The History of YA Fantasy in Young Adult Literature

The History of Fantasy in Young Adult Literature

    Young adult literature as a category in itself came about as a result of response to a

 “national crisis” where the numbers of young adult readers was dropping between 1982

and 2002. Reading programs for young adults started popping up all over the nation, 

rewarding the young people who would participate in them. It was during this time period

 that J. K. Rowling had released her Harry Potter series, causing an increase in teen

readers.

    There has been an argument that young adult literature as a category originally began with the creation of books such as Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, which were written for the young adult peasant. These books are now placed into a group known as the classics. However, the first novel written and produced specifically for teenagers was Maureen Daly’s Seventeenth Summer.

    Fantasy became popular within the last few years. YA Fantasy is one in which the characters are of the ages 13 and 18, and the plot lines focus on teenage experiences. “YA Fantasy is identified by the characters and issues, rather than by the setting or situation” (magicwriter, n.d.) YA fantasy does include sub-genres such as urban fantasy and portal fantasy.

YA Fantasy Themes

    Typical YA Fantasy contains the following themes:

COMING OF AGE which involves dealing with issues that come about as part of daily life during the transition period from childhood to adulthood. This can involve getting a job, development of magical powers or skills, growth as an individual, and the realization that the world is not black and white.

SCHOOL/TRAINING takes place in school settings and training institutions, or involves internships or first jobs. The theme deals with learning experiences and how teenagers enter the adult world.

LOVE/ROMANCE can be considered as a major part of YA fantasy. It is often in these types of novels that the character first experiences the feeling of romantic love and the emotions and confusion that comes with it. There are two sides to romantic love, physical and emotional. Novels that are geared towards younger readers focus more on the emotional while those that appeal towards older readers may include more physical situations.

INDEPENDENCE is another key theme presented in YA fantasy. Often there are situations in which the character either does not have access to an adult for advice or is encouraged to make his or her own decisions.

DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILIES

    The character may not have a healthy home life and this could be because of the presence of abusive adults or the lack of the presence of adults, figuratively speaking. The families may also not be “traditional” in the sense that the character may be caught between two different households or have a broken relationship with his or her family. The character often has to find a way to deal with these problems and overcome them in order to have a successful transition to adulthood.

MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES

    Many complex themes such as peer pressure, bullying, drug abuse, etc. may be presented as part of YA fantasy and YA fantasy novels provide an inside look in how characters deal with these issues.

ADVENTURE/QUEST

     The hero or heroine often goes on an adventure, or has a goal or quest to complete. They meet people along the way who help them in their journey. YA fantasy focuses mainly on the plot, and the point of the journey is for the character to develop and evolve into the person they will become.

References
magicwriter. (n.d). What is young adult fantasy?. [Blog post]. MAGIC WRITER. Retrieved from https://magicwriter.co.uk/young-adult-fantasy/