Spirituality in Young Adult Literature: The Last Taboo

by Patty Campbell columnist and author, Spirituality in Young Adult Literature, Chris Crowe (With)

Overview

In a time when almost any gritty topic can be featured in a young adult novel, there is one subject that is avoided by writers and publishers. Faith and belief in God seldom appear in traditional form in novels for teens. The lack of such ideas in mainstream adolescent literature can be interpreted by teens to mean that these matters are not important. Yet a significant part of growing up is struggling with issues of spirituality. The underlying problem, of course, is that there are so few writers who are willing to talk to teenagers about God, even indirectly, or who themselves have the religious literacy for the task.

Spirituality in Young Adult Literature: The Last Taboo tackles a subject rarely portrayed in fiction aimed at teens. In this volume, Patty Campbell examines not only realistic fiction, but young adult literature that deals with mysticism, apocalyptical end times, and even YA novels that depict the Divine Encounter. Campbell maintains that fantasy works are inherently spiritual, because the plots nearly always progress toward a showdown between good and evil. As such, the author surmises that the popularity of fantasy among teens may represent their interest in the mystical dimensions of faith and the otherworldly. In this study, Campbell examines works of fiction that express perspectives from Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism. Distinguished YA novelist Chris Crowe provides a chapter on Mormon values and Mormon YA authors and how their novels integrate those values into their books.

By looking at how spirituality is represented in novels aimed at teens, this book asks what progress, if any, has been made in slaying the taboo. Although most of the books discussed in this study are recent, an appendix lists YA books from 1967 to the present that have dealt with issues of faith. A timely look at an important subject, Spirituality in Young Adult Literature will be of interest to young adult librarians, junior and senior high school teachers, and students and instructors of college courses in adolescent literature, as well as to parents of teens.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442252394
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	06/24/2015
Series:	Studies in Young Adult Literature , #50
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	206
File size:	589 KB
Age Range:	3 Months to 17 Years

About the Author

Patty Campbell is editor of Rowman & Littlefield’s Studies in Young Adult Literature series. She is the author of several books, including Robert Cormier: Daring to Disturb the Universe (2006), War Is: A Hard Look at Warfare by Soldiers, Survivors, and Storytellers (2008), and Campbell’s Scoop: Reflections on Young Adult Literature (Scarecrow Press, 2010).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction: The Last Taboo
Chapter I: Church and Clergy, Mostly Negative
Chapter II: Bible Stories in Young Adult Books
Chapter III: Death and the Afterlife
Chapter IV: End Times and the Apocalypse
Chapter V: Mysticism
Chapter VI: The Divine Encounter
Chapter VII: Other Faiths and Spiritual Practices: Judaism
Chapter VIII: Other Faiths and Spiritual Practices: Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and a Sikh or Two
Chapter IX: Mormon Themes in YA Literature – by Chris Crowe
Afterword
Appendix: Godsearch Bibliography
Index
About the Authors

Editorial Reviews

As YA specialist Campbell rightly asserts, spirituality is largely missing in the young adult literature published by the major U.S. houses. She also notes the inherent interest that teens have about spiritual matters, mentioning how fantasy often deals with issues of good versus evil. There are chapters sorted by organized religions, but Campbell realizes that spirituality is a larger concept. To that end, the book includes chapters that discuss books addressing death and the afterlife (but not zombies), end times and Apocalypse, mysticism, and the 'divine encounter.' The remaining chapters cover a selected list of contemporary YA literature published by mainstream publishers (as opposed to religious presses). The vast majority of YA literature covered is Christian (and Protestant). Surprisingly, Campbell found few Jewish YA novels that focused on spirituality, and she includes Holocaust literature as it reflects how religion helps sustain those victims. Similarly, Islam and Hindi YA novels tend to address the impact that those organized religions have on the daily life of teens, especially girls, more than on spiritual journeys.. . .YA author and member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Chris Crowe provides the last chapter, which begins by explaining LDS spirituality and values and then discusses popular LDS authors, such as Stephenie Meyers and Orson Scott Card. He also discusses non-Mormon YA authors whose writing reflects Mormon values. The volume concludes with a bibliography of secular YA literature with spiritual themes published between 1967 and 2015, including YA novels with negative treatments of organized religion, short stories, and two poetry collections. There is also a detailed index. This volume offers some good issues to think about, and it highlights representative titles of major religions and some spiritual themes. Few such references exist, so this work is a good start.

Booklist

Useful and enlightening.

The Horn Book Magazine

This is a well-researched guide that is practically the definitive guide on religion in modern young adult literature. The appendix lists all young adult novels from 1967 to 2015 that include issues of faith. This is a handy tool for librarians and teachers looking for novels that tackle religion, whether in a positive or negative light, and can help in collection development.

VOYA

As YA specialist Campbell rightly asserts, spirituality is largely missing in the young adult literature published by the major U.S. houses. She also notes the inherent interest that teens have about spiritual matters, mentioning how fantasy often deals with issues of good versus evil. There are chapters sorted by organized religions, but Campbell realizes that spirituality is a larger concept. To that end, the book includes chapters that discuss books addressing death and the afterlife (but not zombies), end times and Apocalypse, mysticism, and the 'divine encounter.' The remaining chapters cover a selected list of contemporary YA literature published by mainstream publishers (as opposed to religious presses). The vast majority of YA literature covered is Christian (and Protestant). Surprisingly, Campbell found few Jewish YA novels that focused on spirituality, and she includes Holocaust literature as it reflects how religion helps sustain those victims. Similarly, Islam and Hindi YA novels tend to address the impact that those organized religions have on the daily life of teens, especially girls, more than on spiritual journeys. . . .YA author and member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Chris Crowe provides the last chapter, which begins by explaining LDS spirituality and values and then discusses popular LDS authors, such as Stephenie Meyers and Orson Scott Card. He also discusses non-Mormon YA authors whose writing reflects Mormon values. The volume concludes with a bibliography of secular YA literature with spiritual themes published between 1967 and 2015, including YA novels with negative treatments of organized religion, short stories, and two poetry collections. There is also a detailed index. This volume offers some good issues to think about, and it highlights representative titles of major religions and some spiritual themes. Few such references exist, so this work is a good start.

Booklist