Genre Sundays

Genre Sundays is new meme I am introducing to my blog! 
In this meme i am going to talk about... genres!..LOL.. I bet you caught that. Well genres as in categories of anything- books, movies, music, clothes etc. I will start of with books and work my way to other categories.

I rejected this idea several times in my head, but currently my blog is dying. I've barely done any reviews or posts or anything. So it seemed like a good idea to start it!
Blogging introduced me to a ginormous new dimension of cyberspace. In this dimension i discovered blogging and YA and books and more books and genres! Lots of times i came across themes which puzzled me and later on fascinated me. For instance Steampunk on vvb2, or Dystopia on Parajunkee and so on. 
So i decided i should do a regular feature on these genres i discover...


To begin with I have chosen an extremely popular topic which is the soul of Book Blogging- Young Adult!
I bet you guys know LOADS about the genre, nevertheless i decided to put together a fairly short pot defining it and some history on the topic! Enjoy...



Definition


"Young-adult fiction (often abbreviated as YA) is fiction written for, published for, or marketed to adolescents and young adults, roughly ages 12 to 18.

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. The vast majority of YA stories portray an adolescent as the protagonist, 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. 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 or coming of age novel. 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."

 - Goodreads


Brief History


The first recognition of Young Adult as a distinct group was by Sarah Trimmer in 1802.She introduced the terms "Books for Children" ( under 14) and "Books for Young Persons" (between 14-21) in her self-founded Children's Literature periodical - The Guardian of Education.
Some novels from this time- Oliver Twist, The Count of Monte Cristo, Tom Brown's School Days, Alice in Wonderland, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, Heidi, ..
During the 19th century the Young Adult genre became more individual and cemented.In the stormy sixties the focus was moved onto the under 30's- wherein the YA genre became a more researched topic . Basically the distinction became stronger.In 1950's two very popular YA books were released- The Catcher in the Rye(1951) and Lord of Flies (1954)...
.
The modern classification of YA fiction originated during the 1950's and 60's. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton focused on a group of teens and told a darker and truer side of YA life because it was written by a young adult himself, rather than an adult getting all nostalgic.
During 1970s- the mid 1980s young adult books began approaching more serious topics such as rape, drugs, alcohol, sex, identity, teen pregnancy etc. At this point it was thought that the genre was done for, YA had been covered and exhausted. Turns out they were wrong, during the last few decades this genre has flourished. Today the teen market has became more marketable than any other segment! 
- Wikipedia


List of YA books...


 To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee
The Bell Jar by  Sylvia Path
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Mary Angelou 
The Bluest Eyes by Toni Morrison....
the list can go on, but since this is a fairly popular topic i am going to keep the list short..


What did you think of the meme? 
The genre? 
Do you have anything to add to this? 



Comments

  1. I love 'To kill a mocking bird'. I'd never have thought of it as a young-adult book, though now reading your post, I can see why it may fit into that genre...

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