Young-adult fiction (often abbreviated as YA)^[1][2] is fiction Fiction is any form of narrative which deals, in part or in whole, with events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary and invented by its author(s). Although fiction often describes a major branch of literary work, it is also applied to theatrical, cinematic, documental, and musical work. In contrast to this is non-fiction, which deals written for, published for, or marketed to adolescents Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood (age of majority), but may also be defined as ending with the teenage stage. According to Erik Erikson's stages of human development, for example, a young adult is generally a person between the ages of 20 and 40, and young adults According to Erik Erikson's stages of human development, first enumerated in Childhood and Society , a young adult is generally a person between the ages of 20 and 40, whereas an adolescent is a person between the ages of 13 and 19, although definitions and opinions vary. The young adult stage in human development precedes middle adulthood. A, roughly ages 14 to 21.^[3]

Characteristics

Young-adult fiction, whether in the form of novels or short stories, has distinct attributes that distinguish it from the other age categories of fiction: Adult fiction, Middle Grade Fiction, and Children's Fiction. The vast majority of YA stories portray an adolescent as the protagonist A protagonist is the main character (the central or primary personal figure) of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, video game, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to share the most empathy. In the theatre of Ancient Greece, three actors played all of the main dramatic, rather than an adult or a child. The subject matter and story lines are typically consistent with the age and experience of the main character, but beyond that YA stories span the entire spectrum of fiction genres Genre (pronounced /ˈʒɑːnrə/, also /ˈdʒɑːnrə/; from French, genre , "kind" or "sort", from Latin: genus , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for a category of literature, as well as various other forms of art or culture, based on some loose set of criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time as. The settings of YA stories are limited only by the imagination and skill of the author. Themes in YA stories often focus on the challenges of youth, so much so that the entire age category is sometimes referred to as problem novels Problem novel is a term used to refer to a sub-genre of young adult literature that deal exclusively with an adolescent's first confrontation with a social or personal ill. The term was first used in the late 1960s to differentiate contemporary works like The Outsiders from earlier fiction for adolescents. The term is rather loosely defined or coming of age Coming of age is a young person's transition from childhood to adulthood. The age at which this transition takes place varies in society, as does the nature of the transition. It can be a simple legal convention or can be part of a ritual, as practiced by many societies. In the past, and in some societies today, such a change is associated with novel. YA novels are often as short as 16000 words.^[4] Writing styles of YA stories range widely, from the richness of literary style to the clarity and speed of the unobtrusive. Despite its unique characteristics, YA shares the fundamental elements of fiction with other stories: character, plot, setting, theme, and style.

History of young-adult fiction

The first recognition of young adults as a distinct group was by Sarah Trimmer Sarah Trimmer (6 January 1741 – 15 December 1810) was a noted writer and critic of British children's literature in the eighteenth century. Her periodical, The Guardian of Education, helped to define the emerging genre by seriously reviewing children's literature for the first time; it also provided the first history of children's literature,, who in 1802 described "young adulthood" as lasting from ages 14 to 21.^[3] In her self-founded children's literature periodical, The Guardian of Education The Guardian of Education was the first successful periodical dedicated to reviewing children's literature in Britain. It was edited by eighteenth-century educationalist, children's author, and Sunday school advocate Sarah Trimmer and was published from June 1802 until September 1806 by J. Hatchard and F. C. and J. Rivington. The journal offered, Trimmer introduced the terms "Books for Children" (for those under fourteen) and "Books for Young Persons" (for those between fourteen and twenty-one), establishing terms of reference for young adult literature that remain in use today.^[3] However, nineteenth-century publishers Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information – the activity of making information available for public view. In some cases authors may be their own publishers, meaning: originators and developers of content also provide media to deliver and display the content did not specifically market to young readers, and adolescent culture Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood (age of majority), but may also be defined as ending with the teenage stage. According to Erik Erikson's stages of human development, for example, a young adult is generally a person between the ages of 20 and 40, did not exist in a modern sense. Nonetheless, there were books published in the nineteenth century that appealed to young readers (Garland 1998, p. 6):

