Jeffrey S.

Kaplan

The Research Connection

Young Adult Literature in the 21st Century:

Moving Beyond Traditional Constraints and Conventions

A
t the dawn of the twenty- being transformed by topics and on the cusp of becoming something
first century, young adult themes that years ago would have totally new and unique. Such are
literature looks very never ever been conceived without the articles presented in this
different than it did fifty years ago. someone labeling them ‘daft’ or at research column: a solemn look at
Indeed, fifty years ago, we were least, a little far-fetched and out-of­ the changing face of young adult
just getting started with the likes of touch with everyday reality. literature and where it is going
Salinger’s The Catcher In The Rye Furthermore, writers and scholars from here. Enjoy the ride.
(1951), with Hinton’s The Outsiders alike are challenging the whole
(1967), Zindel’s The Pigman concept of what young adult
Young Adult Science Fiction
(1968), and Cormier’s The Choco­ literature is. Some think the genre
in the Post-human Age
late War (1974) still a gleam in the
eye of their literary creators. We In “Is He Still Human? Are
have a come along way since then, The authors of many You?”: Young Adult Science Fiction
and I suppose, that is why our in the Posthuman Age,” researcher
humble, yet groundbreaking articles say, the world of Elaine Ostry analyzes science
beginnings have yielded a bountiful fiction texts, written for young
harvest of literary works. Today, we young adult literature is adults, which deal with the tenets
face a plethora of young adult being transformed by of our new biotechnology age:
books that represent every conceiv­ cloning, genetic engineering,
able genre and literary style. To be topics and themes that prolongation of life, and neurophar­
sure, we are on the precipice of re­ macology. She discusses how
inventing ourselves because our years ago would have texts—young adult literature
young adult books are constantly in concerned with bioethics—use the
never ever been
search of the new and revealing so possibility of biotechnology as
that more and more young people conceived. metaphors for adolescence.
will find their way to the delectable Specifically, these new engaging
hallways of good and engaging reads. reads for young adults discuss in
Thus, it is intriguing to look at is too limiting for even the most vivid and clarifying detail the ethics
the spate of recent articles on the experienced readers for it delegates implied in the study and practice of
nature of young adult fiction in the good works to a category few, if biotechnology—such as the
twenty-first century. Indeed, as the any, scholars can easily define. And creation of a super class of human
authors of many articles say, the others regard young adult literature beings and the delicate crossing of
world of young adult literature is as something that once was, but is the boundaries between human

11

THE ALAN REVIEW Winter 2005

 realities. The once time honored insists, these are all intriguing
The once time honored “stuff of science fiction novels”— questions and all indicative of how
cloning, genetic engineering, etc.,— much young adult literature has
“stuff of science fiction is now the everyday realities of changed dramatically in the last
young people’s lives. Everything twenty years.
novels”—cloning, genetic from artificially created limbs to The trope that all young adult
engineering, etc.,—is now designer babies is very real for literature has in common is the
today’s adolescents, bringing into search for identity. The dilemma,
the everyday realities of question the eternal question, though, is that in our new post-
“what does it mean to be human?” human age, young people are often
young people’s lives. After all, if biotechnology can questioning not only their emo­
Everything from artificially change the human form and mind, tional identity, but also their
and machines can become a biological identity or just “what
created limbs to designer reasonable part of the human body, does it mean to be conventionally
then the term post-human body or human?” As Ostry points out, in the
babies is very real for “techno-body” is a distinct entity. Replica series by Marilyn Kaye, the
And with the lines crossed between young protagonist Amy is assigned
today’s adolescents,
organic and inorganic, Ostry to write her autobiography in her
bringing into question the asserts, the word “human” may high school English class. Gradu­
never be more challenged, manipu­ ally, Amy begins to realize, though,
eternal question, “what lated or questioned.
Clearly, scientific advances
does it mean to be
have changed the map of young
In the Replica series by
human?” adult literature. Young people on a
quest to define their identity, Ostry Marilyn Kaye, the young
writes, have never become more
and animal, and that age-old soul-searching and desperate. After protagonist Amy is as­
fascination, human and machine. all, if we as a society are altering
Ostry raises a number of startling our definition of what it means to
signed to write her auto­
questions and propositions in be human, we can only begin to biography. . . . she sends
regard to the promulgation of understand the relevance of our
young adult literature which desire to truly understand ourselves off for a birth certificate
examines in full glory the outlines in light of our newfound technol­
of a new and ever stranger adult ogy. Today, thanks to advances in and, to her surprise, finds
world and concludes that most of DNA labeling, we can determine that there is no record of
these contemporary adolescent much of a person before he or she
fictional texts place “nurture above is even born, or created by other her birth. Moreover, her
nature” and promote a safe and means. And most science fiction for
traditional vision of humanity. young adults attempts to mediate file at school is empty.
Still, danger lurks. As Ostry the post-human age to young
Only the discovery of a
writes, the potential of biotechnol­ audiences. What are the pros and
ogy to change human form is ever cons of cloning? Of what value is baby bracelet that reads
present in young adult literature the human versus the new, “im­
that recently has seen science proved” human? And how can “Amy #7” provides her
fiction come to life. What their young people really know what it
with a clue about her odd
parents and grandparents had always means to be fully alive if all they
thought of as science fiction, says know are people who have been birth: she is a clone.
Ostry, are now realities or possible genetically engineered? As Ostry

