YA Through The Ages: the 21st Century (so far)

We've seen the appallingly few books that were available to teens in the 1800s and early 1900s. We've looked at the amazingly cheesy covers of books from the '60s and '70s. We've discussed how YA fiction exploded in the '80s and '90s. Which brings us to...the present.

There have been so many YA books published in the past decade that there's no way that I can possibly begin to cover all of them. So here are just a few, divided into categories (and yes, some of them fit into more than one category, but I liked the symmetry of having three in each):

The Such-A-Big-Phenomenon-We're-Making-Movies-Of-Them books:

1.) The rest of the Harry Potter series. No one can dispute how influential these books have been. Thank you J.K. Rowling!

I think my favourite cover is the Order of the Phoenix one — I love the warm colours and graceful strokes used for the phoenix!

2.) The Twilight series. I know, there is a big love-it-or-hate-it divide among readers about this series, but let's face facts — it was enormously popular and spawned a huge number of other paranormal reads.

I'm kind of embarrassed to admit it, but I do own three out of the four Twilight books. And I do think the covers are pretty :D

3.) The Hunger Games series. Much less controversy over these than Twilight — their awesomeness seems to be unanimously agreed upon. And they're pretty much solely responsible for the current explosion of dystopian YA books.

The Less-Hyped-But-Widely-Recommended-By-YA-Readers books:

6.) John Green's books — such as Looking for Alaska (2005; 2006 Printz Award winner), An Abundance of Katherines (2006), and Paper Towns (2008). Personally I haven't read a lot of his books, but he's been one of the authors responsible for keeping contemporary YA on the map. Along with...

7.) Sarah Dessen's books — such as This Lullaby (2002), The Truth About Forever (2004), Just Listen (2006), and Along For The Ride (2009). I've actually only read a few of hers too (okay, okay, I don't read tons of contemp YA) but we all know how well her books have been received by YA readers.

8.) Neil Gaiman's books — such as American Gods (2001), Anansi Boys (2005), and The Graveyard Book (2008; 2009 Newbery Medal). I haven't read any of these, actually — suggestions for which to start with?

The This-Series-Has-An-Almost-Cultish-Fanbase books:

9.) The Mortal Instruments series — Cassandra Clare has an absolutely massive following of fans for these books.

Although what is up with the covers? I like the silhouetted cityscape but why must you cut off his head? And why is his shirtless chest shooting out rays of light?

5.) The Uglies series — Scott Westerfeld was way ahead of the dystopian bandwagon with these.

 
10.) The Vampire Academy series — these are on my list to read because most bloggers seem to swear by them.

 The covers need some work, though. They're not terrible but they don't stand out among all the other paranormal YA books...and they don't even stand out from each other! Judging by the covers you'd think these were the same story with three different titles.

The Recognized-By-Literary-Awards books:

4.) The Book Thief by Markus Zuzak (2005). One of just a few YA books that has been able to make the crossover to an adult audience, and a 2007 Printz Honor book.

5.) Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta (2006). 2009 Printz Award winner. What I've read of this one didn't work for me, but I know lots of other bloggers who rave about it.

6.) How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff (2004). 2005 Printz Award winner. I'm not actually sure if I've read this one or not — I might have years ago, but I may have confused it with a completely different book.


The Personal-Favourites-Of-Mine books:

1.) The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale (2003). I love this fairy tale retelling so much.

The free-flowing lines of the art here give it that perfect windswept, anything-can-happen look.

2.) Feeling Sorry for Celia (2001) and The Year of Secret Assignments (2003) by Jaclyn Moriarty. She has the most amazing ability to create such distinct characters.

Normally I would not be a fan of hot pink, especially not combined with green. But the book is quirky so it kinda works.

3.) The Mediator series. Sure, these are light, "fluffy" paranormal books — but they're lots of fun!

So, which are your favourites of the past decade? What books do you think have been over-hyped or under-appreciated? What topics, genres or categories have been missed? In terms of minority groups, which we've seen all along have struggled to be represented in YA, I think LGBT books have done much better in the past decade than previous ones, but POC characters continue to be under-represented. Also, cover design has really evolved immensely over even the past 20 years. They only recently started using photos for some covers, rather than illustrations.

