Eleanor And Park By David Brontell

There has been young adult fiction and children’s fiction for centuries; however, although a children’s canon exists is studied, young adult has yet to have a canon and be studied seriously among academics. Young adult books need to be discussed in intellectual circles because the books read by choice while in the formative years of development change the way people interact with society and guide young readers through hard years. Young adult literature maintains a relevant place in society by teaching teenagers how to interact with their world and address major issues they encounter and also making up some of the most of profitable selections in the book market. The novel Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell embodies the cross-market appeal,

In the 1970s, “it started to treat subjects of real depth” rather than just being saccharinely sweet stories (Bachelder 86). “Teen protagonists, like earlier adult counterparts in literature, questioned values held by the majority, choosing instead to follow their own inner voices” when the feelings of anti establishment began to over take the 1970s (89). People stopped treating young adult literature like a perfect model of what the world should be like and instead talked to teenagers about real issues in their world. Works in the genre “explored the complexities of human nature, the dark side of humanity, a theme prevalent in adult classics” allowing a cross over appeal to occur between adult and young adult literature (89). Since then, “neither subject, nor character, nor literary techniques were forbidden to it,” which allows young adult literature to be some of the most diverse and innovative literature (86). The variety in young adult literature stands out from adult literature because the only rule for the genre is the audience not the content. Bachelder et al. attempted to outline a cannon for young adult literature, as one does not exist and found that “perhaps the definitive initiation novel for young adults is yet to be written” (88). Young adult literature no longer stems from bland plots and characterizations and instead

According to an article in Horn Book Magazine, “it is adults, not teens, who buy most YA books, and those adults are buying them for their own reading pleasure” (Sutton 8). The children’s sections of publishing houses issue most young adult books; however, some adult sectors have begun releasing books in the genre. By creating a market where the content is marketed to more than one demographic, book publishers have increased the profitability of their books. This ability to draw a wide range of readers, from ages twelve and up, creates a broad market base with large monetary significance. Most of the top grossing books in recent years have been young adult novels. Divergent, the Hunger Games, and the Mortal Instrument Series are all young adult fantasy series that were on bestseller list and then turned into movie or television series. These franchises grossed large sums of money that few adult series manage to create. Because of the economic empire that young adult has become, some publishing house have began taking books that would normally be considered contemporary fiction and releasing them as young adult