12

THE ALAN REVIEW Winter 2005

how little she knows about herself every single cell of my counterfeit
and her family. With little help If being human means body” (Shusterman, pg. 61).
from absent parents, she sends off Fears about the new biotech­
for a birth certificate and, to her feeling emotion, nology generated world permeate
surprise, finds that there is no new young adult literature. As
record of her birth. Moreover, her continues Ostry, then Ostry writes, the linkage between
file at school is empty. Only the losing control over one’s human being and machine is
discovery of a baby bracelet that always called into question.
reads “Amy #7” provides her with a emotions or having them Inevitably, the question arises: Are
clue about her odd birth: she is a we developing a race of super
clone. Amy is stunned, and the controlled for you, puts humans? There is a striking
ramifications are many in her example of genetics creating a class
one’s humanity in direct
desperate search to find her true system of super humans in The Last
identity. Likewise, teenagers Mike confrontation with the Book in the Universe by Rodman
and Angel team up in Nicole Philbrick. In this provocative read,
Luiken’s Violet Eyes to figure out concept of human the world is divided into “normals”
why they have so much in com­ and “proovs” The proovs are
freedom.
mon. To their horror, they discover genetically improved people, who
that what they think to be true is live in Eden, the only place where
not. They are living in the year mental science” (Regeneration, p. blue sky and green grass are found.
2098, not 1987 as they suspect. 140). And in Carol Matas’ Cloning The normals live in the Urbs,
Moreover, they are a new subspe­ Miranda, young Miranda learns not concrete jungles of violence and
cies of human, Homo sapiens only that she is a clone of a dead poverty. The narrator, Spaz, is even
renascentia, thanks to the injection sister, but also her parents have had less than a normal; as an epileptic,
of “Renaissance” genes that make another clone made so that she he is a “Deef,” or defective.
them exceptional. would always have perfect matches Philbrick’s work is the inevitable
Other examples of young adults for her transplants. Understandably, conflict that arises when two
finding their true identities in a Miranda is angry with her parents human beings compete for superior
post-human age abound in young for their implicit deceptiveness and status. In the end, no one wins.
adult literature. As Ostry indicates, does not forgive them easily. If being human means feeling
in Neal Shusterman’s The Dark Side To be sure, these stories are emotion, continues Ostry, then
of Nowhere, Jason’s father tells him wild and fanciful in design, but losing control over one’s emotions
that they are actually aliens who they all, according to Ostry, have or having them controlled for you,
have taken over the genetic struc­ one primary element in common; puts one’s humanity in direct
ture of previous inhabitants of the the young adults in these books feel confrontation with the concept of
town. In the Regeneration series by estranged not just from their human freedom. Books using
L. J. Singleton, young Allison, a parents and from the society that neuropharmacology, as Ostry
genetically designed baby, blames would likely shun them, but from writes, exploit this idea. Upon
her distant relationship with her themselves as well. They feel that reaching puberty, the young adults
parents on her origins—she they are not real because they are in Lois Lowry’s The Giver must take
wonders was there something clones—or otherwise, genetically a pill that suppresses sexual
genetic in her clone DNA that made engineered. “To find out your that desires. Jonas, the story’s protago­
her troubled and distant from her your life is a lie is one thing, but to nist, is uncomfortable with this
family and friends? Or, as her find out that your own face doesn’t ruling, and secretly stops taking
fellow experimentee Varina says, even belong to you,” says Jason this pill. Suddenly, Jonas discovers
am I a troubled kid because “I angrily in Shusterman’s The Dark that all emotions become height­
wasn’t the product of two loving Side of Nowhere, is to realize that ened. Similarly, the female leaders
parents, but the result of experi- you are living a disguise, “down to in Kathryn Lasky’s Star Split stop