And what do you think the future holds for YA for the rest of the 21st century? Any guesses as to what it will look like 10 years from now? What will be the next big trend when paranormal and dystopian have run their course?

This is effectively the last post in this series, although I think at some point I'll make a post linking to some of the resources I used to research these books. I learned a lot about YA from writing these posts, and I hope you enjoyed reading them!

YA Through The Ages: the '90s

In the previous post in this series, we saw that in the '80s YA had really defined itself as a separate reading category, illustrated by the fact that an award had been created specifically for YA fiction. It was no longer just a handful of titles stuffed into the larger category of children's literature, but a section in its own right.

The 1990s started out a lot like the '80s had been — plenty of hard-hitting contemporary YA books about gritty topics. Jerry Spinelli's novel Maniac Magee (1990; 1991 Newbery Medal) tackles themes of homelessness and prejudice. Julie Johnston's Adam and Eve and Pinch-Me (1994) tells the story of a girl's experience in the foster care system, and Mary Downing Hahn wrote The Wind Blows Backward (1993), which touches on depression, sex and underage drinking. Han Nolan's Dancing on the Edge (1997) portrays a young girl struggling to keep a grip on her sanity, and the protagonist of Caroline B. Cooney's The Face on the Milk Carton (1991) discovers she was abducted as a child. And for really edgy stuff, there was Shelley Stoehr's Crosses (1991; substance abuse and self-harm) and Melvin Burgess' Smack (1996; heroin addiction and teen prostitution).

The 1994 paperback cover. *So* early nineties. He has definitely got the whole brooding-dude-in-a-leather-jacket thing down, and that font? Wow.

Lurlene McDaniel kept on with her have-a-tissue-handy novels throughout the '90s, such as the Angels trilogy (Angels Watching Over Me, 1996; Lifted Up By Angels, 1997; Until Angels Close My Eyes, 1998) which I actually remember enjoying and reading more than once, because it featured the Amish culture and I found that quite interesting. Other '90s novels in the same vein include A Time for Dancing by Davida Wills Hurwin (1995; cancer) and Hero of Lesser Causes (1992; polio) by Julie Johnston.

Lurlene McDaniel's Till Death Do Us Part. I couldn't resist posting this cover. I'm assuming they're on his deathbed (hence the white lilies) but why is she wearing that ostentatious tinsel tiara-headband? And is it just me, or does her expression look like she's about to say, "Okay, this was nice and all, but now I have to get back to the twinkly lights of the prom directly behind me"?

And then in 1999, Laurie Halse Anderson widened the boundaries with her frequently-challenged novel Speak (2000 Printz Honor), about a girl who is raped. (And no, I haven't read it yet, and yes, I know I should!)

I'm sorry, but I've never been a fan of this cover on sight, although it does fit the dark tone of the subject matter. Maybe it would make more sense once I've read the book, though?

On the lighter side of contemporary, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor continued her Alice series, with Reluctantly Alice (1991), All But Alice (1992), Alice in April (1993), Alice-In-Between (1994), Alice the Brave (1995), Alice in Lace (1996), Outrageously Alice (1997), Achingly Alice (1998), and Alice on the Outside (1999). I own a ton of these books, and because practically every time a new book comes out, the entire series gets a cover makeover, I have just about every incarnation of an Alice cover style you can imagine. (This also means most of my covers don't match each other, but I don't really mind that.) All of the following are my copies of various Alice books:

"Is this s'more safe to eat?" 1992 paperback.

1995 paperback. No clue why Patrick looks like he's seen a ghost or why Alice ever agreed to wear that sweater.

1996 paperback. Elizabeth (the girl on the right) appears to be regressing and has dropped about 5 years off her age since Reluctantly Alice.

Yeah, I'd have that same terrified expression on my face if I were wearing that swimsuit. 1996 paperback.

1998 and 1999 paperbacks. Definitely an improvement on some of the previous cover designs, especially with the funky, inviting font. And yes, Alice really wears her hair like that in Outrageously Alice.

