Young Adult Literature

Young adult (YA) texts are intended for adolescent readers and often involve coming-of-age themes, identity, and the transition from self-focus to forging an identity within society (Daley-Carey, 2017). These stories offer immersive, relevant, accessible opportunities for adolescents to explore a variety of cultures and identities - a critical step in a healthy identity development process. 

YA texts often address issues relevant to identity, including gender, sexuality, morality, race, family relationships, and societal issues in ways that are relatable and engaging for adolescents.  This variety of themes, topics, and issues in YA literature addresses the need for educators to consider how identities are intersectional, and provides adolescents with examples of the myriad of influences that affect identity. 

Research points to the practice of pairing YA texts with classic texts to support identity development via an accessible, relatable, culturally relevant reading experience that allows students to challenge the assumptions offered by classic texts and see themselves in literature (Tatum et al., 2009).

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Articles on YA text selection: 

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• Blog post by Sarah Robertson: Why Incorporate YA Literature into the Classroom? 

• Sample of the eBook by Susan Groenke and Lisa Scherff made available by NCTE: Teaching YA Lit through Differentiated Instruction