The Other Side of Dark: The World of YA Dystopian Literature Linda Gann, University of North Carolina, Greensboro and Karen Gavigan, University of South Carolina Dystopian titles on the Printz and YALSA Lists Year 2001 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 (* indicates title is part of a series) Title The Last Book in the Universe (Philbrick, 2000) Feed (Anderson, 2002) House of the Scorpion (Farmer, 2002) How I Live Now (Rosoff, 2004) Black Juice (Lanagan, 2005) The Diary of Pelly D.* (Adlington, 2005) Siberia: a Novel (Halam, 2005) Uglies* (Westerfeld, 2005) Life as We Knew It* (Pfeffer, 2006) Bloodsong* (Burgess, 2007) Firestorm* (Klass, 2007) Unwind* (Shusterman, 2007) The Compound (Bodeen, 2008) The Hunger Games* (Collins, 2008) Little Brother (Doctorow, 2008) Catching Fire* (Collins, 2009) The Forest of Hands and Teeth* (Ryan, 2009) Birthmarked* (O’Brien, 2010) Fever Crumb* (Reeve, 2009) Incarceron* (Fisher, 2010) Lies* (Grant, 2010) Matched* (Condie, 2010) The Maze Runner* (Dashner, 2009) Mockingjay* (Collins, 2010) Rot and Ruin* (Maberry, 2010) Ship Breaker* (Bacigalupi, 2010) The Dark City* (Fisher, 2011) Delirium* (Oliver, 2011) Divergent* (Roth, 2011) Enclave* (Aguirre, 2011) Legend* (Lu, 2011) Prized* (O’Brien, 2011) Wither* (DeStefano, 2011) Ashes* (Bick, 2011) Don’t Turn Around* (Gagnon, 2012) The Drowned Cities* (Bacigalupi, 2012) Glow* (Ryan, 2011) The Immortal Rules* (Kagawa, 2012) Insignia* (Kincaid, 2012) Monument 14* (Laybourne, 2012) No Safety in Numbers* (Lorentz, 2012) The Pledge* (Derting, 2011) Starters* (Price, 2012) This is Not a Test (Summers, 2012) Under the Never Sky* (Rossi, 2012) Gann & Gavigan, 2013 11/7/13 AASL Conference 2013 Dr. Linda Gann – University of North Carolina-Greensboro Dr. Karen Gavigan – University of South Carolina ¡ “Literature that is the opposite of utopianism and warns against the negative consequences of utopian thought” (Booker, 1994) ¡ Negative, oppressive view of society ¡ Imagines “a future world made even worse than the present” (Cart, 2010) ¡ No one size fits all ¡ Speculative fiction ¡ Subgenre of either science fiction or fantasy ¡ Combination of science fiction and fantasy § Science fiction -‐ setting in the future with technology causing the conditions § Fantasy – sociological and psychological effects (Nielsen and Donelsen, 2009) 1 11/7/13 ¡ High school reading lists have long included adult dystopian titles: § Brave New World (Huxley, 1931) § 1984 (Orwell, 1949) § Farenheit 451 (Bradbury, (1953 ) ¡ Wrinkle in Time (L’Engle, 1962) – one of the earliest examples including YA protagonists ¡ White Mountains (Christopher, 1967) ¡ Z for Zachariah (O’Brien, 1975) ¡ The Giver (Lowry, 1993) ¡ Other early YA authors in the field: § H.M. Hoover § Monica Hughes § Louise Lawrence § Pamela Sargent ¡ YA dystopian literature appeared as a dominant form beginning in the 1990’s 2 11/7/13 ¡ 2000 – 2013 – increasing number of dystopian novels for young adults ¡ Consistently represented on YA literature award lists from 2005 – present ¡ 2011 – Nine YA dystopian titles on the Printz and/or YALSA lists Number of Dystopian Titles on Printz and YALSA Lists 14 Number of Awards Received 12 10 8 # of AWARDS 6 4 2 0 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Year ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ Ashes* (Bick, 2011) Don’t Turn Around* (Gagnon, 2012) The Drowned Cities* (Bacigalupi, 2012) Glow* (Ryan, 2011) The Immortal Rules* (Kagawa, 2012) Insignia* (Kincaid, 2012) Monument 14* (Laybourne, 2012) No Safety in Numbers* (Lorentz, 2012) The Pledge* (Derting, 2011) Starters* (Price, 2012) This is Not a Test (Summers, 2012) Under the Never Sky* (Rossi, 2012) * Titles in a series 3 11/7/13 Theme ¡ Cautionary warning of future consequences § Abuse of technology in people’s lives (Starters, 2012) § Current