The author who is frequently considered the queen of contemp YA, Sarah Dessen, entered the scene here with her novels That Summer (1996), Someone Like You (1998), and Keeping the Moon (1999). Sharon Creech joined her in this genre with Walk Two Moons (1994; 1995 Newbery Medal), Absolutely Normal Chaos (1995), Chasing Redbird (1997), and Bloomability (1998).

 Oh, how these early Sarah Dessen covers make me wince.

But despite all of these realistic YA novels being written, the genre that really exploded in the 1990s was fantasy. Some of my favourite YA fantasy books were published in this decade, including Patricia Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles (Dealing with Dragons, 1990; Searching for Dragons, 1991; Calling on Dragons, 1993; Talking to Dragons, first published 1985 before the rest of the series was written, but it's actually chronologically the final book) and Sherwood Smith's Crown Duel (1997) and Court Duel (1998; these two are now repackaged as one novel, Crown Duel).

My 1990s paperback editions of this series. The first is a library discard but the other 3 were all originally my sister's copies, and eventually she gave them to me. Searching for Dragons in particular looks like it's been through the wars (it's my favourite!) I actually really love these covers, I think they match the books in tone pretty perfectly. If you have not yet read these books, you are missing out! 

Of course, we can't forget Tamora Pierce, who was fantastically prolific in the 1990s, publishing her Immortals series (Wild Magic, 1992; Wolf-Speaker, 1994; Emperor Mage, 1995; The Realms of the Gods, 1996), her Circle of Magic series (Sandry's Book, 1997; Tris's Book, 1998; Daja's Book, 1998; Briar's Book, 1999), and beginning her Protector of the Small series (First Test, 1999). I have no idea how she did it. Seriously.

This is my copy, and it's the original 1999 hardcover. I remember splitting the cost of this one with my sister because we were both Tamora Pierce fans!

There are far too many YA fantasy novels from this decade to list them all here, but some other really well-known ones are: the His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman, which is an interesting blend of alternate history and fantasy (The Golden Compass, 1995; The Subtle Knife, 1997; The Amber Spyglass, 1999), the first in the Abhorsen trilogy by Garth Nix (Sabriel by Garth Nix, 1995), the first in the Queen's Thief series (The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner, 1996; 1997 Newbery Honor) and more of Diane Duane's Young Wizards series (High Wizardry, 1990; A Wizard Abroad, 1993). 

Fairy tales resurfaced in the 1990s. One of my all-time favourite YA reads, Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, was published in 1997 and was a 1998 Newbery Honor book. I absolutely adored this one when I was in Grades 7-8 and re-read it far too many times to count.

I took the picture from the side so you can see just how well-loved my copy is. Yeah, I'm almost positive I got this book as a brand-new paperback...and now look at it!

Ella Enchanted is my favourite retelling of Cinderella, although I have read Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix (1999) a few times. Donna Jo Napoli was also responsible for some fairy tale retellings in this decade, including The Magic Circle (1993; Hansel and Gretel), Zel (1996, Rapunzel),  Crazy Jack (1999; Jack and the Beanstalk), and with co-author Richard Tchen, Spinners (1999; Rumpelstiltskin).

I'm kind of speechless about this cover.

Okay, from what I can tell he has a heart for an eye, his eyebrow is leaping off his face, and someone is trying to climb up his head. I feel for the poor guy.

Myth and legend made a showing as well. Donna Jo Napoli incorporated Greek mythology into her novel Sirena (1998), and T.A. Barron began his Lost Years of Merlin series (The Lost Years of Merlin, 1996; The Seven Songs of Merlin, 1997; The Fires of Merlin, 1998). A more comedic look at mythology took place with Pamela F. Service's Weirdos of the Universe Unite! (1992).

And then an author came along in the late '90s who solidified the standing of YA fantasy for what I'm betting will be time immemorial. She wrote a little book you guys may have heard of...Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone ring any bells?

This is my copy (no "Sorcerer's Stone" nonsense here in Canada), and I believe it's a 1st edition paperback! I got it years ago at a used bookstore.

Okay, admittedly Harry Potter isn't just YA. Frankly, it kind of defies pigeon-holing of any kind. But as we all know teens were sure reading the series like mad, and it paved the way for countless more children's and YA authors.