• The Swiss Family Robinson The Swiss Family Robinson is a novel, first published in 1812, about a Swiss family who are shipwrecked in the East Indies en route to Port Jackson, Australia (1812)
• Oliver Twist Oliver Twist[note 1] is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens, published by Richard Bently in 1838. The story is about a kind and timid orphan boy Oliver Twist, who escapes from a workhouse and travels to London where he meets the Artful Dodger, leader of a gang of juvenile pickpockets. Oliver is led to the lair of their elderly (1838)
• The Count of Monte Cristo The Count of Monte Cristo is an adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas, père. It is often considered to be, along with The Three Musketeers, Dumas' most popular work. The writing of the work was completed in 1844. Like many of his novels, it is expanded from the plot outlines suggested by his collaborating ghostwriter Auguste Maquet (1844)
• Tom Brown's Schooldays Tom Brown's Schooldays is a novel by Thomas Hughes first published in 1857. The story is set at Rugby School, a public school for boys, in the 1830s. Hughes attended Rugby School from 1834 to 1842. The novel has been the source for several film and television adaptations in the 20th century (1857)
• Great Expectations Great Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens. It was first published in serial form in the publication All the Year Round from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. It has been adapted for stage and screen over 250 times (1860)
• Alice in Wonderland Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll . It tells the story of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar and anthropomorphic creatures.The tale plays with logic in ways that have given the story lasting (1865)
• Little Women Little Women is a novel by American author Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888). Written and set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House, in Concord, Massachusetts. It was published in two parts in 1868 and 1869. The novel follows the lives of four sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March—and is loosely based on the author's childhood experiences with (1868)
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain is a popular 1876 novel about a young boy growing up in the antebellum South. The story is set in the town of "St Petersburg", inspired by Hannibal, Missouri, where Mark Twain grew up. In the story's introduction, Twain notes: (1876)
• Heidi Heidi's Years of Wandering and Learning , usually abbreviated Heidi, is a novel about the events in the life of a young girl in her grandfather's care, in the Swiss Alps. It was written as a book "for children and those who love children" as quoted from its subtitle in 1880 by Swiss author Johanna Spyri. Two sequels, Heidi Grows Up and (1880)
• Treasure Island Treasure Island is an adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, narrating a tale of "pirates and buried gold". First published as a book in 1883, it was originally serialized in the children's magazine Young Folks between 1881-82 under the title The Sea Cook, or Treasure Island (1883)
• Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel by Mark Twain, first published in February 1885. Commonly recognized as one of the Great American Novels, the work is among the first in major American literature to be written in the vernacular, characterized by local color regionalism. It is told in the first person by Huckleberry "Huck" Finn, (1884)
• Kidnapped Kidnapped is a historical fiction adventure novel by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. Written as a "boys' novel" and first published in the magazine Young Folks from May to July 1886, the novel has attracted the praise and admiration of writers as diverse as Henry James, Jorge Luis Borges, and Seamus Heaney. A sequel, Catriona, (1886)
• The Jungle Book The Jungle Book is a collection of stories written by Rudyard Kipling. The stories were first published in magazines in 1893–4. The original publications contained illustrations, some by Rudyard's father, John Lockwood Kipling. Kipling was born in India and spent the first six years of his childhood there. After about ten years in England, he (1894)
• Moonfleet (1898)

Examples of other novels that predate the young-adult classification, but that are now frequently presented alongside YA novels are (Garland 1998, p. 6):

• Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm is a classic American 1903 children's novel by Kate Douglas Wiggin. Rebecca Rowena Randall goes to live with her two stern aunts in the village of Riverboro in Maine. Her joy for life ends up inspiring them. She faces many trials in her young life, but comes through them with more wisdom and understanding (1903)
• Anne of Green Gables Anne of Green Gables is a bestselling novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery published in 1908. It was written as fiction for readers of all ages, but in recent decades has been considered a children's book. Montgomery found her inspiration for the book on an old piece of paper that she had written at a young age, describing a couple that (1908)
• The Secret Garden (1909)
• The Yearling The Yearling is a 1938 novel written by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. It won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1939 (1938)
• My Friend Flicka (1941)
• Johnny Tremain (1943)
• The Outsiders The Outsiders is a coming-of-age novel by Susan Eloise Hinton, first published in 1967 by Viking Press. Hinton was 15 when she began writing the novel, and 16 when it was published. The book follows two rival groups, the Greasers and the Socs , who are divided by their socioeconomic status (1967)
• The Pigman (1968)

In the 1950s, shortly before the advent of modern publishing for the teen market, two novels drew the attention of adolescent readers: The Catcher in the Rye The Catcher in the Rye is a 1951 novel by J. D. Salinger.. Originally published for adults, it has since become popular with adolescent readers for its themes of teenage confusion, angst, sexuality, alienation, and rebellion. It has been translated into almost all of the world's major languages. Around 250,000 copies are sold each year, with total (1951), and Lord of the Flies Lord of the Flies is an allegorical novel by Nobel Prize-winning author William Golding. It discusses how culture created by man fails, using as an example a group of British schoolboys stuck on a deserted island who try to govern themselves, but with disastrous results. Its stances on the already controversial subjects of human nature and (1954). Unlike more-recent fiction classified as YA, these two were written with an adult audience in mind. [FitzGerald 2004, p. 62]

The modern classification of young-adult fiction originated during the 1950s and 1960s, especially after the publication of S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders. This book focused on a group of teens not yet represented and instead of having the nostalgic tone that was typical in young adult books written by adults, it displayed a truer, darker side of young adult life because it was written by a young adult.

As publishers began to focus on the emerging adolescent market, booksellers and libraries, in turn, began creating YA sections distinct from either children's literature Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve and is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes exclude young-adult fiction, comic books, or other genres. Books specifically for children existed by the 17th century. Scholarship on children's literature includes professional organizations, dedicated or novels written for adults An adult is a human being or living organism that is of relatively mature age, typically associated with sexual maturity and the attainment of reproductive age. In human context, the term has other subordinate meanings associated to social and legal concepts, for example a legal adult is a legal concept for a person who has attained the age of. The 1970s to the mid-1980s have been described as the golden age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology and legend and refers to the first in a sequence of four or five (or more) Ages of Man, in which the Golden Age is first, followed in sequence, by the Silver, Bronze, and Iron Ages, and then the present, a period of decline. By extension "Golden Age" denotes a period of primordial peace, of young-adult fiction—when challenging novels began speaking directly to the interests of the identified adolescent market.^[3]

Popular contributions to young-adult fiction

• V.C. Andrews (1923-1986): American author of several popular gothic horror Gothic fiction is a genre of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. As a genre, it is generally believed to have been invented by the English author Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto family sagas for teenagers; examples include Flowers in the Attic Flowers in the Attic is a 1979 novel by V. C. Andrews. It is the first book in the Dollanganger Series, and was followed by Petals on the Wind, If There Be Thorns, Seeds of Yesterday, and Garden of Shadows. The novel is written in the first person from the point of view of Cathy Dollanganger. It was adapted into a film of the same name in 1987 and Melody (Logan series).

• Laurie Halse Anderson Laurie Halse Anderson is an American author who writes for children and young adults: American author of both fiction and non-fiction. Some of her more well know novels include Speak Speak is a 1999 novel by Laurie Halse Anderson about a teenager named Melinda Sordino who is an outcast as a high school freshman due to reasons later revealed in the book. It was made into a film of the same name in 2004. The novel was a New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestseller. Speak was also named a Printz Honor book in 2000, Fever 1793, Catalyst, Prom, Twisted, and Wintergirls. Anderson is a Margret A. Edwards Award recipient.

• David Belbin (born 1958): English author. His novels include Love Lessons and Denial Denial is a defense mechanism postulated by Sigmund Freud, in which a person is faced with a fact that is too uncomfortable to accept and rejects it instead, insisting that it is not true despite what may be overwhelming evidence. The subject may use:.

