young adult novel news stories on Newser

It's OK for Teen Fiction to Address (Gasp) Sex

John Johnson — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 17:08:16 CDT

A new study about teen fiction raises a familiar alarm bell: The books have too much sex. Roughly half of young-adult titles have some kind of racy content, which runs the gamut from kissing to intercourse, warns the study from Brigham Young University. Oh, please, writes Tracy Clark-Flory at Salon...

Inside James Frey's Sweatshop-Like Novel Factory

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 09:17:05 CST

James Frey, infamous for angering Oprah with his "fake memoir" A Million Little Pieces , idolizes Vonnegut, Hemingway, and Henry Miller. He's the kind of writer who talks about wanting to "change the game" and "move the paradigm." Yet he's also the head of Full Fathom Five, a young-adult novel factory...

Twilight Fans Flock to Gloomy Town

Rebecca Smith Hurd — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 17:43:05 CST

A vampire and a werewolf are helping to revive the flagging economy of a Washington timber town, the LA Times reports. This year alone, more than 7,000 giggling, eager teens have visited Forks, Wash., to see locations from Stephenie Meyer's best-selling Twilight series. Most locals are playing along, and...

Anne of Green Gables, at 100, Goes Legit

Kate Rockwood — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:31:02 CDT

Impetuous redheaded orphan Anne of Green Gables got the biggest gift of all on her 100th birthday: Official introduction into the literary canon. The Modern Library will issue a centennial edition of the first book in the series of eight. Some scholars bristle at the decision to place Anne alongside...

Hornby Seeks YA Audience

Sam Gale Rosen — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 14:00:10 CST

Nick Hornby, the British novelist best known for High Fidelity and About a Boy, is temporarily shucking characters who refuse to grow up for characters who really aren't grown up. Hornby's first young adult novel, Slam, is about a teen who gets his girlfriend pregnant and talks his problems over...