Interestingly, unlike fantasy, the sci-fi genre seemed to experience a bit of a dearth in the '90s. William Sleator put out a few more, including The Beasties (1997), and Neal Shusterman hopped on board with novels like The Scorpion Shards (1994), The Dark Side of Nowhere (1997), and Downsiders (1999). For the younger set, Bruce Coville penned several humorous alien books, including Aliens Ate My Homework (1993) and I Left My Sneakers in Dimension X (1994). Still, unless I'm missing something major (I'm not a big sci-fi fan), it looks like the '90s selection of traditional sci-fi fare was pretty skimpy!

In terms of dystopian, though, there were the first tendrils of the beginning for what is currently an extremely hot genre in YA. One of the most famous dystopian YA novels — and in my opinion still one of the best — is Lois Lowry's The Giver (1993; 1994 Newbery Medal). It's such a perfect blend of worldbuilding, characters, and emotion. Following in her footsteps (in a manner of speaking) was Margaret Peterson Haddix with her Shadow Children series, the first being Among the Hidden (1998).

I think the 1990s were also the beginning of the now-rampant paranormal sub-genre of YA. Long before Stephenie Meyer came along, vampires were being written for teens by L.J. Smith. Her Vampire Diaries series kicked off with The Awakening in 1991. And amazingly ridiculous covers they were being given too:

"No, I don't want to suck your blood. I just want a lock of your hair, as a keepsake."

There are so many things wrong with this cover I don't know where to start. Why are there disembodied hands fondling her clavicle? Why does she not look remotely *concerned* about this fact? And is that one man with a split head hovering in the background, or two men with only half a head each?

"Don't worry, it's only static electricity. You know, the ol' rub-a-balloon-on-your-head trick."

The furry variety of paranormal creature was available in this decade, too, in the form of Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause (1997). And then, of course, for those readers who don't enjoy the idea of getting bitten, there were books featuring that more traditional entity (or non-entity, as the case may be): ghosts. Margaret Buffie wrote a few books featuring these, including the 1995 novels The Dark Garden and Someone Else's Ghost. And Joan Lowery Nixon came out with Whispers from the Dead (1991) and The Haunting (1998), ghostly suspense/thriller novels.

R.L. Stine still dominated the horror side of things, with the start of his incredibly popular Goosebumps series (Welcome to Dead House, 1992).

I'm not sure if the worst thing about this cover is the mottled black-and-red fur sprouting from his hands and face, or the hideously uncool colour-clashing sweater the kid is decked out in. No, wait, I've got it. It's the tagline reading, "It just keeps growing...and growing...and growing..."

Yes, let's. You first.

As I looked through my bookshelves for titles to include in this post, I was surprised to discover how many of my historical novels were from the '90s. Fantasy may have been booming, but historical fiction was certainly going strong as well. Of course, Ann Rinaldi springs to mind when you think about YA historical books, and she was churning them out like crazy in this decade (Wolf by the Ears, 1991; A Break with Charity: A Story of the Salem Witch Trials, 1992; In My Father's House, 1993; The Fifth of March: A Story of the Boston Massacre, 1993; Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons, 1996; An Acquaintance with Darkness, 1997; The Second Bend in the River, 1997, among others).

But I found a real mixture of historical settings in the ones I pulled off my shelves. Here's a sampling:

Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution by Ji Li Jiang (1997; 1998 paperback), a young girl's experience of the Cultural Revolution in China.

Anna of Byzantium by Tracy Barrett (1999), the story of a young princess of the Byzantine Empire. Love the artistic cover of this one (2000 paperback).

The Hollow Tree by Janet Lunn (1997), set during the American Revolutionary War.

Den of the White Fox by Lensey Namioka (1997) - a mystery in 16th-century feudal Japan.

My Anastasia by Sharon Stewart (1999) — clearly ahead of the Anastasia trend currently ruling YA historical fiction.

The Brideship by Joan Weir (1998) - two orphaned English girls travel to Canada, not knowing they are meant as brides for gold rush prospectors.