• Tim Bowler (born 1953): English author. His novels include River Boy and Frozen Fire.

• Judy Blume Judy Blume is an American author. She has written many novels for children and young adults which have exceeded sales of 80 million and been translated into 31 languages. Blume's novels for teenagers were among the first to tackle such controversial matters as racism (Iggie's House), menstruation (Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.), divorce ( (born 1938): American author; wrote teen classics Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. and Forever.

• Meg Cabot Meg Cabot is an American chick-lit author of romantic comedies for teens and adults. She has written under the name Meggin Cabot, as well as the pseudonyms Patricia Cabot and Jenny Carroll. She has written and published over fifty books, and is best known for The Princess Diaries, later made by Walt Disney Pictures into two feature films of the (born 1967): Americian author of many popular books and series, such as The Princess Diaries The Princess Diaries is a notable series of novels by Meg Cabot in the chick-lit and YA fiction genre, and the title of the first volume, published in 2000. The Princess Diaries novels are divided into journal entries of varying lengths, not chapters as in most novels series.

• Isobelle Carmody (born 1958): Wrote the award-winning, Obernewtyn Chronicles. Born in Melbourne The metropolis is located on the large natural bay known as Port Phillip, with the city centre positioned at the estuary of the Yarra River . The metropolitan area then extends south from the city centre, along the eastern and western shorelines of Port Phillip, and expands into the hinterland. The city centre is situated in the municipality known, Australia For at least 40,000 years before European settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who belonged to one or more of the roughly 250 language groups. After sporadic visits by fishermen from the immediate north and discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by the British as was Garth Nix, they are often compared and are close friends.

• Eoin Colfer Eoin Colfer is an Irish author and comedian. He is most famous as the creator of the Artemis Fowl series, but he has also achieved success with other books. His novels have been compared to those of J. K. Rowling, and like Harry Potter, Artemis Fowl is used as a reference to describe the work of other writers (e.g. Jack Heath and Mark Walden). In (born 1965): Irish author noted for the Artemis Fowl Artemis Fowl is a series of fantasy novels written by Irish author Eoin Colfer, starring the teenage criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl II. The series is written in half-serious language, alternating dark moments with humorous ones, a style favoured by a number of popular children's authors series.

• Suzanne Collins Collins' career began in 1991 as a writer for children's television shows. She worked on several television shows for Nickelodeon, including Clarissa Explains It All, The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo, Little Bear, and Oswald. She was also the head write for Scholastic Entertainment's Clifford's Puppy Days. She received a Writers Guild of America (born 1964): American author of the popular The Hunger Games Trilogy which includes The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and the not yet released Mockingjay.

• Susan Cooper (born 1935): British author, Susan Cooper wrote the popular The Dark is Rising series.

• Sarah Dessen (born 1970): American author of such popular young-adult fare as The Truth About Forever and That Summer.

• Cornelia Funke Cornelia Funke is a multiple award-winning German author of children's fiction. She was born on 10 December 1958, in Dorsten, North Rhine-Westphalia. Funke is best known for her Inkworld trilogy, with the English translation of the third book, Inkdeath, released on 6 October 2008. Many of her books have now been translated into English. Her work (born 1958): German author, Cornelia Funke wrote the successful Inkheart Inkheart is a young adult-child fantasy novel by Cornelia Funke, and the first book of the Inkworld trilogy trilogy.

• John Green John Michael Green is an American author of young adult fiction and a YouTube vlogger (born 1977): The American Michael L. Printz Award winning author of Looking for Alaska Looking for Alaska is the first young adult novel by John Green, published in March 2005 by Dutton Juvenile. It won the 2006 Michael L. Printz Award from the American Library Association. It is divided into two parts: Before and After, An Abundance of Katherines, and Paper Towns, also awarded a 2007 Michael L. Printz Award Honor for An Abundance of Katherines and the 2009 Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Novel for Paper Towns.

