Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Interesting Article on Dystopian Fiction for Teens

There is an interesting article on the New Yorker site this week about teen fiction:

Fresh Hell
What’s behind the boom in dystopian fiction for young readers?
by Laura Miller

The adult dystopia extrapolates from aspects of the present to show readers how terrible things will become if our deplorable behavior continues unchecked. The more utterly the protagonist is crushed, the more urgent and forceful the message. Because authors of children’s fiction are “reluctant to depict the extinction of hope within their stories,” Sambell writes, they equivocate when it comes to delivering a moral. Yes, our errors and delusions may lead to catastrophe, but if—as usually happens in dystopian novels for children—a new, better way of life can be assembled from the ruins would the apocalypse really be such a bad thing?

What are your thoughts? Favorites?

Our Post-Apocalyptic and Dystopian teen fiction list, created by Jocelyn.