13

THE ALAN REVIEW Winter 2005

 taking the substance that calms posed to be arrested by another human values and human nature
their emotions. In Peter Dickinson’s drug at the age desired, but, will prevail no matter what changes
Eva, a mother’s concern for her unfortunately, the first person to try the human body endures. These
daughter’s happiness is answered this medical wonder pill crumbles values are what literature—and the
by a doctor’s order for a “microshot into dust. Only the young protago­ adult world in general—attempt to
of endorphin” (Dickinson, p. 10), as nists Melly and Anny Beth ulti­ inculcate in young people. Still,
if mere chemicals could alter mately survive the experiment as Ostry insists, for the most part
happiness. And in Philbrick’s The all others choose suicide or dwell in young adult writers are playing it
Last Book in the Universe, the severe depression. Similarly, in safe because inevitably, the real
human mind is completely medi­ world is highly more complicated.
ated by chemically induced sights The future of science and the body
and emotions. As Ostry finishes, al­ is much less certain, Ostry asserts,
This new reality, Ostry insists, than most young adult novels
is becoming more and more real to
though these post mod­ would have you believe. No one
young adults as the world outside ern writers may push the knows for sure what the personality
their classroom door becomes more of a clone would be like. Free will
science fact than science fiction. envelope in young adult itself may be a combination of
And this new reality lends a new genetic factors, yet these possibili­
breadth and depth to young adult literature in the subject ties, writes Ostry, are too compli­
literature that heretofore, has only matter and grotesque cated and radical for the typical
existed in the realm of fantasy. writer for young adults today. They
Most of the characters in these imagery, most of these stray from the perceived notion in
post-human science fiction books young adult literature of the need to
for young adults, writes Ostry, face writers play it very safe by provide a clear moral structure and
choices that determines the level of a hopeful, if not happy, ending. For,
showing the post-human
their humanity. The young protago­ as Ostry finishes, although these
nists display a considerable energy body as comfortingly post modern writers may push the
and wit in their defense of human­ envelope in young adult literature
ity. They label themselves as familiar—something which in the subject matter and grotesque
human, using the standards of imagery, most of these writers play
may be as far from the
morality set by the liberal humanist it very safe by showing the post-
model. They recognize the human­ truth as can possibly be human body as comfortingly
ity of others, tolerating others’ familiar—something which may be
weaknesses and rejecting the imagined. as far from the truth as can possibly
supremacy of the post-human body. be imagined. This is the world
In these books, Ostry under­ Frank Bonham’s The Forever Ostry dares to paint.
scores, scientists are seen as Formula the aged “gummies” or old
fallible. In Marilyn Kaye’s Amy, people without teeth and wit, suffer Stretching the Boundaries
young Amy’s adoptive mother from malaise and beg to play
and Blurring the Lines of
Nancy says that she thought that by “suicide bingo.” And the positive
Young Adult Genre
engaging in scientific experimenta­ characters in Nancy Farmer’s The
tion with her daughter that she was House of Scorpion are disgusted by In “Stretching the Boundaries
doing something pure and noble the old men who prolong their lives and Blurring the Lines of Genre,”
and good. Instead, they learned past the age of 150 years by means authors Lester Laminack and
how dangerous playing with human of continual implants from clones. Barbara Bell focus on the confusion
life forms could really be. In The message that these books regarding the term “genre” and
Margaret Peterson Haddix’s Turn­ give to young readers, Ostry attempt to define and stretch its
about, the unaging drug is sup­ concludes, is a reassuring one: boundaries. According to Laminack

