The Lord of the Rings movie blockbuster series introduced a new generation to the spellbinding drama on Middle Earth. For those who had loved the book, it stirred up nostalgic memories, and caused many to plunge back into the enchanting words of J.R.R Tolkien. As good as the movie was, in my opinion, diving headlong (and heart first) into Tolkien’s masterpiece is better still. Read More
Like most genres, young-adult literature has several distinct characteristics. Besides the obvious—tackling issues relevant to young people in language they can identify with—some young-adult fiction characteristics are not so obvious. And it is these defining features that attract an audience beyond the assumed target age market. In fact, 55% of young-adult fiction readers are over eighteen years of age.Read More
In our last post, twentieth-century Young Adult Fiction, we learnt a valuable lesson about culture—being relevant to culture is crucial, losing plot and character integrity in a sell-out to culture is a cop-out. There are so many options when it comes to young-adult genre and themes, there’s no need to flog the proverbial dead-horse.Read More
After visiting the history of YA literature in our last post, highlighting the many classics that have built an impeccable legacy for this genre, let’s turn our attention to twentieth-century Young Adult Fiction. It makes for compelling reading.Read More
While many assume Young Adult Fiction is a modern genre distinction, the truth is that YA literature has been around for as long as authors have appreciated the different reading palate of a child versus a young adult. For example, it was Sarah Trimmer, who, in as early as 1802, viewed “young adulthood” as ranging from 14 to 21. She coined the term “Books for Young Persons” for this age group, using the term “Books for Children” for those under fourteen years of age. Thus, the history of Young Adult Fiction is a rich one.Read More