Just+for+Girls



= = =Just for Girls?=

Whether you’re a YA librarian or academic librarian, Young Adult literature as a growing genre to be aware of. With the publication of the article “Kick-Ass Girls & Feminist Boys” by Jessica Stites in [|MS. Magazine], we found ourselves curious about the latest in feminist Young Adult (YA) fiction. [|The Amelia Bloomer Project] by our ALA Feminist Taskforce (FTF) is proof that awareness about feminist YA fiction has been around for a while and their yearly compilation of feminist books for young readers is now reaching its eighth year. [See [|the most recent Amelia Bloomer Project list for 2010] .]

With the increase of Young Adult fiction, there is a greater opportunity for discussion of gender issues. Recently, YA literature has spurred debates about gender in YA fiction and literacy in the blogosphere and we’ve rounded up some discussion for you. The ALA Midwinter conference would be a great time to discuss these issues while talking about what appeals to YA patrons and talking to the many YA authors that will be in attendance for the YASLA books awards.

[|Sell the Girls] by Maureen Johnson
YA author Maureen Johnson posts a response to the “crisis in boys books” which includes discussion about the proportion of works by male authors vs. female authors and why the solution is not to encourage more male authors to increase the number of boys reading. “The Shelf Check” and the significance of gender disproportion for authors chosen for educational reading curriculum are also discussed. Comments from readers include book suggestions with female authors, shelf check results, and personal experiences with reading assignments for classes.

**[|The Boy Problem] by Hannah Moskowitz**
Primarily YA author Hannah Moskowitz addresses the absence of boy readers in YA literature, the negative gender stereotypes of boys within girl-centered YA literature, and suggested steps to fix this problem. A variety of responses and discussion abound in this post’s comment thread including that from Tamora Pierce, well-known fantasy YA Author.

[|Why I write girl heroes for the most part]by Tamora Pierce
Tamora Pierce, as a long-time writer of young adult fiction with strong female and male characters, further responds to Hannah Moskowitz’s blog entry with her own more in-depth response about girl-centric YA literature, and her own body of work. Personal responses and further discussion from readers continue in the comments.

[|They’re Just Girl Books. Who Cares?] By Justine Larbalestier
Author Justine Larbalestier comments on a New York Times books review and talks about discrimination against books by women. Commentators include YA author John Green and discuss publishers’ gendered techniques for packaging and marketing books.

If we’ve missed anything, feel free to contact us at mary.jinglewski@vikings.berry.edu.