14

THE ALAN REVIEW Winter 2005

and Bell, genre is typically defined In Claire Ewart’s The Giant, a family must cope with larger-than­
as a way of organizing or categoriz­ young girl tells in a first-person life questions as their father faces
ing literature, “a way to group narrative about the loss of her the impending American revolu­
books with similar style, form, or beloved mother. Though she and tionary war and they must decide
content “ (Laminack and Bell, p. her father have the farm chores to what actions they should take in
248). Yet, in today’s diversified and keep them busy, the young girl his absence and in his defense.
multicultural world of varied continues to look for the “giants” Central to the novel is the potential
dimensions and rationalities, the that her mother told her daughter strength of the human spirit to
lines, as said, between and among would always look after her. All conquer all odds. Yet, although this
genres often become blurred, through the seasons, from planting biography-like novel is actually
calling for a re-examination of what to harvest, she searches for evi­ historical fiction, it is based on true
is meant by the young adult genre. dence of her giant—only to dis­ information and reads like the
In particular, Laminack and Bell cover him in the face of her father. biography of the family of Patrick
point to the continued popularity of Illustrated handsomely by the Henry. Clearly, this can only
memoir as a popular genre in books author, the reader is left with a confuse the uninformed reader.
for children and adults. But, can it vivid portrait of an endearing loss Finally, Maria Testa’s Almost
really be called memoir? and love, but still confused if the Forever is beautifully written lyrical
Memoir books, typically, tell of story is an account of her real life novel told from the six-year-old
a specific moment or brief span of loss or a beautiful fantasy of what daughter’s perspective. It is the
time in the writer’s life. Many might be. Again, is this poetry, moving story of one family’s
times, Laminack and Bell stress, narrative, memoir, or just a lush experience when the father is sent
these books are written in the first and rich children’s bedtime story? to Vietnam for a year during the
person, and the matter recounts the Ann Rinaldi is known for Vietnam War. The young girl
events by reflecting on what has historical fiction. This, in and of believes her father shouldn’t have
long passed. Stories written as first- itself, is a mixed bag—because the gone to war because he is a doctor
person narratives, Laminack and reader is left wondering—did this and doctors don’t fight, they heal.
Bell continue, can share these really happen, or is the author She fears that her father will simply
qualities, allowing them to assume inventing this for pure dramatic disappear from her life, especially
a “memoir-like” feel. And unless, effect? In one of her latest works, when the letters stop coming. Told
as the authors note, the author of Or Give Me Death: A Novel of in haunting poetic language, the
the memoir specifically says that Patrick Henry’s Family, Rinaldi asks author evokes a mood that is both
the book is a “memoir of real life the central question, “when do you real and dreamy. The reader
events,” the reader may not be able tell the truth and when do you lie?” experiences the emotions of the
to determine whether or not the Do you lie to protect someone? Is it child, yet simultaneously, longs to
events actually occurred in the life wrong to keep a secret, when, if know how much is the author’s
of the writer. you tell, someone gets hurt? life, how much is written to evoke a
This confusing dilemma These profound and eternal mood, and how much is simply a
manifests itself in a few recent questions are at the heart of this well-constructed poem? Granted,
works, most notably, Claire Ewart’s historical novel about the family the effect is the same, but again,
The Giant, Ann Rinaldi’s Or Give members of Revolutionary War the work becomes difficult to classify.
Me Death: A Novel of Patrick hero, Patrick Henry, who must These examples, write Laminack
Henry’s Family, and Maria Testa’s wrestle with a host of family and Bell, are but a few of the many
Almost Forever. Each book illus­ problems—each of whom must face works designed for young adults
trates how blurred the distinction a test in her young life as they where the genres are blurred, the
between true-to-life memoir and struggle to bring a new nation to distinctions many, and the story
creative fictional license can the birthplace of freedom. With a painfully true—on many levels.
become distinctly and unintention­ mother prone to madness and an And as Laminack and Bell contend,
ally blurred. absentee father, Patrick Henry’s in a day and age where young