• William Golding (1911-1993): British author, Nobel Prize for Literature laureate best known for his novel Lord of the Flies

• Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988): American science fiction writer, whose novels include Tunnel in the Sky and Citizen of the Galaxy.

• S.E. Hinton (born 1950): American author, wrote The Outsiders, Rumble Fish, That Was Then, This Is Now, and Tex.

• Anthony Horowitz (born 1956): British author, Anthony Horowitz is writing the best selling Alex Rider series.

• Brian Jacques (born 1939): British author of the successful and critically acclaimed Redwall series.

• Maureen Johnson (born 1973): American author of 13 Little Blue Envelopes and the Suite Scarlett series.

• C. S. Lewis (1898–1963): British author, 95 million copies of his Chronicles of Narnia series have been published worldwide since The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe debuted in 1950.

• Lurlene McDaniel (born 1948): American author; penned a series of novels dealing with terminal illness that were enormously popular during the 1980s and 1990s.

• Stephenie Meyer (born 1973): American creator of the popular vampire romance franchise Twilight.^[5]

• Robert Muchamore (born 1972): British author, known for writing the fairly successful CHERUB series, and the new spin-off series, Henderson's Boys.

• Walter Dean Myers (born 1937) : American author, known for his writing about Harlem including Fallen Angels, Monster, Scorpions and many other books.

• Garth Nix (born 1963): Australian author, Garth Nix wrote the Keys to the Kingdom and Old Kingdom series.

• Francine Pascal (born 1938): American creator of the popular Sweet Valley Twins and Sweet Valley High franchises.

• Gary Paulsen (born 1939): American author, wrote Hatchet and many other young-adult novels.

• Philip Pullman (born 1946): British author, Philip Pullman wrote the successful and controversial His Dark Materials trilogy.

• J. K. Rowling (born 1965): British author, J.K. Rowling is an award winning young-adult author today and arguably the most successful. Being the author of the extremely successful and critically well-received Harry Potter series, her books have been sold in more than 400 million copies worldwide and are translated into more than 63 languages. She is also the first billionaire-author (in terms of US-dollars).

• J.D. Salinger (1919-2010): American author of the young adult classic The Catcher in the Rye.

• Jerry Spinelli (born 1941): Very prolific American author of young adult fare such as Stargirl and Eggs.

• Jonathan Stroud (born 1970): British author, wrote the best-selling Bartimaeus Trilogy amongst other books.

• Cecily von Ziegesar (born 1970): American author of the popular teen novels Gossip Girl.

• Mark Walden (born 197?): British author, wrote the bestselling H.I.V.E (series) series.

• Scott Westerfeld (born 1963): Scott has written books such as the Uglies series which contains the best selling books Uglies Pretties Specials (novel) and Extras (novel). He also wrote So Yesterday (novel) and Peeps (novel) as well as the Midnighters trilogy. So Yesterday won an award for American Library Association 2005 best book for young adults, and Uglies and Peeps (novel) got the 2006 American Library Association best book for young adults award.

• Edward Irving Wortis (pen name Avi; born 1937): American author of critically acclaimed young adult historical fiction, such as Something Upstairs and The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle.

• Paul Zindel (1936-2003): This Pulitzer-Prize winning American author wrote over 40 young adult novels, including The Pigman. His books have sold over 10 million copies and have been translated into languages all over the globe.

• James Patterson (born 1947): This American author has written the famous series "Maximum Ride"

• Cassandra Clare: The American author of the "Mortal Instruments" series.

Edgy content

From its very beginning, young-adult fiction has portrayed teens confronting situations and social issues that have pushed the edge of then-acceptable content. Such novels and their content are sometimes referred to as "edgy."

