The popularity of young adult dystopias has been discussed within a plethora of scholarly and popular sources. In “Monica Hughes, Lois Lowry, and Young Adult Dystopias,” by Carrie Hintz, Assistant Professor of English at Queens College/CUNY and expert on young adult dystopian literature, the author examines three “young adult utopias” – The Giver, The Dream Catcher, and The Tomorrow City – in significant detail and provides insight into why such novels are so popular. In the article, Hintz explores the popularity of such novels among the intended young adult audience, and argues that “the major quality of these young adult utopias is their advancement of a particular type of utopian pedagogy: one in which political action is addressed within
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Lauren Sarner, a young writer for various culture sites, argues in a recent New York Daily News article, that “society has long had a fascination with alternate realities that are far worse than our own.” Moreover, when authors like Suzanne Collins, Margaret Atwood, and Scott Westerfeld have created such well-developed worlds as we have seen in YA dystopian novels like The Hunger Games, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Uglies, readers become captivated by the dark, hypnotic worlds in these novels. Especially when our own society and world becomes increasingly darker, between war, violence, and crime, teenagers frequently turn to fiction and realize that “well, our reality may be bad, but at least it’s not that bad!” (Sarner). In times when teenagers feel powerless against the adults in this world, they turn to the countless novels lining the shelves of bookstores and libraries, which hold stories of individuals their age fighting authority and winning their battles, and become engrossed by the alternate realities presented. This propensity towards dystopian literature for young adults becomes more than just an attraction, it becomes a necessary
Lauren Sarner, a young writer for various culture sites, argues in a recent New York Daily News article, that “society has long had a fascination with alternate realities that are far worse than our own.” Moreover, when authors like Suzanne Collins, Margaret Atwood, and Scott Westerfeld have created such well-developed worlds as we have seen in YA dystopian novels like The Hunger Games, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Uglies, readers become captivated by the dark, hypnotic worlds in these novels. Especially when our own society and world becomes increasingly darker, between war, violence, and crime, teenagers frequently turn to fiction and realize that “well, our reality may be bad, but at least it’s not that bad!” (Sarner). In times when teenagers feel powerless against the adults in this world, they turn to the countless novels lining the shelves of bookstores and libraries, which hold stories of individuals their age fighting authority and winning their battles, and become engrossed by the alternate realities presented. This propensity towards dystopian literature for young adults becomes more than just an attraction, it becomes a necessary