Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped ReadingMatt Zakosekbyline‚ Sep. 03‚ 2009A blog-turned-book skims the history of young-adult literature. These days, young-adult literature — or “YA,” as librarians and marketers like to call it — has reached a level of respectability earlier generations could only dream of. Yann Martel’s Life of Pi is a staple of both adult and teen reading lists. Sherman Alexie won the National Book Award for The Absolutely True Adventures of a Part-Time Indian — also his first foray into YA. Even a Pulitzer Prize-winner like Joyce Carol Oates isn’t afraid to churn out a Sexy or Freaky Green Eyes every now and then. |