Both Sides of Time by Caroline B. Cooney (1995; 1997 paperback) — not strictly historical fiction, but it's a time travel book so a lot of it is set in 1895.

And those are just some from my own collection! I have to say, I'm pretty impressed by the quantity and variety of YA historical books from the '90s.

A lot of the aforementioned books appeal mostly to girls (though Harry Potter is a fabulous example of one that both genders love), but there were some novels that had "book targeting teen guy" written all over them. Adventure novels like Gary Paulsen's The River (1991) and Brian's Winter (1998), and Will Hobbs' Downriver (1991), Far North (1996), and River Thunder (1997), for instance. Baseball seemed to be a hot topic, with books such as Honus & Me (1997) and Janus & Me (1999) by Dan Gutman (featuring magic time-traveling baseball cards, apparently), The Koufax Dilemma by Steven Schnur (1997), and Painting the Black by Carl Deuker. Soccer fans could enjoy Edward Bloor's Tangerine (1997), football enthusiasts Thomas Cochran's Roughnecks (1997) and Thomas Dygard's Second Stringer (1998), and basketball aficionados were offered Slam! by Walter Dean Myers (1996; 1997 Coretta Scott King Award) and Danger Zone by David Klass (1996).

I really wouldn't try to swing three bats at once if I were you.

Aside from the historical books, variety in POC novels was still lacking. There weren't a lot, but there were some novels featuring African-American individuals. Jackie & Me and Danger Zone both fall into this category. Walter Dean Myers published a few more books focusing on African-American characters as well, including Slam!, Somewhere in the Darkness (1992; 1993 Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Honor), and Monster (1999; 2000 Coretta Scott King Honor and 2000 Printz Award).

The Michael L. Printz Award was created to recognize "literary excellence in young adult literature" and was first given in 2000 to Monster. Unlike the Margaret A. Edwards Award, given to an author for their contribution with a body of work, the Printz is awarded for a specific title.

For girls, there were books like The Skin I'm In by Sharon G. Flake (1998; 1999 John Steptoe Award for New Talent), and Lives of Our Own by Lorri Hewett (1998). During this decade a couple of novels featuring interracial relationships were published: Romiette and Julio by Sharon M. Draper (1999; which features a relationship between an African-American girl and a Hispanic boy), and If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson (1998; involving a relationship between an African-American boy and a white Jewish girl).

Judging purely by this cover I would have no idea what this book was about, not even the fact that it's YA.

Books focusing on PoC characters other than African-Americans, however, were even more difficult to find. Will Hobbs' Far North features a character from the Dene First Nations people; Lynda Durrant's Echohawk (1996) is the story of a white boy growing up in a Mohican tribe. Laurence Yep continued to write books with Asian protagonists, such as Dragon Cauldron (1991) and Dragon War (1992; the 3rd and 4th books in his Chinese mythology-inspired fantasy series), Later, Gator (1995; humorous contemporary), and The Case of the Goblin Pearls (1997), The Case of the Lion Dance (1998), and The Case of the Firecrackers (1999; this is his Chinatown Mystery series). Nancy Farmer really got creative with The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm (1994; 1995 Newbery Honor), a story of three children in futuristic Zimbabwe. Still, all in all there wasn't exactly a fabulous selection to choose from.

Somehow I don't think these are the three children, what with the beards and all. At least I hope not.

LGBT books were also still pretty few and far between at this point, although Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger (2000 Printz Honor) and The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky were both published in 1999.

I know there are plenty more '90s books but this post will be absolutely gigantic if I go on any longer! Which ones have you read? Which ones did I miss? Anything surprise you in this post?

YA Through The Ages: the '80s

We saw last week that YA fiction really began to take off in the 1970s...but if you thought that was impressive, then the '80s will really wow you. The "golden age" of YA fiction continued into this decade and YA literature seemed to explode in just about every direction. This is also when we start getting into lots of books that I grew up reading when I was younger, so I have a soft spot for many of these!

