Whether the books you were taught reflected adolescent literature.

A few books taught reflected adolescent literature for example Harriet’s Daughter. Many of the characteristics of adolescent literature are evident in this novel. The novel portrays an adolescent as the protagonist and details the experience of that character. For example, the humors of the novel come through the personality of Margaret herself. This is achieved through the way she expresses herself. Also, themes focus on the challenges of the youth such as homesickness, responsibilities, family ties and details question about parents adolescent are dying to ask.

In addition, the novel is told through Margaret’s eyes as a first person narrative written in the style of a young woman in her early teens as a direct address to the reader. The author’s voice does not intrude into the narrative. She rather presents a convincing portrait of a fourteen –year –old.

Furthermore, adolescent literature should portray the possibility of growth of the characters or positive resolution. The real growth in the novel is Margaret’s physical and emotional development, as she grows into womanhood. Symbolically, there is growth in Tina Cruikshank’s development as a more assertive wife and independent woman. Zulma’s mother also “grows” as she learns to take control of her life.

In my own experiences as a student I could relate to the experiences of the characters in most adolescent text. These novels allowed for critical thinking as students made their own judgments which lead to further discussion. These novels maintain our interest and made the reading of these texts a pleasant experience.

However, the numbers of canonical literature such as Shakespeare surpass the number of adolescent text selected. The language of the text was difficult to understand deterring student’s interest in reading the text. These novels did not generate much discussion because many of the students especially those who did not like to read refuse to read the text.  Thus, teachers should select text students can relate to as much as possible.