We need to be more open-minded to Young Adult literature, according to the literary scholar. The way a book is published – as a YA book or a novel for adults – partly determines how it is received. YA literature can be regarded as part of children's literature, which receives less attention and is less highly regarded. ‘That's a shame,’ says Ackermans. ‘It has consequences for the value and canonisation of YA books, and their acceptance in education. In addition, some YA titles demand more from the reader than some adult novels.’
The rise of Young Adult
‘YA literature is a market segment,’ explains the researcher, ‘rather than a genre, like thrillers, fantasy or historical novels.’ It is literature for a specific target group: young people aged 15 and above. YA literature emerged as a category in the Netherlands in 2009, after the concept had spread from the United States. In the Netherlands, the Lemniscaat publishing house began publishing books labelled ‘Young Adult’, and other publishers soon followed.
Ackermans examined the development of YA literature in the Netherlands over the past fifteen years and analysed how various players in the literary landscape deal with YA literature. During that period, bookshops and libraries increasingly started setting up separate sections or shelves for YA literature. A special prize for literature for young people and a Book Week for young people, which did not exist before, were also initiated, and publishers increasingly specialised in YA books.
Declining reading habits
YA literature appeals to young people and can help combat declining reading habits among young people. For example, YA titles are shared en masse on BookTok, and YA books are the best-selling book category worldwide. 'Young people have clearly been given a voice in assigning value and are helping to market books intended for them. They have become ‘prosumers’ who see reading as a lifestyle,' says Ackermans.
Nevertheless, there are still teachers who are reluctant to use YA titles in their teaching practice. ‘My survey of Dutch teachers showed that the majority now allow YA literature on the reading list in the upper years of secondary school. At the same time, there are biases about the literary quality of YA books and there is still a lot of work to be done in terms of their use in the classroom.’ In her thesis, the literary scholar therefore also presents a didactic approach that teachers can use to discuss these books in class. This approach allows pupils to delve deeper into the portrayal of adolescence in YA literature.
Ackermans: ‘YA literature is an extremely interesting cultural phenomenon. YA books are often seen as a bridge between children's literature and adult literature, but they are also worthy of substantive, critical and academic attention in their own right.’