Post by Charlynn on Oct 30, 2010 10:27:09 GMT -5
According to Alleen Pace Nilsen and Kenneth L. Donelson, authors of Literature for Today's Young Adults, there are seven characteristics which attract readers to young adult literature. They are:
1. Young Adult Authors Write from the Viewpoint of Young People - "A prerequisite to attracting young readers is to write through the eyes of a young person. One of the ways authors do this is to write in first person...." "Another technique related to point of view is for authors to have a young narrator even when the story belongs to someone else." "Teenagers like to read about other teenagers...." and "... have protagonists who are only slightly older than teen readers and who are involved in activities with which young people can identify."
2. "Please, Mother, I Want the Credit!" - "One of the first things an author does is to figure out how to get rid of the parents so that the young person is free to take credit for his or her own accomplishments."
3. Young Adult Literature is Fast Paced - "Many of the most popular books tell their stories at almost the same frantic pace and with the same emphasis on powerful images that viewers have come to expect from MTV." "Postindustrial societies have become hurry-up societies, and people want their stories to be presented in the same fashion." "... there is a relationship because modern mass-media entertainers appeal to the same powerful emotions of adolescence - love, romance, sex, horror, and fear - as do young adult authors. These strong emotions are best shown through a limited number of characters and narrative events and language that flows naturally while still presenting dramatic images."
4. Young Adult Literature Includes a Variety of Genres and Subjects
5. The Body of Work Includes Stories about Characters from Many Different Ethnic and Cultural Groups - "One by one, taboos on profanity, divorce, sexuality, drinking, racial unrest, abortion, pregnancy, and drugs disappeared. With this change, writers were freed to set their stories in realistic rather than romanticized neighborhoods and to explore the experiences of characters whose stories had not been told before." "... with more globalization and instant communication the trend is reversing so that there are many appealing new books that will be read by large numbers of teenagers of all races."
6. Young Adult Books are Basically Optimistic, with Characters Making Worthy Accomplishments - "They have to write their protagonists in such a way that they will be respected by the readers." "An author views a teenager with either condescension or nostalgia will turn young adults away from the story. In young adult books, the protagonists must be involved in accomplishments that are believable but still challenging enough to earn the reader's respect." "This kind of change and growth is the most common theme appearing in young adult literature, regardless of format. It suggests, either directly or symbolically, the gaining of maturity (i.e., the loss of innocence as part of the passage from childhood to adulthood). Such stories communicate a sense of time and change, a sense of becoming and catching glimpses of possibilities - some that are fearful and others that are awesome, odd, funny, perplexing, or wondrous."
7. Successful Young Adult Novels Deal with Emotions that are Important to Young Adults - "Psychological aspects of well-written novels are a natural part of the story as protagonists face the same kind of challenges readers are experiencing, such as the developmental tasks outlined two generations ago by Robert J. Havighurst: acquiring more mature social skills; achieving a masculine or feminine sex role; accepting the changes in one's body, using the body effectively, and accepting one's physique; achieving emotional independence from parents and other adults; preparing for sex, marriage, and parenthood; selecting and preparing for an occupation; developing a personal ideology and ethical standards; and assuming membership in the larger community. Some psychologists gather all developmental tasks under the umbrella heading of "achieving an identity," which they describe as the task of adolescence."
My Ranking of the Most Important to Least Important of the Seven Characteristics:
1. Successful young adult novels deal with emotions that are important to young adults.
2. Young adult literature includes a variety of genres and subjects.
3. Young adult authors write from the viewpoint of young people.
4. "Please, mother, I want the credit!"
5. Young adult literature is fast paced.
6. Young adult books are basically optimistic with characters making worthy accomplishments.
7. The body of work includes stories about characters from many different ethnic and cultural groups.
Out of curiosity, I polled a Junior AP English class, charging them with this same task - ranking the seven characteristics, in order to compare their answers with my own. Below, I list their ranking:
1. Young adult literature is fast paced.
2. Young adult literature includes a variety of genres and subjects.
3. Successful young adult novels deal with emotions that are important to young adults.
4. "Please, mother, I want the credit!"
5. (tie) Young adult books are basically optimistic with characters making worthy accomplishments.
5. (tie) The body of work includes stories about characters from many different ethic and cultural groups.
7. Young adult authors write from the viewpoint of young people.
As this proves, we as librarians (or library students) don't always know what our patrons will want, so it's important to be aware of readers' opinions, wants, and needs. Nilson and Donelson claim "the more that you know, not only about the individual teen readers that you work with but also about the emotional challenges and the interests that are common to most - if not all - young adults, the better able you will be to: judge the soundness of the books they read, decide which ones are worthy of promotion, predict which ones will last and which will be transitory, make better recommendations to individuals, discuss books with students from their viewpoints, and gain more understanding and pleasure from personal reading."
