What's Happening in YA Literature? Trends in Books for Adolescents
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Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 52(7)
April 2009
doi:10.1598/JA AL.52.7.2
© 2009 International Reading Association
(pp. 563 –572)
What’s Happening in YA Literature?
Trends in Books for Adolescents
This analysis of young Melanie D. Koss | William H. Teale
adult literature reports on
trends found in the genres, O ver the past decade adolescents have been one of the fastest growing seg-
descriptive features, subject ments of the U.S. population (Magazine Publishers of America, 2004; U.S.
Census Bureau, 2003). This increased “market” has spawned more products
matters, and writing styles of designed for the young adult (YA) population, resulting in a growth spurt
books that can help teachers in YA literature and other reading materials targeted to teens, such as teen
websites, magazines, and graphic novels. The numbers of books published
select reading material for for young adults, ages 13–19, have grown extensively in recent years (Bean,
2003; Donelson & Nilsen, 2005; Horning, Lingren, Rudiger, & Schliesman,
their students.
2004), and new YA imprints specifically for more mature teen readers have
appeared, such as Edge, Push, and Speak. Another indicator of the rise in YA
literature is the introduction of two YA book awards, the Michael L. Printz
award (through American Library Association) for the best YA book of the
year, and YARA, the Young Australian Readers’ Award, a readers’ choice
award.
These developments in the publishing industry are paralleled by robust
activity in the area of adolescent literacy. Since the International Reading
Association issued its position statement detailing a “deepening crises in ado-
lescent literacy” (Moore, Bean, Birdyshaw, & Rycik, 1999, p. 1), adolescent
literacy has become one of the hottest areas in the field of literacy educa-
tion (Biancarosa & Snow, 2004; Cassidy & Cassidy, 2008). In the process
of increasing awareness and understanding of literacy learning and teaching
during the teenage years, an appreciation has developed for the significance
of the wide range of “texts” adolescent literacy practices encompass, includ-
ing websites, text messages, and blogs, in addition to trade books and school
texts (Anderson, Wilson, & Fielding, 1998; Moore et al., 1999; Reeves, 2004;
Worthy, Moorman, & Turner, 1999). Yet, “traditional” print texts known as
YA literature continue to maintain a central role in the literacy development
of teenagers.
Interestingly, there has been little explicit examination of the body of lit- 563
erature published for today’s teens. And although it may seem basic and there-
fore not all that thrilling, information on publishing trends would contributeto answering a number of significant questions related 4. W hat identifiable trends are evident in the nar-
to the literacy education of adolescents, including the rative, stylistic, and structural features of cur-
following: rent YA books?
n To what degree is current YA literature fulfill- The first step in answering these questions en-
ing the needs of adolescents? tailed compiling a database of YA books—both fic-
n In what arenas might available YA books con- tion and nonfiction—published in English between
tribute to adolescent literacy? 1999 and 2005. The database consisted of (a) books
n What gaps and needs remain? educators considered to be high quality (award win-
ners), (b) books young adults chose as favorites, and
Therefore, in order to understand better the books (c) popular books (best sellers). By selecting books that
being made available to today’s teens, we systematical- were popular with adults, teens, and those recognized
ly reviewed the recent corpus of YA books to answer by literature scholars, librarians, and individuals in the
the question, What are the characteristics of English book industry, we believed we obtained a represen-
language YA books currently being published? tative sample of currently published YA books (see
Table 1).
This process yielded a total of 370 titles (some
Procedures titles overlapped; e.g., a book that was both a Best
This study was undertaken to develop a clearer picture Seller and a Favorite). Fifteen percent of the titles
of recent trends in YA book publishing. The focus were randomly selected using a stratified set of criteria
was on describing current YA literature considered designed to provide an overall picture of the corpus of
to be high quality (award winners) and popular with books. Titles that overlapped more than one category
adolescents. The study was descriptive in nature and were resampled by identifying the multiple catego-
focused on the following four guiding questions: ries under which each title fell, assigning it to only
one category—the category with the largest number
1. W hat genres are represented and predominate
of titles—and randomly selecting a replacement title.
in the current body of YA literature?