15

THE ALAN REVIEW Winter 2005

 people are becoming more and of this dramatic shift in world affairs.
more sophisticated about the ways The apparent need to Bean and Moni begin their
of the world, they increasingly need intriguing look at the changing
to know what is fiction and what is shape a different critical nature of critical theory and young
fact. No longer content to accept adult literature by first examining
the world as it is, young people
look at young adult litera­ the many theories of identity
hunger for readily identifiable ture, insist Bean and development prevalent in literary
markers so they can explore and circles. Enlightened views of
define their ever-changing and cyber- Moni, is driven by, of all identity development, as Bean and
reaching universe. Truly, the lines are Moni write, are based on the
blurred as we enter the 21st century. things, dramatic world somewhat fixed social structures
changes. The world glo­ and actions of class differences.
Exploring Identity Con­ The “enlightened myth” of the
struction in Contemporary balization of markets, rugged individualist struggling to
Young Adult Fiction get ahead in society has been the
they underscore, has predominant social and literary
Finally, in “Developing Stu­ theory of the modern age. Bean and
resulted in the challeng­
dents’ Critical Litearcy: Exploring Moni, however, conclude that in
Identity Construction in Young ing of long-established recent years, this rugged individual­
Adult Fiction,” authors Thomas W. ist stance has been challenged by a
Bean and Karen Moni challenge ideologies and values postmodern view, almost Marxist in
how young adult literature is its orientation, that says that power
related to the traditional
traditionally read and taught in is the driving force in shaping
most secondary classrooms. As ideals of work and family. identity. Furthermore, Bean and
Bean and Moni state, most adoles­ Moni argue, even this proposition
cent readers view characters in has been somewhat challenged by
young adult novels as living and texts they are reading, and how cultural theorists who argue that
wrestling with real problems close such constructions compare with the quest for power has been
to their own life experiences as their own attempts to form their successfully supplanted by consum­
teenagers. At the center of all these identities. erism. “We now live in a world
themes are questions of character The apparent need to shape a dominated by consumer, multina­
and identity and values. They argue different critical look at young adult tional or global capitalism, and the
that an alternative way of looking literature, insist Bean and Moni, is older theoretical models that we
at these novels, and perhaps, a driven by, of all things, dramatic relied on to critique established
more engaging technique in a world changes. The world global­ systems no longer apply”
postmodern world, is an explora­ ization of markets, they underscore, (Mansfield, p. 163).
tion through a critical literacy has resulted in the challenging of Urban teens navigate through
framework. Bean and Moni argue long-established ideologies and shopping malls, train stations,
that a critical stance in the class­ values related to the traditional airports, freeways, and the Internet.
room empowers students to ideals of work and family. In a As Beam and Moni write, these
consider “what choices have been world of constant movement and fluid spaces are disorienting,
made in the creation of the text” flow, media images of advertising dehumanizing any fixed sense of
(Janks and Ivanic, 1992, p. 316). and commerce seep into our lives place, and subsequently, this
Their argument is that, through and strongly influence identity feeling of emptiness and displace­
discussion of such choices, young development. Hence, young adult ment spills over into adolescents’
adults may also better understand literature and our interpretation of interior worlds. Institutions like
how they, as teenagers, are being it as a genre of literary study have family, schools, and communities
constructed as adolescents in the been profoundly altered as a result are being replaced by malls, tele­

