Welcome back to our podcast Reading with Libraries!! We are so excited to be back here chatting about books with you!
This week we are discussing the genre of Young Adult Literature, or YA. We have talked somewhat about this genre in the past (Episode 209, check it out!) but plan on getting more in-depth today! We’ll have new titles and new book lists for you to visit to get more information.
We discuss different genres of books each week, which is both fun and useful to library people doing Reader’s Advisory work. There are so many book genres out there that it’s tough to be an expert on all of them. So we pick a new genre each week to chat about and hopefully provide you with some insight into what may be an unfamiliar genre!
Our book group is very inclusive; there are no “right” or “wrong” books here! We just like to read and chat about books, and want you to share what you are reading too! All of us will take away at least a title or two that we want to read at the end of our time together!
Who is joining us this week? We are pleased to welcome returning Guest Host Bethany Kauffman from the Rogers High School in Minnesota!
Beverages:
Each week we like to connect the theme of our books with our beverages, and we each came prepared with our own drink to enjoy while we talk about our books. Each beverage will have a recipe or a link on our episode page, so you can try them yourself!
Tension Tamer Herbal Tea:
Being a teenager or a young adult can be stressful, so try some of this soothing tea to help!
This blend begins with eleuthero, an ancient herb believed to impart a sense of calm. We’ve added peppermint, ginger and lemongrass to create an uplifting and balanced tea.
Eleuthero, peppermint, cinnamon, ginger, chamomile, lemongrass, licorice, catnip, tilia flowers, natural lemon flavor with other natural flavors, hops and Vitamins B6 and B12.
Sweet and Sour Apple Nonalcoholic Cocktail
Hormones are tough and teenagers can be sweet one minute and sour the next!
– 2 oz apple juice
– ½ oz lemon juice
– 1 teaspoon fine sugar
– 1 egg white
Fill shaker glass two-thirds with ice. Add ingredients. Shake well. Strain and pour into a sour glass. Garnish with an orange slice and a cherry.
Maple and Grapefruit Mocktail
2/3 ounce maple syrup (real, not Mrs Butterworths!)
3 ounces freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, strained
3 ounces ginger ale (or ginger beer if you like things stronger)
To start, combine grapefruit juice and maple syrup. Stir or shake until syrup is dissolved. Pour into glass and add ginger ale, stirring gently to combine. Garnish and enjoy!
Genre Discussion:
From Wikipedia: The genre of Young Adult literature (YA) is a category of fiction published for readers in their youth. YA books are catered towards readers from 12 to 18 years of age.[1] While the genre is targeted to teenagers, approximately half of YA readers are adults.[2]
The subject matter and genres of YA correlate with the age and experience of the protagonist. The genres available in YA are expansive and include most of those found in adult fiction. Common themes related to YA include: friendship, first love, relationships, and identity.[3] Stories that focus on the specific challenges of youth are sometimes referred to as problem novels or coming-of-age novels.[4]
In recent years[when?], diversity has become a defining feature of young adult novels. (And we have gathered several book lists to help you add more diverse YA titles to your own collection, or TBR list!)
As the genre of YA literature has grown in popularity, the definition of the genre has evolved as well.
From YALSA article “The Value of Young Adult Literature”:
“Literature,” which traditionally meant fiction, has also expanded to include new forms of literary – or narrative — nonfiction and new forms of poetry, including novels and book-length works of nonfiction in verse. The increasing importance of visual communication has begun to expand this definition to include picture books, comics, and graphic novels and nonfiction.
Young adult literature recognizes that young adults are beings in evolution, in search of self and identity; beings who are constantly growing and changing, morphing from the condition of childhood to that of adulthood. That period of passage called “young adulthood” is a unique part of life, distinguished by unique needs that are – at minimum — physical, intellectual, emotional, and societal in nature.
By addressing these needs, young adult literature is made valuable not only by its artistry but also by its relevance to the lives of its readers. And by addressing not only their needs but also their interests, the literature becomes a powerful inducement for them to read, another compelling reason to value it, especially at a time when adolescent literacy has become a critically important issue.
Suggested Reading Lists:
- YA Authors Share 10 Diverse 2018 Must-Reads – The BN Teen Blog
- Reading and Reviewing Diverse YA Books – Rich in Color
- 5 Hugely Underrated Diverse YA Fantasy Books – Book Riot
- 14 New Diverse YA Reads
- 14 of Our Most Anticipated OwnVoices YA Books of 2018: July to December
- 30 Best Young Adult Novels of 2018 – Paste Magazine
- 16 Best Young Adult Books of Fall 2018: YA Fiction and Nonfiction – Brightly
Our Book Discussion
Now we are a little more familiar with this week’s genre, and we have enjoyed some of our special beverages, let’s get to the book discussion!
Themes in current YA books:
- social justice
- unreliable narrators
- fantasy with female protagonists
- novels in free vrese
- novels told from different perspectives
- sexual assault
newer themes in YA books:
- immigration
- all types of diversity
- nonfiction graphic novels
- girl power
“What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them…all at once?
Sixteen-year-old Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren’t love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she’s written. One for every boy she’s ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control.”
A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.
We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from New York Times bestselling author, National Book Award finalist, and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.
Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.”
“Alexis, Nick, and Ruby have very different backgrounds: Alexis has spent her life covering for her mom’s mental illness, Nick’s bravado hides his fear of not being good enough, and Ruby just wants to pursue her eccentric interests in a world that doesn’t understand her. When the three teens join Portland County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue, they are teamed up to search for a autistic man lost in the woods. What they find instead is a dead body. In a friendship that will be forged in danger, fear and courage, the three team up to find the girl’s killer―before he can strike one of their own.
This first book in April Henry’s Point Last Seen YA mystery series, The Body in the Woods is full of riveting suspense, putting readers right in the middle of harrowing rescues and crime scene investigations.”
“Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania—derailing the War Between the States and changing the nation forever.
In this new America, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Education Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead.
But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It’s a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations.
But that’s not a life Jane wants. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston’s School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn’t pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose.
But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies.
And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems.”
Conclusion:
Thank you so much for joining us for this discussion about Young Adult books on our Reading with Libraries podcast! A special thank you to our Guest Host Bethany Kauffman!
Join us next Thursday with another genre, more guest hosts for our book group, and more books to share and discuss. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast so you don’t miss a single episode! And if you want to hear more about the work we do in libraries – which is both interesting and fun! – subscribe to our podcast Linking Our Libraries. Bring your book ideas, bring your beverages, and join us back here on Thursday!