The diverse world of young adult fiction


Hope Brotherton delves into the diverse world of young adult fiction

Fiction is a microcosm. It's a form of escapism. During my thirteenth year, my dad was hospitalised, an illness for which he still feels the repercussions of today. At the time, I found my safe place in fiction. I opened Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and immersed myself in this teen fantasy. I had followed Harry from day one, but never did a make-believe world appeal to me more. It helped make daily tasks easier, but it also made me feel safe and warm, it made me feel normal. This is the trait of Young adult (YA) fiction.


Now, a decade later I still have an overwhelming appreciation of YA literature and the number of life lessons its authors have bestowed upon me. Malorie Blackman's, The Noughts and Crosses saga taught me to appreciate multiculturalism from a young age. John Green's first novel, Looking for Alaska, taught me how to grieve. So, it is with a sense of shame that I make the next statement. I shied away from having any knowledge of YA for fear of reprimand by my peers – for fear of being the girl who read. 

But, I've come to realise that I'm not the only adult drawn into this genre of fiction. Eleanor Ford, a 33-year-old civil servant, says she was sucked into the YA genre by fantasy fiction such as Eragon and Twilight. Eleanor says, "Every time I tried looking for that genre [fantasy] in the adult fiction section in libraries the book covers would feature half naked ladies on them, so it put me off."

Typically, the YA market caters for readers aged between 12 and 18. This age range is mirrored through the protagonists within them, as the story is often told through the teen's perspective. Despite this six-year age gap, YA fiction often deals with emotional topics including: drugs, sex, gender issues, bullying, parental divorce and terminal cancer

These emotional stakes have driven the genre to become a progressive melting pot. However, despite such an age banding. The genre also pulls in adult readers, such as Eleanor who has now expanded her scope of YA literature. She says, "I've started reading more contemporary fiction."

Contemporary fiction is comparable to that of Modern Art. They are ultimately novels which take place in the current time period. This trendy genre is a YA must and has been popularised by social media platform, Youtube. The online subset of Youtube, Booktube, is a safe and warm space where book lovers can unite and share their bookish musings. 

                                                How do I know? 


                                               I was one of them



My own channel, never grew to the success of Booktubers such as Booksandquills, Missxrojas and Ariel Bissett . But, it still gave me this area of freedom to be who I was – a bookworm finding her way during some turbulent teenage years. This community is one that has grown immensely since it's first emergence on the video hosting site some ten years ago and it's not just me that thinks this, the facts speak for themselves: 

In 2002 only 4,700 Young adult books were published

But, in 2012 this figure rose to 10,000 and it continues to climb...

Statistics courtesy of the Young Adult Library Association


                            Authors and Their Insight

The continued growth of YA literature, certainly proves the audience need for a more diverse landscape with a range of characters from socially progressive backgrounds, ethnicities and sexual orientation. While Eleanor does sometimes dip into the adult chick lit genre she still finds herself returning to the world of YA, as do I. And, we are not alone in our quest for dimensional and relate-able characters. 

A staggering 70% of all YA titles are purchased by adults aged between 18 and 64, of which a further 55% of those purchasing are between the 33 to 44 bracket. There is an obvious expectation that some of these consumers are parents or even grandparents purchasing on someone else's behalf, but despite such a notion many adults are in fact actively seeking out YA literature for their own enjoyment. 

The statistics aren't the only case in point, many YA authors  believe that the adult fiction market could do more to cater for its audiences. Lauren James, author of The Next Together agrees as she notes that there is not enough diversity in adult fiction. Lauren believes,

"Adult literary circles are not as much part of the cultural conversation as young adult and children's literature."

Likewise author of critically acclaimed Solitaire and Radio Silence, Alice Oseman, certainly fits into this category. Alice says, "I write young adult fiction and don't read much adult fiction." Alice has also spread her musinsg onto the Youtube community – a place where she can directly communicate with her fans and fellow book-lovers. She is also setting the bar high with her online graphic novel mini series and tumblr page which adds to that ultimate audience interaction. Could this be the difference between YA and adult literature, the immersive and supportive community that YA fiction successfully establishes? It's certainly part of the ongoing debate. 


                           The Publisher's Problem?

Lauren is just one author of many authors who believes that adult fiction can learn a thing or two from the YA genre, “I hope that the success of diverse titles like The Hate U Give, which debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list will show adult publishers that there is a market for these kind of titles, that diversity is not a niche topic, that there is a hungry, eager audience waiting for these types of books.”

Alice also agrees with such a statement, "Young adult fiction does great work in championing diversity and no doubt all other areas of literature could take inspiration from that. YA has headed up campaigns such as, We Need Diverse Books and #ownvoices and I've seen no equivalence of that in the adult fiction world."

Ownvoices is a hashtag which first surfaced on the 6 September 2015 by renowned Dutch author Corinne Duyvis. First and foremost, Corinne is also the co-founder of Disability in kid lit, a scheme which thoughtfully portrays disabilities in novels aimed at children and young adults. 

The hashtag ownvoices, however, is what Corinne refers to as an “Easy shorthand for a necessary concept.” It can be used for any diverse identity, but the protagonist and author must be from a marginalised identity. Questions, recommendations and discussions are encouraged within this twitter community, but there is a general acceptance that views will be self-moderated by this group. 

It is true that YA genre has a dedicated fanbase as proven by other organisations such as Nerfighteria (a Youtube community which aims to reduce "World suck" and unite "Nerds"to bring about a positive change in the world). Another YA organisation that's doing it's bit is The Harry Potter Alliance (a scheme that turns fans into heroes in the fight for equality, human rights and literacy). However, this genre could also do with further industry improvement. "There is always room for progression," states Alice. She believes that ownvoices authors should be supported and highlighted much more than they currently are and publishers should employ with the aim of being more diverse.

Lauren, however, thinks there is a danger that publishers will see diversity as a trend like that of the dystopian genre, which as a book craze has come to its end with the likes of the Hunger Games and the Divergent Series throwing in the gauntlet. Lauren's concern is a fair one, her worry is that publishers will view diverse characters as a tick sheet. One transgender protagonist maybe enough and thus the publisher's search for more will come to an end rather than considering diversity as an on-going and ever developing requirement for fiction. Already an advocate for diverse fiction, she has expressed her views explicitly on her blog.

She also believes that much more work could be done on awards, like the recent Carnegie nominations, which can tend to be "Very white still." The Carnegie Medal is a prestigious literary award acknowledging outstanding works of literature in the young adult and children's genre. But, can be dominated by contemporary white literature.   

She goes on to say that the publishing industry is still very white and while some work is being done to progress this area, there needs to be a greater effort being made to make sure that not only are writers #ownvoices, but editors too.  

Now, as a confident and comfortable 23-year-old this women who likes to read is certainly proud to say I read YA, buy she also thinks that adult publishers, authors and editors could do more, because who wants another boy meets girl romance? Not me.