16

THE ALAN REVIEW Winter 2005

vision, and cyberspace. Identity in Moni, is spent in “non-places,”— ing thing, but as a machine with
these contemporary worlds, writes like the mall and cyberspace. moving parts capable of transform­
Bean and Moni, is constructed Moreover, assert Bean and ing their temporary world into an
through the consumption of goods Moni, the places in which teenagers ever-engaging ethereal world. The
with selfhood vested in things. And dwell are sanitized and kept free of novel becomes, thus, a vehicle for
because these worlds are ephemeral the poor. Thus, for many young transformative change, and not just
and ethereal, feelings of panic and people, their displacement as a search for identity.
anxiety flow into teens’ lives. marginalized members of society is True, there is nothing dramati­
The question for Bean and only aggravated by the increasingly cally new here. As Bean and Moni
Moni is that, given this postmodern complex and global world of assert, critical analysis of novels
world of convenience and tran­ market-driven consumerism. This, has long been a staple of literary
sience, how do young people find as Bean and Moni insist, might critics. Yet, what makes Critical
themselves? For if traditional seem miles away from the world of Discourse Analysis so vital to
avenues of self-expression are no young adult literature, but they today’s young adults is that the
longer valid—home, school, conclude, its influence cannot be context in which they live their
church, etc.,—how do young denied. Literacy, they write, especially lives—electronically, globally, and
people find who they are if they through multicultural young adult instantly—makes this an even more
live in seemingly rootless social novels, provides a forum upon imperative approach to understand­
world? In essence, write Bean and which teenagers can build cosmo­ ing who they are in their search for
Moni, youths no longer live life as a politan worldviews and identities. personal and spiritual identity.
journey toward the future but as a In today’s times, teenagers do Asking questions about the novel
condition. Young people today live everything on the run. Hence, this itself—where does the novel come
in two different worlds—the world new dynamic—true, always present from? What social function does the
of home and school and the world in the lives of young adults since novel serve? How does the adult
of culture and commerce. Although the end of the second World War, author construct the world of
in America this has been always but now ever heightened by adolescence in the novel? Who is
been true, today, Bean and Moni modern technology—governs their the ideal reader of the novel? Who
insist, this chasm between confor­ lives. So, this new life-force of gets to speak and have a voice in
mity and modernity is ever more power shaped by social forces this novel—and who doesn’t? How
present due to the conflicting social beyond traditional boundaries, as else might these characters’ stories
arena in which most teenagers live. Bean and Moni underscore, de­ be told? And these characters
Bean and Moni focus in on life mands a new language to interpret inhabit certain places and spaces
for the urban Australian teenager in what students are reading, and where they construct their identi­
their discussion of the aimlessness more importantly, how they inter­ ties. What alternative places and
of today’s youth, but their observa­ pret what they read. The language spaces could be sites for construct­
tion can apply most anywhere. is embedded in a new dialogue for ing identity?
Young people face a world where literary interpretation called Critical These intriguing questions are
unskilled laborers rarely can find Discourse Analysis (CDA). different from the standard fare of
meaningful work. Instead, in a CDA asks the reader to look at asking students if they identify with
postmodern world where the the novel as a novel, and not just a the characters in the story and why.
stability of life as a factory worker work in which to identify with the They presuppose that students are
as experienced by their working lead characters. In a new sophisticated enough to look at a
class parents or life in a town postmodern age, where cyberspace novel as an object in a given time
where everybody grows up and is often more important than “real” and place, filled with all settings
nobody leaves, has been replaced space, readers are asked to look at a and vagaries of the particular time
by a life of constant change and novel in much the same way that a frame in which the novel occurs.
uncertainty. Much of contemporary contemporary teen would look at a They also assume that young
teenagers day, write Bean and computer—not as a living, breath­ people can examine a work of art

