Gothic fiction has become the ideal genre for exploring the grotesque, frightening aspects of coming of age. And disruptive girls with supernatural powers have replaced the passive heroines of old.
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Articles on Young adult fiction
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Female protagonists in young adult fiction are unlikely heroines who embrace their flaws. But when it comes to diversity, they are still largely white and middle class.
Five novels for young adults that boldly tackle tough issues - from racism, to Indigenous identity and the Holocaust - to cultivate critical thinking in the classroom and at home.
Death used to happen off the page in kids' books, but not anymore. They kill each other in The Hunger Games, and 13 Reasons Why graphically describes the impact of teen suicide.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the first in the phenomenally successful series, turns 20 this month. Despite criticism of their status as 'literature', the books remain a magical experience for children.
The Melling sisters — like Alcott’s March sisters and Austen’s Bennetts — are four girls who become women during the course of Robin Klein's trilogy of novels. The Sky in Silver Lace is the most bittersweet of the three.
The young adult novel "Eleanor & Park" is a frequent target for book challengers. But swears and sex aside, there's something deeply subversive – and important – about this controversial book.
A book about drug addiction and prostitution aimed at 'young adults' was a very daring thing 20 years ago.
Young adult fiction has been having a much needed conversation around diversity. In 2015 we saw this discussion bear fruit, as a new crop of diverse, absorbing and powerful stories sprang up.
Sex is part of young people's lives. So how do we teach young authors to navigate tricky narrative waters when they write about it?
'I knew and counted Terry among my friends, and I watched Alzheimer’s slowly and insidiously strip him of attributes and faculty.' So what can we make of his final Discworld novel, published posthumously?
Debate about the lack of diversity in young adult literature isn't new, but thanks to recent campaigns such as We Need Diverse Books, there's renewed focus on why diversity in literature is crucial.
There are many similarities between blockbusting young adult novels such as The Hunger Games series and Australian books such as Taronga – but there are also clear differences in their messages for the young.
"Wouldn’t it be fantastic if the English syllabus was made up of books that students love?" Australian author Melina Marchetta's novels have won her many devoted fans and she's passionate about engaging young people with literature.
By featuring girls who buck the conventions of their world – and ours – films like Insurgent inspire fans to enact real change.
Irvine Welsh’s 1993 novel Trainspotting tells the fictional story of a group of disaffected, heroin-addicted young men (and one violent drunk) in Leith, Edinburgh, and the gritty, dirty, terrifying – and…
Suicide is the leading cause of death among Australians aged 15-24, according to cause of death data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in March this year. In light of this, it’s not surprising…
Young adult fiction and complex themes go hand in hand – not least in one of the most recent entries to this field. Melbourne-based writer Eli Glasman’s debut novel The Boy’s Own Manual to Being a Proper…
When the Harry Potter series became a global phenomenon, adult editions were published that replaced the brightly illustrated covers with dignified photographs of inanimate objects on a black background…
Problem or issue-based young adult novels are not new occurrences. From John Green’s Fault in Our Stars (2012) to Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why (2007), books aimed at readers as young as 12, and as…
Top contributors
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Manager Academic Library Services, Casual Lecturer in the School of Communication, International Studies and Languages, University of South Australia
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Senior Lecturer in Literary Studies, Monash University
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PhD Candidate and Academic Sessional, Victoria University
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Academic Sessional, Victoria University
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Senior Lecturer of Creative Writing and Children's Lit, University of Winchester
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Senior Lecturer, University of Sydney
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Senior Lecturer in Children's and Adolescent Literature, Queensland University of Technology
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Assistant Professor of American Studies, University of Maine at Augusta
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Assistant Professor (Law School), University of Western Australia
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Vice-Chancellor and President, University of South Australia
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Senior Lecturer in English and Creative Writing, University of Salford
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Associate Professor of English & Women's and Gender Studies, Drake University
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Author (non-fiction, fiction, young adult), University of Melbourne
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Director of Academic Program BA, School of Humanities and Communication Arts, Western Sydney University
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Associate Professor of English; Program Coordinator, 6-9 and 9-12 licensure programs in English, Meredith College