This process resulted in a total of 59 titles that were
2. W ho is or is not represented in the current considered representative of the corpus of 370 books
April 2009
body of YA literature? and served as the titles used for the in-depth analysis
3. What is the content of current YA books? reported here.
52(7)
Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy
Table 1 Database Book Title Sources
Book category Source Website
Award winners Printz Award winners and Honor books www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/printzaward
Best Books for Young Adults list www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/bestbooksya/bestbooksyoung.cfm
Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults list www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/bestbooksya/bestbooksyoung.cfm
YA favorites Young Adults’ Choices www.reading.org/resources/tools/choices_young_adults.html
Teen Top Ten lists www.ala.org/teenstopten
Best sellers Publisher’s Weekly Best Sellers lists www.publishersweekly.com/bestsellerslist/2.html
564 Bookseller Off-the-Cuff (Cuffie) www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6299147.html
Award winners (selected by independent
bookstore booksellers)The 59 books were read, coded, and analyzed for unique organizational features, and the embedding
patterns and trends on the following dimensions, ar- of digital communication technologies into narrative
rived at from (a) a review of the research literature, text. Therefore, to gauge the extent to which these
and (b) consultation with two nationally recognized features are characteristic of current YA literature,
children’s and YA literature scholars: we included these dimensions to facilitate systematic
analysis.
n Genre
Categories were developed inductively by the au-
n Characters represented thors, and once determined, definitions were adopted
n Culture/ethnicity represented from respected textbooks in the field of YA litera-
n Role of religion ture. Definitions for genre categories were taken from
Bucher and Manning’s (2006) Young Adult Literature:
n ay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender,
G
Exploration, Evaluation, and Appreciation; definitions
questioning (GLBTQ) factors
for the culture/ethnicity and role of religion catego-
n Representation of disabilities ries were adopted from Norton’s (2005) Multicultural
n Content Children’s Literature: Through the Eyes of Many Children;
n Subject matter and definitions for point of view, writing devices,
subject matter, and organization were developed
n Treatment of subject matter
from Lukens and Cline’s (1995) A Critical Handbook of
n Narrative, style, and structure Literature for Young Adults. Categories and their defini-
n Point of view tions were reviewed by the two recognized experts,
n Writing style and subsequent codings and analyses were completed
n Organization by the authors. We believe that the final categories
represent the range of information depicted in current
These specific dimensions were selected to help YA books and provide a solid basis for analysis.
answer the research question, What are the charac-
teristics of YA books currently being published? The Findings
W h a t ’s H a p p e n i n g i n YA L i t e r a t u r e ? Tr e n d s i n B o o k s f o r A d o l e s c e n t s
categories genre, subject matter, and treatment of sub- Findings are discussed for each category following
ject matter have long been used in content analyses in the four guiding questions: (1) What genres are rep-
children’s and YA literature (see, for example, reviews resented and predominate in the current body of YA
by Beckett, 1997; Galda, Ash, & Cullinan, 2000; literature?, (2) Who is or is not represented in the cur-
Galda & Cullinan, 1991) to understand publishing rent body of literature?, (3) What is the content of
trends of particular eras, thus providing an indication current YA books?, and (4) What identifiable trends
of the “content” of books. Culture/ethnicity, religion, are evident in the narrative, stylistic, and structural
GLBTQ factors, and representation of disabilities features of the books?
were included because of the significance of diversity
in current discussions of literature and literacy educa- Genre
tion (Henderson & May, 2005; Lehr, 2008; Temple, As can be seen in Table 2, award winning and popular
Martinez, & Yokota, 2006). books were predominantly fiction (85% overall). The
The inclusion of point of view, writing style, and majority of the fiction titles were contemporary real-
organization stemmed from impressions of a change istic fiction, including representative titles such as The
in these dimensions of YA books over the past few Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci (2000),
years, impressions gained as a result of the authors’ the story of a popular jock who becomes obsessed
wide reading and from published reviews of YA liter- with the mysterious disappearance of a classmate, and
ature (sources such as Booklist, The ALAN Review, and A Face First by Priscilla Cummings (2001), about a 565
www.bookspot.com). Noticeable to us was increasing girl burned in a car accident who struggles to come to
experimentation with point of view, the inclusion of terms with her new appearance.Table 2 Summary of Genres
Number (percentage)
Genre Contemporary Historical Science Poetry/
realistic fiction Fantasy fiction Mystery Biog Memoir fiction Nonfiction Horror play Other
28 (47%) 7 (12%) 4 (7%) 4 (7%) 4 (7%) 3 (5%) 2 (3%) 2 (3%) 1 (2%) - -
Table 3 Summary of Characters Represented
Number (percentage)
European African Asian Native Middle Jewish
Culture/ Latino/a Other Multicultural International Unspecified
American American American American Eastern American
ethnicity - 3 (5%) 12 (20%) 18 (30%) 4 (7%)
19 (32%) 3 (5%) - - - -
Christian Jewish Muslim Other None Multiple
Religion
14 (24%) - - 5 (8%) 37 (63%) 3 (5%)
Yes No
GLBTQ
6 (10%) 53 (90%)
Yes No
Disabilities
15 (25%) 44 (75%)
Characters Represented Only two books set in America were multicul-
Culture/Ethnicity Represented. Examination of the tural books that can be considered culturally explic-
characters in the books revealed that the majority it (Sims Bishop, 1992): Romiette and Julio by Sharon
of the books represented only one general cultural Draper (1999), and A Step From Heaven by An Na
April 2009
group, most frequently European American (Table (2001). Romiette and Julio is a modern day Romeo and
3). Overall there was a relative lack of multicultural Juliet story with an African American girl dating a
representations (only 20% would be considered mul- Latino boy. A Step From Heaven tells of a Korean fam-
ily that immigrated to America and tried to find their
52(7)
ticultural literature). Few books portrayed multiple
cultures; those that did depicted the multicultural way in a new country.
