the model of Plato's Republic.) In some cases, the exploration of a world and its issues makes more sense from the perspective of a young person growing into it than from the jaded or desensitized eyes of someone older and more accustomed to it.

There's certainly "if it bleeds it leads" fiction out there. I'm not sure if there's more in YA than elsewhere, to be honest. I just don't know. Sturgeon's Law applies, of course, but I figure it applies to all categories across the board.

For all I know, Catcher in the Rye is categorized as YA now!

Haha! I just saw this today. Check it out! *wink*

[cookiefleck.livejournal.com]

It's actually interesting to realize how many books we consider important and iconic were read in our youth. For me that includes many... LOTR, Catcher in the Rye, On the Road, The Stranger, Animal Farm, The Great Gatsby, and a zillion more. Thank goodness for college English insructors, I guess!