In particular, authors and publishers have repeatedly pushed the boundaries of what was previously considered acceptable regarding human sexuality. Examples include:

• Paul Zindel's The Pigman (1968) (teen smoking, drinking, pranks, peer pressure)
• Paul Zindel's My Darling, My Hamburger (1969) (a teen's first sexual encounter & abortion)
• Judy Blume's Forever (1975) (a teen's first sexual encounter and contraception)
• Nancy Garden's Annie on My Mind (1982) (two high-school girls who fall in love)
• Shelley Stoehr's Crosses (1991) (self-mutilation)
• Chris Crutcher's Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes (1993) (religion, peer pressure, child abuse, abortion, suicide)
• Melvin Burgess's Junk (US title: Smack (heroin addiction)
• Rob Thomas's Rats Saw God (1996) (drugs, sex)
• David Belbin's Love Lessons (1998) (teacher/student sexual affair)
• Linda Glovach's Beauty Queen (1998) (teenage exotic dancing, threesomes, and heroin addiction)
• Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak (1999) (rape)
• Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower (1999) (suicide, teenage sexuality, drug use, and abusive relationships)
• Sarah Dessen's Dreamland (2000) (emotionally, mentally, and physically abusive relationships)
• Alex Flinn's Breathing Underwater (2001) (emotionally, mentally, and physically abusive relationships)
• Alex Sanchez's Rainbow Boys (2001) (high school boys exploring gay sex, accepting their sexuality, and falling in love)
• Patricia McCormick's Cut (2001) (self-mutilation)
• Alice Hoffman's Green Angel (2003) (self-mutilation)
• Angela Johnson's The First Part Last (2003) (teen fatherhood)
• Julie Anne Peters' Luna (2004) (transsexuality)
• John Green's Looking for Alaska (2005) (Under age drinking, smoking, oral sex, suicide)
• Steve Berman's Vintage: A Ghost Story (2007) (depressed gay boy who deals with suicide and loneliness)
• An Na's The Fold (2008) (plastic surgery, race relations, lesbianism)
• Elizabeth Scott's Living Dead Girl (2008) (kidnapping, rape, oral sex, violence)
• Linda Newbery's The Shell House (2002) (a split narrative, one concerning a homosexual relationship during the First World War, the other in the present day concerning a possible gay relationship between teenage boys)
• KL Going Fat Kid Rules The World (obesity, depression, homelessness, drug addiction, social alienation)
• Jonathan Trigell Boy A (rehabilitation, suicide, abuse, media)
• Joanne Hichens "Stained" (2009) (sexual abuse, teen pregnancy, post-natal depression, drugs, suicide)

YA novels currently in print include content about peer pressure, illness, divorce, drugs, gangs, crime, violence, sexuality, incest, oral sex, and female/male rape. Critics of such content argue that the novels encourage destructive or immoral behavior. Others argue that fictional portrayal of teens successfully addressing difficult situations and confronting social issues helps readers deal with real-life challenges.

Debate continues regarding the amount and nature of violence and profanity appropriate in young-adult fiction.

Hyphens (young adult vs. young-adult)

Recognition of the noun young adult and its punctuation as an adjectival modifier are inconsistent. Some dictionaries recognize young adult as a noun (Random House, 2nd 1987), while others do not (Webster's International, 3rd 2002). When recognized (as by Random House), young adult is treated as an open compound noun, with no hyphen.

When the noun young adult is placed before another noun (such as fiction, novel, author), however, the use of a hyphen varies widely. For example, an Internet search (of the Web or of news articles) using the key words young adult fiction shows widespread inconsistency in hyphenation. Although the Chicago Manual of Style falls short of declaring the omission of the hyphen as grammatically incorrect, it clearly addresses the issue in "Compounds and Hyphenation," sections 7.82-7.86: "When such compounds precede a noun, hyphenation usually makes for easier reading. With the exception of proper nouns (such as United States) and compounds formed by an adverb ending in ly plus an adjective, it is never incorrect to hyphenate adjectival compounds before a noun."(Chicago Manual of Style, 15th Edition 2003, p. 300) The Writer's Digest Grammar Desk Reference is a little more forceful on the subject: "The most complicated business conducted by hyphens is uniting words into adjectival compounds that precede nouns. Many writers neglect to hyphenate such compounds, and the result is ramshackle sentences that often frustrate the reader." (Writer's Digest Grammar Desk Reference 2005, p. 274-275) The Wikipedia Manual of Style also addresses the issue of hyphens for compound adjectives.

