There have been lots of questions of what makes a young adult novel a young adult novel, and what the different genres all mean. Over the next few months, we’ll be exploring tons of genres and subgenres that you can find in the Young Adult/Teen section of the library.
Anyway, what makes a Young Adult novel a Young Adult novel?
1. the protagonist (main character) is a teenager
2. the book is written for and marketed to teenagers (roughly between ages 12 and 20)
3. a theme of the book may be the challenges of adolescence (aka – teenagerhood)
So, here are some classics that are considered Young Adult.
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger – Holden Caulfield (protagonist) is a teenage boy who has been expelled from numerous boarding schools. He goes off to New York City for three days to find himself.
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier – high school freshman Jerry (protagonist, teenager) refuses to participate in his school’s fund raising drive (challenge) and faces devastating consequences.
Forever by Judy Blume – Katherine and Michael (main characters, teenagers) are each others first love. However, what will happen if they go all the way? Is their love meant to last forever, or just for high school? (challenge)
So when you come in this summer to claim Book Bucks, make sure your book is a) pleasure reading and b) actually a Young Adult/teen book!