Description
Book SynopsisConstructing Adolescence in Fantastic Realism examines those fundamental themes which inform our understanding of the teenagerthemes that emerge in both literary and cultural contexts. Models of adolescence do not arise solely from discourses of psychology, sociology, and education. Rather, these modelsframeworks including developmentalism, identity formation, social agency, and subjectivity in cultural spacecan also be found represented symbolically in fantastic tropes such as metamorphosis, time-slip, hauntings, doppelgangers, invisibility, magic gifts, and witchcraft. These are the incredible, supernatural, and magical elements that invade the everyday and diurnal world of fantastic realism.
In this original study, Alison Waller proposes a new critical term to categorize a popular and established genre in literature for teenagers: young adult fantastic realism. Though fantastic realism plays a crucial part in the short history of young adult literature, up until no
Trade Review
"Waller’s conclusion is important and thought-provoking for everyone working in the discipline of children’s and young adult literature: ‘The tensions have not yet generated narratives that explore the realm of adolescence without recourse to the teleology of development and adulthood, but they do perhaps hint at an embedded appreciation that adulthood itself is neither universal nor unified and may itself be constantly shifting, often unfulfilled, and in a constant state of becoming’ (196). At a time when fantasy dominates the international literary and cultural scene, especially in the field of crossover fiction, Constructing Adolescence in Fantastic Realism provides a solid stepping stone for further research and should generate much worthwhile debate." --Petros Panaou University of Nicosia, Cyprus, International Research in Children's Literature
"Through the hard and wide-ranging work of describing this subgenre and the ways it echoes the dominant culture’s models of adolescence, Waller has provided an important tool for thinking about adolescent fantasy and its—often failed—potential." --Joe Sutliff Sanders, California State University, San Bernardino, The Lion and the Unicorn
"The convincing argumentation and the wide range of primary and secondary sources discussed, make this study an interesting contribution to the study of a sub-genre that has not yet been analyzed in depth." --Claudia Söffner, Bookbird: A Journal of International Children's Literature
Table of ContentsSeries Editor’s Forward
Preface
Introduction
Chapter One: Developing through Fantasy: From Stasis to Transformation.
Chapter Two: Fantasies of Identity: The Self and Individualism
Chapter Three: Fantasies of Empowerment and Agency: Gender and the Burden of Responsibility
Chapter Four: Writing Fantastic Spaces: Real, Virtual and Textual Teens
Conclusion: New Evolutions: Fears and Pleasures of Young Adult Fantastic Realism
Notes
Bibliography
Index