Although none of the sources cited above list young adult as an example, each clearly expresses a preference for hyphenating compound modifiers. With that in mind, young adult is a noun (without a hyphen) as defined by Random House. But when the noun young adult precedes another noun, it becomes a compound modifier and warrants a hyphen, as in young-adult fiction, young-adult author, young-adult novel, and so on. Because the sources do not declare the absence of a hyphen as grammatically incorrect, widespread inconsistencies in the punctuation of young adult are likely to continue, either out of ignorance or as conscious choice of style.

Literature

Whether any particular work of fiction qualifies as literature can be disputed. In recent years, however, YA fiction has been increasingly treated as an object of serious study by children's literature critics. A growing number of young-adult-fiction awards recognize outstanding works of fiction for adolescents.

Trends

The category of YA fiction continues to expand into new forms and genres: e-books, graphic novels, light novels, manga, fantasy, mystery fiction, romance novels, even subcategories such as cyberpunk, splatterpunk, techno-thrillers, and contemporary Christian fiction.

Boundaries between children's, YA, and adult fiction

The distinctions between children's literature, YA literature, and adult literature have historically been flexible and loosely defined. This line is often policed by adults who feel strongly about the border.^[6] At the lower end of the YA age spectrum, fiction targeted to readers age 10 to 12 is referred to as middle-grade fiction. Some novels originally marketed to adults have been identified as being of interest and value to adolescents and, in the case of several books such as the Harry Potter novels, vice versa.

References

• John Grossman (2003). Chicago Manual of Style, 15th Edition. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-10403-6.
• Eccleshare, Julia. "Teenage Fiction: Realism, romances, contemporary problem novels". in Peter Hunt, ed.. International Companion Encyclopedia of Children's Literature. London: Routledge. pp. 387–396.
• Egoff, Sheila. "The Problem Novel". in Shiela Egoff, ed.. Only Connect: readings on children's literature (2nd ed.). Ontario: Oxford University Press. pp. 356–369.
• Garland, Sherry (1998). Writing for Young Adults. Cincinnati, OH: Writer's Digest Books. pp. 5–11. ISBN 0-89879-857-4.
• Lutz and Stevenson (2005). "The Hyphen". The Writer's Digest Grammar Desk Reference. Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer's Digest Books. pp. 274–275. ISBN 1-58297-335-0.
• Nilsen, Alleen Pace (April 1994). "That Was Then ... This Is Now". School Library Journal 40 (4): 62–70.
• Stuart Berg Flexner, editor in chief ; Leonore Crary Hauck, managing editor. (1987). Random House Dictionary, 2nd edition. Random House. ISBN 0-394-50050-4.
• ed. in chief Philip Babcock Gove (2002). Webster's Third New International Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. ISBN 0-87779-206-2.
• Kenneth L. Donelson, Alleen Pace Nilsen. (1980). Literature for Today's Young Adults. Scott, Foresman and Company. ISBN 0-673-15165-4.

Other publications

• Authors and Artists for Young Adults, serial publication (Gale, 1989+) with bio-bibliographies of novelists, poets, dramatists, filmmakers, cartoonists, painters, architects, and photographers which appeal to teenagers. Entries typically are six to twelve pages in length, have a black & white photo of the author/artist and other illustrations. Recent volumes include a sidebar recommending similar books/works the reader might like also.
• ALA Best Books for Young Adults^[7] by YALSA, edited by Holly Koelling.
• Books for the Teen Age, annual book list selected by teens for teens, sponsored by the New York Public Library [1]
• More Outstanding Books for the College Bound, by YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association), professional organization for librarians serving teens in either public libraries or school library/media centers; a division of ALA. [2]
• Diana Tixier Herald. (2003) Teen Genreflecting. 2nd ed. Wesport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited.
• Judging a Book by Its Cover: Publishing Trends in Young Adult Literature, by Cat Yampbell, The Lion and the Unicorn; Sep 2005; 29:3; Children's Module, The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp348–372, at p350-351.
• Frances FitzGerald, "The Influence of Anxiety" in Harper's, September 2004, p. 62-70
• Grenby, Matthew. “Introduction.” The Guardian of Education. Bristol: Thoemmes Press, 2002. ISBN 1843710110