trends or political issues, such as excesses of capitalism (Feed, 2002) § Engineering a social order (Delirium, 2011) § Environmental disasters (Ashes, 2011) § Life in a post-‐apocalyptic society (Defiance, 2012) § Population control (Unwind, 2007) Setting Bleak, oppressive, futuristic environment ¡ Government that suppresses and controls its citizens ¡ Dark and depressing ¡ Gloomy ¡ “…a setting so vividly and clearly described that it becomes almost a character in itself” (Spisak, 2012) ¡ Tone ¡ Fear ¡ Utter hopelessness ¡ “Confusion. Curiosity. Panic. Fear. But laced through it all was the dark feeling of utter hopelessness….” (Maze Runner, Dashner, 2009, 6) 4 11/7/13 Protagonists by Age 18 Number of Protagonists 16 14 12 10 8 Number of Prot. 6 4 2 0 9-‐10 11-‐12 13-‐14 15-‐16 17-‐18 "Teen" 19+ Age of Protagonist Awards by Protagonist Gender: 2000-‐2012 6 Number of Awards Received 5 4 MALE 3 FEMALE 2 1 0 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Year ¡ Notable difference between young adult and adult dystopian literature § “The grown up ones are grimmer.” (Miller, 2010) § “You may lead a child to darkness, but you can’t turn out the light.” (Hughes, 2003) 5 11/7/13 ¡ Young adult authors resist hopelessness, even if the fictional world demands it.“ (Reber, 2005) § “Despair should be used “sparingly. A drop or two goes a long way.” (Katherine Paterson, The Invisible Child, 59) § “I can’t imagine writing a book that doesn’t have a hopeful ending.” (Lois Lowry in Hintz and Ostry, 2003, 199) ¡ Books have sold over 50 million copies ¡ Passed Harry Potter in sales as bestselling series on Amazon.com (3 titles vs. 7) ¡ Movie grossed over $691 million in the U.S. (Hypable) ¡ “…serve a bibliotherapeutic purpose allowing teens to face their fears of the future, whether outlandish or all too possible.” (Eric Norton, SLJ -‐ “Focus On” column) ¡ Find parallels to their own lives and situations ¡ Read them to feel prepared for these potential futures ¡ Empowering to see protagonists their own age lead a revolution / alter society’s course ¡ Hopeful endings 6 11/7/13 § “Young people handle dystopia every day, in their lives, their dysfunctional families, their violence-‐ridden schools.” (Lois Lowry interview with Hintz and Ostry, 2003, 199) § “…because they believe, despite the callow protestations of certain adults, that books -‐ especially the dark and dangerous ones -‐ will save them.” (Sherman Alexie in McPherson, 2011) § “The success of Uglies is partly thanks to high school being a dystopia.” (Scott Westerfeld, author of Uglies) ¡ Another reason they appeal to teens is because many of them are part of a series. ¡ Reading a book as part of a series is cited frequently as a reason young adults choose the books they read. (Hooper, 2005) 7 11/7/13 ¡ Dark Futures: A VOYA Guide to Apocalyptic, Post Apocalyptic and Dystopian Books and Media (Danner, 2012) ¡ Includes § Plot summary § Dystopian elements § 30 second booktalks § Readalikes § Potential audience 8 11/7/13 ¡ Fresh Hell: What’s Behind the Boom in Dystopian Fiction for Young Readers? by Laura Miller, The New Yorker, June 14, 2010 ¡ The Other Side of Dark: Is it Really the End of the World? Examining the Nature of Young Adult Dystopian Literature by Linda Gann & Karen Gavigan. (VOYA, August, 2012). ¡ What Makes a Good YA Dystopian Novel? by April Spisak. Horn Book, April 27, 2012. ¡ Teen Genreflecting 3: A Guide to Reading Interests by Diana Tixier Herald (Libraries Unlimited, 2010) Episode 29 -‐ Dystopian Literature Includes the following titles: ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ Candor by Pam Bachorz (Egmont, 2008) Matched by Ally Condie (Dutton, November 2010) The Gardener by S.A. Bodeen (Feiwel and Friends, 2010) Pod by Stephen Wallenfels (Namelos, 2009) The Carbon Diaries 2017 by Saci Lloyd (Holiday