Young Adult Literature, Libraries, and Conservative Activism

Young Adult Literature, Libraries, and Conservative Activism analyzes young adult (YA) literature as a cultural phenomenon, explaining why this explosion of books written for and marketed to teen readers has important consequences for proponents of teen literacy. It explains how YA literature has become a lightning rod for a variety of aesthetic, pedagogical, and popular literature controversies and illustrates why teachers and librarians have a stake in promoting and defending it. Noted scholar Loretta Gaffney not only examines how YA literature is defended and critiqued within the context of rapid cultural and technological changes, but also highlights how struggles about teen reading matter to—and matter in—the future of librarianship and education.