See also

• Children's literature
• Children's literature periodicals
• Gay teen fiction
• Lesbian teen fiction
• List of young adult authors
• Young Adult Library Services Association
• Light novel
• List of light novels
• Novella
• Visual novel

Notes

1. ^ Fox, Rose (2008-03-17). "The Narrowing Gulf between YA and Adult". Publishers Weekly. http://www.publishersweekly.com/blog/860000286/post/1610023361.html. Retrieved 2008-09-24.
2. ^ Cruz, Gilbert (2005-03-07). "Teen Playas". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1033923,00.html. Retrieved 2008-09-24.
3. ^ ^{a b c d} Grenby, "Conservative Woman", 155
4. ^ Lamb, Nancy, Crafting Stories for Children. Cincinnati: Writer's Digest Books, p. 24
5. ^ Serjeant, Jill. "Vampires Turn Gentler With Eye Toward Teen Girls", ABC News, August 10, 2009. Accessed August 14, 2009. "Stephenie Meyer's young adult romance novel Twilight has sold some 17 million copies, and fans of shy 17-year-old Bella Swan and outsider vampire Edward Cullen helped the movie bring in $383 million at global box offices."
6. ^ muse.jhu.edu: Children's Literature Association Quarterly
7. ^ Best Books for Young Adults, 3rd ed.

External links

• "Cuss, Curse, or Clean It Up: How much, if any, Profanity to Use in Young-Adult Fiction", by Mike Klaassen, Helium.com, 3 Mar 2007.
• Honor Roll: Young Adult Books. A list ranked by literary honors and awards.
• In defense of mean-girl books, by Lianne George, Macleans, 15 Oct 2007.
• "New Trend in Teen Fiction: Racy Reads; Parents Alarmed that Books are More 'Sex and the City' than Nancy Drew", by Janet Shamlian, NBC News, 15 Aug 2005.
• "Now and Forever: The Power of Sex in Young Adult Literature," by Tanya Lee Stone, VOYA, Feb 2006.
• Michel Martin interviews ALA President Loriene Roy, 19 Jul 2007.
• "Page Burners: Sex and the Teenage Girl; What Goes On Between the Covers Is Now What Goes On Between the Covers of New Fiction Aimed at Young Adults," by Tania Padgett, Newsday, 4 Apr 2006.
• "Racy Reading; Gossip Girl Series is Latest Installment in Provocative Teen Fiction, and It's As Popular As It Is Controversial," by Linda Shrieves, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 Aug 2005.
• "Teens and their Literature are Rocking the Marketplace", Seattle Post Intelligencer, 7 Mar 2007.
• "Teens Reading More Challenging Books", WDBJ-7, 5 May 2007.
• "Violence in Young-Adult Fiction: Acceptable, Beneficial, or Inexcusable?" , by Mike Klaassen, Helium.com, 21 May 2007.
• "Who Says Teens Don't Read?" by Erinn Hutkin, Roanoake Times, 30 Oct 2007.
• "Young Adult Fiction: Wild Things," by Naomi Wolf, The New York Times, 12 Mar 2006.
• "Young-Adult Fiction: What Makes a Great Novel for Boys?" , by Mike Klaassen, Helium.com, 1 Jan 2008.
• A Change In The Weather by Robert Gould, a modern-day fairy tale for young adults.
• The Pearson Prize - Teen Choice Book Award, a FREE contest open to any book appealing to young adults and published in English
• Paul Zindel's Official Website
• Light novel Wiki (Japanese)
• Journals - Middle School Love & War - A book and iPhone eBook by Louise Palanker
• Young Adult eBooks - YA novels and short stories by L. Lee Lowe

Categories: Children's literature | Young adult literature | Young adult novels

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