House, 2010) Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi (Little, Brown, 2010) The Maze Runner by James Dashner (Delacorte, 2009) The Scorch Trials by James Dashner (Delacorte, October, 2010) The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (Candlewick, 2008) The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness (Candlewick, 2009) Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness (Candlewick, September 2010) “The wish for a kinder, gentler literature for adolescents is really a wish for a kinder, gentler adolescent experience. But that just doesn’t exist anymore.” (Farley, 2011) 9 11/7/13 Is it really the end of the world? Linda Gann, Assistant Professor, University of North Carolina at Greensboro lagann@uncg.edu Karen Gavigan, Assistant Professor, University of South Carolina kgavigan@mailbox.sc.edu 10 11/7/13 ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ Anderson, M. T. Feed. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press. 2002. Blick, Ilsa J. Ashes. New York: Egmont. 2011. Booker, M. Keith. Dystopian Literature: a Theory and Research Guide. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press. 1994. Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Del Rey Book. 1991. Cart, Michael. Young Adult Literature: From Romance to Realism. Chicago: American Library Association. 2010. Christopher, John. The White Mountains. New York: Macmillan. 1967. Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic Press. 2008. Dashner, James. The Maze Runner. New York: Delacorte Press. 2009. Farley, Christopher John, Gurdon, Meghan Cox, Mack, Candice, and McCormick, Patricia.Interview by Michel Martin. “The Dangers, Values of Dark Teen Lit” Listen to the Story from National Public Radio. June 14, 2011. http://www.npr.org/2011/06/14/137174977/the-‐dangers-‐of-‐dark-‐lit (accessed June 30, 2011). Hintz, Carrie and Elaine Ostry. “Interview with Lois Lowry, Author of The Giver” In Utopian and Dystopian Writing for Children and Young Adults. Edited by Carrie Hintz and Elaine Ostry, 196 – 199. New York: Routledge, 2003. Hintz, Carrie, and Elaine Ostry.Utopian and Dystopian Writing for Children and Young Adults. New York: Routledge, 2003. Hopper, R. What are teenagers reading? Adolescent fiction reading habits and reading choices. Literacy, 39(3), 113-‐120. 200). Hughes, Monica. “The Struggle between Utopia and Dystopia in Writing for Children and Young Adults.”In Utopian and Dystopian Writing for Children and Young Adults.Edited by Carrie Hintz and Elaine Ostry, 156 – 160. New York: Routledge, 2003. Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: HarperPerennial. 1969. ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ L’Engle, Madeleine. A Wrinkle in Time. New York: Dell, 1962. Lowry, Lois. The Giver. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993. Miller, Laura. “Fresh Hell.”New Yorker. 86 (17), (June 14, 2010), 132-‐136. Nilsen, Alleen Pace and Kenneth L. Donnelson.Literature for Today’s Young Adults, 8th ed., Boston: Pearson, 2009. O'Brien, Robert C. Z for Zachariah. New York: Atheneum, 1975. Oliver, Lauren. Delirium. New York: Harper. 2011. Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Signet Classic, 1950. Paterson, Katherine, The Invisible Child: On Reading and Writing Books for Children. New York: Dutton, 2001. Price, Lissa. Starters. New York. Delacorte Press. 2012. Reber, Lauren Lewis. 2005. Negotiating hope and honesty: a rhetorical criticism of young adult dystopian literature. Thesis (M.A.)-‐-‐Brigham Young University. Dept. of English, 2005. Redwine, C.J. Defiance. New York. Balzer +Bray. 2012. Sargent, Pamela. Earthsea. New York: Harper and Row. 1983. Spisak, A. 2012. "What Makes a Good YA Dystopian Novel?" The Horn Book Magazine. 88 (3): 54-‐60. 11
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