17

THE ALAN REVIEW Winter 2005

 as both a thing of feeling and a the young adult novel is still Hinton, S. E. The Outsiders. New York:
thing of context. To be sure, this is growing and becoming, and that Viking Press, 1967.
Kaye, Marilyn. Amy, Number Seven.
no easy task, but as Bean and Moni the teenage angst expressed so well
(Replica Series). New York: Bantam
assert, in today’s contemporary in The Catcher in the Rye, The Books, 1998.
world of ever changing dynamics Outsiders, The Pigman and The Kaye, Marilyn. Another Amy. (Replica
and global constructs, of techno­ Chocolate War is still present, but Series). New York: Bantam Books,
logical marvels and instantaneous just manifested in a world these 1999.
authors could never imagine. For Kaye, Marilyn. Pursuing Amy (Replica
gratification, and of changing
Series). New York; Bantam Books,
lifestyles and alternative world imagine, if you will, would Holden
1998.
views, perhaps, it is time that the Caulfield have been a different Laminack, Lester L., and Bell, Barbara H.
young adult novel be analyzed in a person with a computer? I wonder. (2004). “Stretching the Boundaries and
new light. Perhaps, young people Blurring the Lines of Genre.” Language
can see art for what it is—a reflec­ Jeffrey S. Kaplan is Associate Arts. 81,3 (2004): 248-264.
Professor of Educational Studies in the Lasky, Kathryn. Star Split. New York:
tion of the times in which we live.
Hyperion, 2001.
College of Education, University of
Lowry, Lois. The Giver. New York: Bantam
Central Florida, Orlando and Daytona
Conclusion Doubleday Dell, 1993.
Beach campuses. His most recent Luiken, Nicole. Silver Eyes. New York:
These three articles all have works include serving as editor of a Simon Pulse, 2001.
something in common. They six-volume series of books entitled Mansfield, N. Subjectivity: Theories of the
underscore that the outside world Teen Life Around the World (Green­ Self from Freud to Haraway. St.
in which young people spend most wood Publishing, 2003), a nonfiction Leonards, NSW, Australia: Allen &
account of the life of a typical Unwin, 2000.
of their waking hours is different
teenager in a foreign country, and Matas, Carol. Cloning Miranda. Toronto:
from the world inhabited by most Scholastic Canada, 1999.
Using Literature to Help Troubled
protagonists in young adult novels. Matas, Carol. The Second Clone. Toronto:
Teenagers Cope with Identity Issues
Yes, the dilemmas, as these re­ Scholastic Canada, 2001.
(Greenwood Publishing, 1999). Write
searchers insist, are the same, but Ostry, Elaine. “Is He Still Human? Are You?
or email Dr. Kaplan in the Depart­
the dynamics of their own lives— Young Adult Science Fiction in the
ment of Educational Studies, College Posthuman Age.” Lion & the Unicorn,
the lives of the teenagers who are of Education, University of Central 28,2 (2004): 222-247.
reading these good works—have Florida, Orlando, Florida 32816, Philbrick, Rodman. The Last Book in the
dramatically changed. Today’s [email protected]. Universe. New York: Scholastic, 2000.
young people are the generation Rinaldi, Ann. Or Give Me Death: A Novel
who live truly in a new and References of Patrick Henry’s Family. Orlando, FL:
Bean, Thomas W., and Moni, Karen. Harcourt, 2003.
alternative universe. Technology
“Developing Students’ Critical Theory: Salinger, J. D. The Catcher In the Rye.
has made it possible for them to Boston: Little Brown, 1951.
Exploring Identity Construction in Young
communicate with people around Adult Fiction.” Journal of Adolescent Shusterman, Neal. The Dark Side of
the world in the blink of an eye, and Adult Literacy. 46,8 (2003): 638­ Nowhere. New York: Tom Doherty
and to gratify their every wish— 649. Associates, 1997.
from musical taste to hidden Bonham, Frank. The Mortal Instruments. Singleton, L. J. The Killer. (Regeneration
New York: Holiday House, 1979. series). New York: Berkley Books, 2001.
desire—with the flick of a switch or
Cormier, Robert. The Chocolate War: A Singleton, L. J. Regeneration. (Regenera­
the move of a mouse. tion series). New York: Berkley Books,
Novel. New York: Pantheon Books,
This new normal, the world of 1974. 2000.
cyberspace and cloning, of blurred Dickinson, Peter. Eva. New York: Bantam Singleton, L. J. The Search. (Regeneration
genres and conventions, and of Doubleday Dell, 1988. series). New York: Berkley Books, 2000.
Ewart, Claire, ill. The Giant. New York: Singleton, L. J. The Truth. (Regeneration
critical discourse and contextual
Walker, 2003. series). New York: Berkley Books, 2000.
analysis, is what drives young adult Testa, Maria. Almost Forever. Cambridge,
Farmer, Nancy. The House of Scorpion.
literature in a new and specialized New York: Simon and Schuster, 2002. MA: Candlewick Press, 2003.
arena of complex thought and Haddix, Margaret Peterson. Turnabout. Zindel, Paul. The Pigman: A Novel. New
ideas. What this portends is that New York: Aladdin, 2002. York: Harper and Row, 1968.

18

THE ALAN REVIEW Winter 2005