The trend of realistic novels looking at some of the darker/grittier issues teens face continued, with novels such as the Tillerman Cycle by Cynthia Voigt (Homecoming, 1981; Dicey's Song, 1982, won 1983 Newbery Medal; A Solitary Blue, 1983; The Runner, 1985; Come A Stranger, 1986; Sons from Afar, 1987; Seventeen Against the Dealer, 1989), Katherine Paterson's Jacob Have I Loved (1980; 1981 Newbery Medal), and Nancy Garden's Annie on My Mind (1982), which was one of the first LGBT YA books published and still one of the most well-known today.

 I'm sensing a bit of a theme here...the 'forlorn teen posture' must have been popular in cover design back then.

A sub-category here would be the 'sad, depressing, character-is-going-to-die' novels. Namely, Lurlene McDaniel books. I will admit that I went through a Lurlene McDaniel phase when I was younger, but thankfully that was fairly short-lived (LOL, pun not intended). Some of her novels from the '80s include Six Months to Live (1985), I Want to Live (1987), Goodbye Doesn't Mean Forever (1989), and Too Young to Die (1989). These covers are too fantastic to pass up:

 Oh, the old-school hospital beds...and the headband. And the teddy bear, which is clearly an extremely critical addition to the storyline.

The lighter realistic stories kept on going strong as well. Paula Danziger published a bunch more novels in that vein (with some pretty fantastic titles): There's a Bat in Bunk Five (1980), The Divorce Express (1982), It's An Aardvark-Eat-Turtle World (1985), This Place Has No Atmosphere (1986), Remember Me to Harold Square (1987), and Everyone Else's Parents Said Yes (1989).

 The covers were pretty much gigantic fails, though. Seriously, these look like those books you are assigned to read in elementary school to learn a moral from. Which is SO not what they are really like.

Lois Lowry wrote some more in her Anastasia Krupnik series, including Anastasia Again! (1981), Anastasia at Your Service (1982), Anastasia, Ask Your Analyst (1984 – love the title of this one!), Anastasia Has the Answers (1986) and Anastasia's Chosen Career (1987). And one of my favourites, the Alice series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, got started in this time period. It's a fabulous blend of humor and heartfelt emotion, and tackles problems that all teens encounter. The first was The Agony of Alice in 1985, followed by Alice in Rapture, Sort Of in 1989.

This is the 1988 paperback edition...and it's actually my copy! Yep, now that we're into the '80s I can actually start pulling books off my shelves for some of these pictures.

Then of course, there was also the ultra-frothy (and ultra-popular) Sweet Valley High series by Francine Pascal. I never read these so I'm not altogether sure what the draw was, but the early covers are priceless. I could do an entire blog post just about them.

"I am so winning this staring contest..."

And 27 books later, they STILL haven't given up...

"You look a little out of control. Let me just take your pulse for a minute..."

Yep, that is so totally the face I make when someone kidnaps me. Or taps my shoulder. Whatever.

"Ugh! Get that germy handkerchief away from me!"

YA fantasy really started getting creative in the 1980s. Up until then it had mostly been the epic, traditional fantasy that frequently involved such staples as a quest, a battle against the dark power, and a determined young protagonist (often male) to carry it off, with the help of companions. But in the 1980s the authors started testing the waters a little bit more and pushing the boundaries on what could be considered fantasy.

Topping this trend was Tamora Pierce, of course, whose Song of the Lioness series (Alanna: The First Adventure, 1983; In the Hand of the Goddess, 1984; The Woman Who Rides Like a Man, 1986; Lioness Rampant, 1988) should be on every teen's must-read list in my opinion. This was THE series that got me hooked on YA fantasy (before then I was a pretty die-hard realistic-fiction-only kind of reader), with such engaging kick-butt female characters and action-packed plots.

 These covers are actually a lot better than I thought they would be. Although...why is she wearing what looks like a mini-skirt in the first cover?? That can't be very practical...

 And I didn't picture the Dominion Jewel as being so huge. It looks like it's about to crush Alanna. *blinks*

And this is my copy of the first book, a 1989 paperback edition. It was actually my sister's originally, but I read it so often (as you can tell by the well-worn cover) that she eventually just gave it to me.

Equally famous is Diana Wynne Jones, who published her extremely successful Howl's Moving Castle in 1986, which branched out from typical fantasy in being humorous, quirky, and altogether unique.

