1. What is YA lit? 1-24-13 Some possible descriptors:
adolescent lit?
juvenile lit?
teen lit?
popular lit?
What is YA lit?
Some possible descriptors:
Is something YA readers (i.e., ages 12-18) choose to read
Is written from YA perspective (with age-appropriate limitations)
Is written for YA audience
Has YA protagonist
Includes issues relevant to young people
Provides vicarious experiences while revealing realities of life
Sources: Literature for Today’s Young Adults, 6th ed. (Nilsen & Donelson, 2001), Young Adult Literature in the 21st Century (Cole, 2009), Young Adult Literature: Exploration, Evaluation, and Appreciation, 2nd ed. (Bucher & Hinton, 2010)

2. Really Brief History of YA lit
The Outsiders (1967, S. E. Hinton)
The Pigman (1968, Paul Zindel)
Go Ask Alice (1971, anonymous)
ALAN becomes an independent assembly of NCTE (1973)
The Chocolate War (1974, Robert Cormier)
Forever (1975, Judy Blume) …
Harry Potter series ( , J.K. Rowling)
Twilight saga ( , Stephenie Meyer)

3. YA lit genres Contemporary realistic fiction Adventure Mystery Humor
Sports
Science Fiction
Fantasy
Horror
Historical Fiction
Biography
Memoir/Diary
Romance
Poetry
Drama
Short Stories
Comic Books
Graphic Novels
Magazines
Nonfiction
other…?

4. Book Talks
Create book clubs:
5/5/3, 5/4/4, or 4/3/3/3

5. Using YA Lit to teach reading and writing…
Wintergirls, by Laurie Halse Anderson
contemporary realistic fiction (“problem novel”)
Issues: anorexia, death of a friend, dysfunctional families, divorce
Beautiful prose, yet difficult subject
Creative use of textual features
Other books by LHA: Speak, Catalyst, Prom, Twisted, Forge, Chains, Fever 1793

15. How might you use Between Shades of Gray as a whole-class or small-group book?
What other books, or what other kinds of books, might you use in such a unit?
For next week, read some Holocaust-related books if possible. Plan to meet with your book club to discuss possible ways to use YA books in a unit on The Holocaust, a unit on Holocaust literature, or a similar unit.