♥!The Young Adult Book Club!♥ discussion

Hi, my name is Ares Navarro and I am working on my research project for my master's degree. My topic is how contemporary non-fantasy ya literature portrays how teenagers see growing up (as something terrible, positive, to prepare for, to avoid...). And I was wondering if you or someone you know may know about some titles that would fit in the category for me to analyse. I understand it may be too much trouble for you, but just a title or two, or maybe a web were I could find some ideas would help me a lot.
Thank you very much in advance,

Ares

Hi, Ares!
As a fellow Master’s researcher, I hope your research goes well! Let me know when I can read it, as I am already interested.
When thinking about non-fantasy YA books, what comes to my mind is Fitzpatrick’s “My Life Next Door” and maybe Monrril’s “Meant to Be”.
Hope this helps!

Hi Ares!

My realistic YA novel, THE OCEAN IN MY EARS, focuses heavily on a teen’s sense of growing up, the forces and relationships she must navigate, and how she tries to prepare for the great unknown after high school. The novel is set in a small Alaskan town in 1990. I’d be curious if your research reveals any differences between the perceptions of rural versus urban teens.

Rachel Lynn Solomon’s YOU’LL MISS ME WHEN I’M GONE deals a lot with pressures around growing up—and bonus, you get two first-person narratives by a pair of very different twins. Also, there’s an added twist related to illness.

Hope these help! If I think of others, I’ll add. Good luck! Would love to see your final paper.

Meagan