characters in supporting roles, as with The Second Surprising to us was the high incidence of books
Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy
Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares (2003), with international settings. The majority of the in-
which has four teenage girl main characters, three ternational titles were found to be culturally generic
white European Americans and one, Carmen, who is (Sims Bishop, 1992), with the characters’ ethnicity
Latina. Carmen and her family are the only culturally used only for descriptive purposes rather than func-
diverse characters in the novel, and their being Latina tioning to depict insights about the culture or cultural
is not a culturally salient aspect of the book. Another practices. But nine books were culturally specific.
example is Chris Crutcher’s (2001) Whale Talk, in Two of these books are representative examples of
which the main character is an adopted multiracial culturally specific works: Homeless Bird by Gloria
teen surrounded by predominantly white characters, Whelan (2000), the story of a Hindu girl forced into
including his adopted parents. However, in this case, an arranged marriage in India, and Chinese Cinderella
566
the fact that he is multiracial plays a significant part (Yen Mah, 1999), a memoir about growing up the
in the novel. unwanted daughter of a rich Chinese man.Role of Religion. Books were only coded as being re- although YA novels do still focus on social issues, there
ligious in nature if religion played a significant role has been a shift from the big event/coming-of-age
in the text or was used specifically in how a character stories to a more general focus on teens struggling to
was described or portrayed. Results showed that reli- find themselves and dealing with typical teenage life.
gion did not play a major role in the books in the sam- As can be seen in Table 4, an overwhelming majority
ple. Most titles had no religion specifically mentioned of the books (85%) focused on teens finding them-
or the religion of the main characters was unclear. In selves. The focus was split roughly evenly among the
the books coded as having a religious component, the issues of (a) searching for answers about their family
religion most frequently represented was Christianity, (e.g., A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray, 2003),
although a few additional religions did appear. (b) finding their identity and/or hiding their true self
GLBTQ Factors. Books were coded as to whether or (e.g., Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger, 1999), and (c)
not they had gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or dealing with loss (e.g., Facing the Dark by Michael
questioning characters. The majority of the sample Harrison, 2000). These books differed from the tra-
did not, but at least one GLBTQ character was found ditional coming-of-age story as they focused on the
in six of the titles (10%). Each of these titles contained main character grappling with events of everyday life
a main character focusing on a GLBTQ issue, which rather than a singular, major transforming event.
