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Literature for Young Adults
While the majority of these stories have an adult protagonist these books are written for and marketed to young adults. Readers between the ages of 12 and 18 fit the American Library Associations definition of a young adult. Many titles which were originally written for adults, John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men for example, are often marketed for young adults as well. The boundaries between young adult and adult literature are not that clearly established. While many books during the nineteenth century were incredibly appealing to young adults, Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island for example, publishers did not specifically market to this age group. During the 1960s and 1970s publishers began to tap into the large market of readers in their teenage years. The Catcher and the Rye and The Lord of the Flies were both originally written for adult audiences, however both of these novels were purchased at a higher rate by teens than by adults in 1954. The move of authors and publishers to capitalize on the young adult reader was aided by librarians who began to create special sections of books that teen readers may find attractive. This helped to create a clearer distinction between childrens literature, adult literature, and young adult literature. One popular young adult author was S.E. Hinton whose books included The Outsiders, Rubble Fish, and That Was Then, This is Now. S.E. Hinton is though to be the pioneer of modern young adult literature. Young adult literature these days includes such genres as romance novels, mystery, fiction, and comic books. Other popular contemporary young adult genres include splatterpunk (extreme horror novels), cyberpunk, Christian fiction, and problem novels.
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