*** Because of the dual purposes of this information, it will also be posted under the characteristics of young adult literature board. ***
1. Young Adult Authors Write from the Viewpoint of Young People - "A prerequisite to attracting young readers is to write through the eyes of a young person. One of the ways authors do this is to write in first person...." "Another technique related to point of view is for authors to have a young narrator even when the story belongs to someone else." "Teenagers like to read about other teenagers...." and "... have protagonists who are only slightly older than teen readers and who are involved in activities with which young people can identify."
2. "Please, Mother, I Want the Credit!" - "One of the first things an author does is to figure out how to get rid of the parents so that the young person is free to take credit for his or her own accomplishments."
3. Young Adult Literature is Fast Paced - "Many of the most popular books tell their stories at almost the same frantic pace and with the same emphasis on powerful images that viewers have come to expect from MTV." "Postindustrial societies have become hurry-up societies, and people want their stories to be presented in the same fashion." "... there is a relationship because modern mass-media entertainers appeal to the same powerful emotions of adolescence - love, romance, sex, horror, and fear - as do young adult authors. These strong emotions are best shown through a limited number of characters and narrative events and language that flows naturally while still presenting dramatic images."
4. Young Adult Literature Includes a Variety of Genres and Subjects
5. The Body of Work Includes Stories about Characters from Many Different Ethnic and Cultural Groups - "One by one, taboos on profanity, divorce, sexuality, drinking, racial unrest, abortion, pregnancy, and drugs disappeared. With this change, writers were freed to set their stories in realistic rather than romanticized neighborhoods and to explore the experiences of characters whose stories had not been told before." "... with more globalization and instant communication the trend is reversing so that there are many appealing new books that will be read by large numbers of teenagers of all races."
6. Young Adult Books are Basically Optimistic, with Characters Making Worthy Accomplishments - "They have to write their protagonists in such a way that they will be respected by the readers." "An author views a teenager with either condescension or nostalgia will turn young adults away from the story. In young adult books, the protagonists must be involved in accomplishments that are believable but still challenging enough to earn the reader's respect." "This kind of change and growth is the most common theme appearing in young adult literature, regardless of format. It suggests, either directly or symbolically, the gaining of maturity (i.e., the loss of innocence as part of the passage from childhood to adulthood). Such stories communicate a sense of time and change, a sense of becoming and catching glimpses of possibilities - some that are fearful and others that are awesome, odd, funny, perplexing, or wondrous."
7. Successful Young Adult Novels Deal with Emotions that are Important to Young Adults - "Psychological aspects of well-written novels are a natural part of the story as protagonists face the same kind of challenges readers are experiencing, such as the developmental tasks outlined two generations ago by Robert J. Havighurst: acquiring more mature social skills; achieving a masculine or feminine sex role; accepting the changes in one's body, using the body effectively, and accepting one's physique; achieving emotional independence from parents and other adults; preparing for sex, marriage, and parenthood; selecting and preparing for an occupation; developing a personal ideology and ethical standards; and assuming membership in the larger community. Some psychologists gather all developmental tasks under the umbrella heading of "achieving an identity," which they describe as the task of adolescence."
My Ranking of the Most Important to Least Important of the Seven Characteristics:
1. Successful young adult novels deal with emotions that are important to young adults.
2. Young adult literature includes a variety of genres and subjects.
3. Young adult authors write from the viewpoint of young people.
4. "Please, mother, I want the credit!"
5. Young adult literature is fast paced.
6. Young adult books are basically optimistic with characters making worthy accomplishments.
7. The body of work includes stories about characters from many different ethnic and cultural groups.
Out of curiosity, I polled a Junior AP English class, charging them with this same task - ranking the seven characteristics, in order to compare their answers with my own. Below, I list their ranking:
1. Young adult literature is fast paced.
2. Young adult literature includes a variety of genres and subjects.
3. Successful young adult novels deal with emotions that are important to young adults.
4. "Please, mother, I want the credit!"
5. (tie) Young adult books are basically optimistic with characters making worthy accomplishments.
5. (tie) The body of work includes stories about characters from many different ethic and cultural groups.
7. Young adult authors write from the viewpoint of young people.
As this proves, we as librarians (or library students) don't always know what our patrons will want, so it's important to be aware of readers' opinions, wants, and needs. Nilson and Donelson claim "the more that you know, not only about the individual teen readers that you work with but also about the emotional challenges and the interests that are common to most - if not all - young adults, the better able you will be to: judge the soundness of the books they read, decide which ones are worthy of promotion, predict which ones will last and which will be transitory, make better recommendations to individuals, discuss books with students from their viewpoints, and gain more understanding and pleasure from personal reading."
*** Because of the dual purposes of this information, it will also be posted under the characteristics of young adult literature board. ***