was a significant part of the book’s plot (e.g., Rainbow YA novels have the reputation of being hard
Boys by Alex Sanchez [2001], and Hard Love by Ellen and edgy, filled with harsh social issues such as sex,
Wittlinger [1999]). In no title was a GLBTQ character violence, drugs, and the like (Cart, 1996). Although
a part of the story without the sexuality issue being at the books in this sample did portray teens who faced
the forefront. tough situations, the most frequent subjects were not
Representation of Disabilities. There were significant-
ly more titles with disabilities than we expected. Titles
included How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff (2004), whose
Table 4 Summary of Subject Matter
main character has an eating disorder, and A Face First
W h a t ’s H a p p e n i n g i n YA L i t e r a t u r e ? Tr e n d s i n B o o k s f o r A d o l e s c e n t s
by Priscilla Cummings (2001), whose main character Subject matter Number (percentage)
was severely burned in an automobile accident. Most Finding themselves 50 (85%)
characters with disabilities were main characters, and Searching for answers/secrets 20 (34%)
three of the titles—This Land Was Made for You and Finding identity/hiding self 20 (34%)
Me: The Life and Songs of Woody Guthrie (Partridge, Dealing with loss 20 (34%)
2002), Pedro and Me (Winick, 2000), and Vincent van Friendship 31 (53%)
Gogh (Greenberg & Jordan, 2001)—were biographies. Family 30 (51%)
Over half of the disabilities represented were men- Coming of age 16 (27%)
tal illness. Disabilities represented in the remaining Bullying 21 (36%)
titles were evenly split between books that centered Moving 20 (34%)
on physical disabilities and books in which a character Relationships 19 (32%)
had a disease causing the disability. Abuse 12 (20%)
Illness/mental issue 15 (25%)
Content Treatment of subject matter
Teen point of view 34 (58%)
Subject Matter. Traditionally, YA books have been
Unreliable narrator 18 (31%)
identified as “problem novels”—novels with social is-
Cliffhanger ending 5 (8%)
sues that affect teens—and coming-of-age novels—
Emergence of hope 42 (71%)
books that deal with a significant event in a teenager’s 567
Use of humor 19 (32%)
life that transforms one from childhood/adolescence
Attempt to break stereotypes 21 (36%)
to adulthood. The content analysis suggested that,so much the hard and gritty, but rather, again, related Stroud’s [2003] The Amulet of Samarkand). Also, one
to the idea of fitting in. Surprisingly, sex and alcohol/ third of the titles had an unreliable narrator, as in Alex
drug use were not highly represented. Flinn’s (2001) Breathing Underwater.
Treatment of Subject Matter. We also examined how Writing Style. In examining facets of writing style,
subject matter was treated. Books were coded for fea- it was found that over half of the titles were writ-
tures including the cliff hanger ending, the emergence ten using a straightforward or blunt tone. One quarter
of hope, and the use of humor. Humor was prevalent were written using a very literary style, as was the
in one third of the books, most often used as a means case with The Lightkeeper’s Daughter by Iain Lawrence
of diffusing difficult-to-discuss topics (for example, (2002), and 17% were written in what we found to be
King of the Mild Frontier by Chris Crutcher, 2003). Other an overly dramatic (or “sappy”) manner. The literary
books attempted to break stereotypes, as with The First books tended to be the award winners (titles selected
Part Last ( Johnson, 2003), which depicts middle class by adult educators and librarians), and the sappy titles
African American families, or Pedro and Me, a graphic tended to be the teen favorites or publisher best sellers,
novel that tells the true story of a young gay man who including Lurlene McDaniel’s (2002) Telling Christina
dies of AIDS. Goodbye. The books in the sample also varied in text
types connected with the writing style.
Narrative, Style, and Structure Organization. The titles in the sample were examined
Point of View. YA fiction, specifically contemporary re- for their organizational features and narrative struc-
alistic fiction, has traditionally employed a first person, tures. Almost half of the titles (46%) employed a dis-
teenage narrator, narrative structure (Aronson, 2001). tinctive organizing feature, such as a table of contents,
Results from this study (see Table 5) show that recent timeline, or map. This is significant since 40% of the
YA fiction is continuing this trend; however, it is also books that used such features were fiction titles, in-
notable that the books in this sample included a vari- cluding The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
ety of voice styles. Almost one in every four books was (2002), which incorporated a table of contents, char-
written using either a combination of first and third per- acter list, and family tree.
son or multiple voices/multiple narrators alternating to Examination of the books’ narrative structure
April 2009
tell the story and thus provide multiple points of view looked at the linear or nonlinear structure of the books
(e.g., Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez [2001] and Jonathan and the writing devices embedded into the narrative.