Okay, I adore Howl's Moving Castle, but this cover frightens me. There is a lot going on here: Howl in the foreground, then Calcifer the fire demon (who by the way, is not evil like he is shown here), then a castle outline super-imposed in the backdrop, and a tiny scarecrow shadow in the bottom right-hand corner. It's kind of like a monumentally disastrous collage.

Diane Duane started in on her Young Wizards series (So You Want to be a Wizard, 1983; Deep Wizardry, 1985), which blends fantasy with science fiction in a modern-day setting.

These covers aren't too bad, actually – I especially like the second one where they're riding on the dolphin fins (these are actually sharks below the surface – straight from the author herself!) and she's almost falling off.

We can't forget a couple other very well-known names in the YA fantasy department: Robin McKinley and Madeleine L'Engle. Robin McKinley's novel The Blue Sword (1982) was a 1983 Newbery Honor book, and The Hero and the Crown (1984) won the 1985 Newbery Medal. Meanwhile, Madeleine L'Engle was continuing her series about the Murrys and O'Keefes with Many Waters (1986), A House Like a Lotus (1984), and An Acceptable Time (1989). L'Engle also wrote the third book in her Austins series, and arguably the best-known: A Ring of Endless Light (1980; 1981 Newbery Honor). I read this one multiple times when I was younger and really loved it (of course, I adore dolphins, so that could be part of the explanation there.) Actually, I've also featured it as a Forget-Me-Nots pick before.

Yep, this is our well-worn copy of it. Maybe it's just for nostalgic reasons but I still quite like this cover...the water looks so inviting!

Jane Yolen got in on things too, with the first three books in her Pit Dragon Chronicles (Dragon's Blood, 1982; Heart's Blood, 1984; A Sending of Dragons, 1989).

The 1984 paperback version we have. Gotta say, it looks a little bit like he's dancing a waltz with the dragon.

And these are the first edition hardcovers! I got these as discards from the library.

And then at the end of the decade, Francesca Lia Block came along with her novel Weetzie Bat (1989), which apparently is a "dream-like" novel about genies and wishes, that also touches on tough issues like AIDS and homosexuality.

I haven't read it myself, but the cover is definitely giving out a surreal vibe.

In this decade, it looks like science fiction became a genre in and of itself within YA. Orson Scott Card is famous for his novel Ender's Game (1985), which was originally intended for an adult audience but was later listed on the ALA's "100 Best Books for Teens." Both William Sleator and Christopher Pike also penned novels with the sci-fi essentials of spaceships and aliens: Sleator with Interstellar Pig (1984), and Pike with The Tachyon Web (1986). And Monica Hughes wrote her Isis series: The Keeper of the Isis Light (1980), The Guardian of Isis (1981), and The Isis Pedlar (1982).

 Looks like she was taking a leaf out of Alanna's book with that barely-there mini-skirt. And the second cover shows...Aragorn, Gandalf and C-3PO?

YA historical fiction was holding its own as well. Ann Rinaldi came on the scene with Time Enough for Drums (1986) and The Last Silk Dress (1988). Lois Lowry published Number the Stars in 1989, which went on to win the 1990 Newbery Medal. Maus I: My Father Bleeds History (1986) by Art Spiegelman took a completely different tack to WWII using a graphic novel format and animals as the main characters.

Love the original cover of this one. Very striking and eye-catching.

Philip Pullman, who later became famous for the His Dark Materials fantasy series, published the first two books in his historical mystery Sally Lockhart series, The Ruby in the Smoke in 1985 and The Shadow in the North (originally The Shadow in the Plate) in 1986.

Well, it's pretty basic, but I do like the rich colour of the crimson gem.

I believe this one is supposed to depict some wolf-like creature feeding on a body. Yes, I can see that. Kind of. If I squint.

And then there were Eva Ibbotson's historical romance novels, which I believe were originally intended for adults but have since been reprinted as YA. These included A Countess Below Stairs (1981; now titled The Secret Countess), Magic Flutes (1982; now titled The Reluctant Heiress), A Company of Swans (1985), and Madensky Square (1988).

I actually would have thought both of these were fantasy novels, just based on the cover. Especially with a title like Magic Flutes. But no.