52(7)
Table 5 Summary of Writing Style
Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy
Writing style Number (percentage)
Point of view First person Third person Comb External narrator Multiple
27 (46%) 14 (24%) 7 (12%) 5 (8%) 6 (10%)
Tone Straightforward Literary Dramatic
34 (58%) 15 (25%) 10 (17%)
Text types Verse Epistolary Journal Graphic novel
2 (3%) 3 (5%) 8 (14%) 2 (3%)
Organizing features Front/end matter TOC Timeline Index/glossary Map Other
27 (46%) 10 (17%) 3 (5%) 7 (12%) 3 (5%) 7 (24%)
Narrative structure Nontraditional Chronological Alternating char- Alternating time Sections/
22 (37%) 48 (81%) acters 6 (10%) parts
12 (20%) 11 (19%)
568 Writing devices Flashbacks/flash- Poetry/lyrics Writing as device Other Multiple devices
forwards 4 (7%) 2 (3%) 17 (29%) 25 (42%)
7 (13%)Most of the books (81%) followed a chronological nar- This shift in focus from coming-of-age novels
rative, but they were not all written in the traditional, to teen issues such as finding oneself, fitting in, and
linear, single-voiced pattern. Almost one quarter of bullying perhaps ref lects changes occurring in today’s
the titles had different characters alternating to tell teen world. More than ever before, teens are bom-
the story, such as The Second Summer of the Sisterhood barded with information on what’s hot, what’s not,
(Brashares, 2003), which links four separate girls’ sto- and what it means to be cool. Along with the rise of
ries into one, or Bird by Angela Johnson (2004), which television and new media specifically directed at teens
alternates between three main characters whose sto- (including teen dramas and constant exposure to the
ries interconnect. A few abandoned the chronological lifestyles of the rich and famous) come more examples
pattern and alternated between the present and past, of teen lives and products. Teens today need to dis-
as in The First Part Last by Angela Johnson (2003). cover who they are in relation to these new media—
The books also used a variety of writing devices do they accept them or reject them? As their lives
become more complicated, so too does the literature
to impact the structure of the narrative. Slightly over
written for them that ref lects their lives.
half the titles (53%) incorporated some type of writing
device—such as f lashbacks and f lash-forwards (13%) Young adult literature provides rich literary material
or poetry and song lyrics (7%)—or multiple devices for exploring issues and dilemmas of the human ex-
incorporated into one book (42%). Moreover, the use perience as perceived by the young.... There are many
young adult books...that deal with...young people sort-
of the writing device in most of these books did not
ing through and confronting the issue of being “differ-
function merely as an “add-on” feature—it was a sig- ent,” of finding their place in a sometimes confusing
nificant part of the narrative structure, such as the al- and diverse world. (Bontempo, 1995, p. 31)
ternating between the present and the past in The First
Part Last ( Johnson, 2003). Reading allows teens to play with their identi-
ties in a safe and controlled manner, and to explore
Overall Trends who they want to be in this ever-changing world.
Considering the corpus of books overall, results indi- According to Block (1995), “if what we read inf lu-
W h a t ’s H a p p e n i n g i n YA L i t e r a t u r e ? Tr e n d s i n B o o k s f o r A d o l e s c e n t s
ences our identity in the world, the ways we are able
cated that current YA literature is predominantly fic-
to imagine and live in the world, then there is some
tion, most often contemporary realistic fiction. The
responsibility to address these various texts, their read-
characters are primarily white European American,
ers and possible reading experiences” (p. 199).
and there is a significant lack of focal multicultural
Although not a new issue, bullying has become
characters, especially a lack of books that are cultur-
a topic at the forefront of current times and is a sig-
ally specific (Sims Bishop, 1992) in their content.
nificant problem in teens’ lives. According to the
Although relatively few GLBTQ characters and char-
American Medical Association (Nansel et al., 2001),
acters with disabilities were portrayed overall, more
more than 160,000 students stay home from school
appeared than were anticipated. There were higher due to fear of being bullied by other students. The
than expected instances of international settings and percentage of reported adolescent bullying incidents
characters represented, although the majority of in- has increased nearly 50% since 1983 (Olweus, 2003).
ternational countries and characters portrayed were As school shootings and other bullying incidents are
white and European. becoming more publicized, a movement to curb bul-
Overall trends in subject matter included a shift lying has gone into effect with national and school
away from coming-of-age stories to a focus on books programs to raise awareness (Hillsberg & Spak, 2006).
with themes of fitting in, finding oneself, and dealing With this increased focus on bullying, it stands to
with major life changes. There was an emphasis on reason that this topic should begin appearing in YA
bullying and abuse issues, while drug and alcohol use literature. 569
and sex, love, and relationship issues were lower than Trends in writing style included considerable
expected. Also, hopeful endings predominated. use of alternative writing devices (f lashbacks, f lash-forwards, and the em- content analysis implies that YA novels may be chang-
bedding of poetry, notes ing to ref lect the changes taking place in the field of
The findings of this or other devices) and adolescent literacy.
study can be used to text types (journal en-
understand current tries, epistolary novels). Implications
Although first person
trends in what is With the publication of the Carnegie Report on
still predominated, there
published for and middle and high school literacy (Biancarosa & Snow,
was an obvious and in-
2004), the International Reading Association’s posi-
read by adolescents. creased use of multiple
tion statement on adolescent literacy (Moore et al.,
narrators or a combina-
1999), and the RAND (2002) report on reading com-
tion of points of view.
prehension, adolescent literacy has become a major
As the body of YA
issue for education and policy. The findings of this
literature grows, changes are taking place in greater
study can be used to understand current trends in
contemporary society, including a growth in digital
what is published for and read by adolescents. This
communication formats (e.g., e-mail and instant mes-
knowledge can be useful to teachers and school li-
saging) and in the different forms of texts adolescents
brarians in deciding on books they choose to include
are engaging with (Biancarosa & Snow, 2004; Bruce,
in their classroom, school, and public libraries, and
2004; Moore et al., 1999). Associated with such de- can help them be more aware of what is and what is
velopments are the changes technology is bringing to not being represented in the literature. For example,
forms of print text. These changes have interesting diversity is one area where the findings reported here
connections to the range of writing styles currently can be useful. The lack of cultural diversity in YA
found in YA literature. It appears that more authors literature indicates that educators will need to make
are taking risks, experimenting with their writing by special efforts to seek out and use quality books that
playing with new forms of voice and structure. include diverse characters, and that publishers should
Although novels with multiple narrators, voices, increase their efforts to make available YA books that
and point of view are not new—for example, Zindel’s include multicultural characters and discuss issues re-
classic The Pigman (1968) that employed two narra- lated to race and diversity in significant ways.
April 2009
tors in alternating chapters—the results of this analysis Also, as society continues to change with techno-
suggest that these books are becoming more preva- logical advances, adolescent literacy and the texts teens
lent. It is likely that something is occurring in today’s come into contact with are changing. Information
social and cultural environment to result in more of comes at us piecemeal, causing the need to blend mul-
52(7)
these types of texts being written. One suggestion is tiple perspectives and points of view into one cohesive
that they are ref lective of the changing nature of lit- whole. New forms of print have emerged (e.g., e-mail,
Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy
eracy in the early 21st century (Koss, 2008). text messaging) that encourage teens to learn to read
The reading of texts written using multiple nar- new text types and text structures. Adolescents have
rative perspectives can offer challenges to teen read- to learn to make sense of all of the available informa-
ers and parallel the piecing together of information tion, judge what is accurate and what is biased, and
that is becoming common in their everyday lives. be selective in the information they accept. “We need
These novels require readers to follow several dif- to prompt young people to question the interpreta-
ferent strands, perhaps out of linear order, presented tion of the world that the media tries to sell them.
through different voices or narrators, and sometimes They need to learn to be critics and creators of mean-
with conf licting information and unreliable narrators. ing for themselves” (Klinker, 1999, p. 269). As these
Readers need to sort through, analyze, and organize textual features are incorporated into YA literature,
570
what they read to put together a coherent whole. it is important to help teens learn how to compre-
The fact that a significant number of books written hend these changing forms of print. By bringing YA
with this variety of writing styles emerged from this literature into the classroom, particularly literaturethat incorporates these new textual forms, opportuni- Hillsberg, C., & Spak, H. (2006). Young adult literature as the
centerpiece of an anti-bullying program in middle school.
ties are provided to help students navigate these new
Middle School Journal, 38(2), 23–38.
forms. Horning, K.T., Lingren, M.V., Rudiger, H., & Schliesman, M.
As the field of adolescent literacy continues to (2004). Observations on publishing in 2003. CCBC Choices
grow, it is important to explore the multiple types 2004. Retrieved September 16, 2006, from www.education
.wisc.edu/ccbc/books/choiceintro04.asp
of “texts” that play a role in adolescents’ literacy de-
Klinker, J.J. (1999). The pedagogy of the post-modern text:
velopment. This work provides empirical grounding Aidan Chambers’s “The Toll Bridge”. The Lion and the Unicorn,
for policy statements that can be useful to publishers, 23(2), 257–270.
classroom teachers, and community-based educators. Koss, M.D. (2008). A literary analysis of young adult novels with mul-
tiple narrative perspectives using a sociocultural lens. Unpublished
doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois at Chicago,
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Koss teaches at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb,
52(7)
USA; e-mail mkoss@niu.edu. Teale teaches at the
University of Illinois at Chicago, USA; e-mail wteale@
Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy
uic.edu.
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