In the horror arena, R.L. Stine was making his name known. His Goosebumps series came later, but even in this decade he was doing well with titles such as Blind Date (1986), Twisted (1987), The Babysitter (1989), and Hit and Run (1989).

Oh, how I love these early horror book covers. The girl looks a) like she is freezing cold, despite the large baggy sweater she's got on, and b) positively creepy. I would be more disturbed about hiring her to watch my kids than anything lurking around in the bushes. Although you've gotta love that tagline: "Every step she takes, he'll be watching." Dun-dun-DUNNNNN...

Lois Duncan continued publishing YA suspense novels, such as The Third Eye (1984), The Twisted Window (1987) and Don't Look Behind You (1989). Christopher Pike was becoming a big name in the thriller section as well. He published a whole slew of these novels in the 1980s, such as Weekend (1986), Spellbound (1988), Gimme a Kiss (1988), Scavenger Hunt (1989), and Last Act (1989).

 Well, their cover design may have been deplorable (oh, that cheesy font!) but you can't say it wasn't consistent. I love the tagline for Spellbound, too: "You can close your eyes...it won't help." *tries to cue spooky music but dies laughing instead*

"Gimme a Kiss" as a title for a thriller? Seriously?

Finally, there seemed to be a bit of a push for books specifically targeting teen guys. The survival stories Hatchet (1987; 1988 Newbery Honor) and Dogsong (1985; 1986 Newbery Honor) by Gary Paulsen would fit here, as well as sports books like Chris Crutcher's Running Loose (1983; football), Stotan! (1986; swimming), and The Crazy Horse Electric Game (1987; baseball). Basketball fans, never fear, your sport gets covered by Walter Dean Myers in his novel Hoops (1981) and its sequel The Outside Shot (1984), and Bruce Brooks in The Moves Make the Man (1984; 1985 Newbery Honor).

With a wolf perching on his forehead and a hatchet buried in his skull, it's all he can do to carry on.

I know this is a long post already (congrats if you've made it this far!) but two things in particular strike me about YA in the 1980s. The first is that authors seemed to have become more versatile, switching genres very successfully. Lois Lowry, for instance, did both light realistic fiction (the Anastasia series) as well as heavy historical fiction (Number the Stars). In addition to Jacob Have I Loved, Katherine Paterson wrote a historical novel set in China in the 1850s, called Rebels of the Heavenly Kingdom (1983). Christopher Pike, as we have seen, stepped outside of thriller territory to try his hand at a science fiction novel with his book The Tachyon Web.

The second is that there was still only a smattering of novels with POC characters, perhaps even fewer than in the 1970s. Walter Dean Myers wrote several featuring African-American characters from Harlem, such as Hoops and The Outside Shot as well as Won't Know Till I Get There (1982), Fallen Angels (1988) and Motown and Didi: A Love Story (1984). He also wrote fantasy novels with black characters, such as The Golden Serpent (1980) and The Legend of Tarik (1981). Other voices to add to this category were Virginia Hamilton, whose novel Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush (1982) was a 1983 Newbery Honor book, and Bruce Brooks with his previously mentioned The Moves Make the Man.

The poor horse must be excruciatingly hot in that outfit.

In terms of other ethnic minorities, though, there weren't a lot to choose from. Dogsong features an Inuit character. Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind by Suzanne Staples (1989; 1990 Newbery Honor) is about the life of a Pakistani girl. Rebels of the Heavenly Kingdom centers around two Chinese teens. But really, the pickings were pretty slim.

YA had solidified itself as a completely independent category of fiction by the end of the 1980s. This was reflected in the creation of the Young Adults' Choices lists (1987) and the Margaret A. Edwards award (1988). Up until then there hadn't been any specific award for YA fiction, only awards for children's books (into which YA was often put) or other categories.

So...which of these books have you read? Loved, liked, or hated? Any important titles I've missed (I couldn't possibly cover them all here!)? I've read a *lot* of the fantasy novels mentioned as well as the light realistic fiction, and much less of the darker realistic, sci-fi, "boy books," POC, and horror/thriller categories. Which would you recommend I add to my tbr list?