Constructing Adolescence in Fantastic Realism

Constructing Adolescence in Fantastic Realism examines those fundamental themes which inform our understanding of 'the teenager', themes which emerge in both literary and cultural contexts. Models of adolescence do not arise solely from discourses of psychology, sociology and education. These models, or frameworks we use to understand this phase of life ' frameworks including developmentalism, identity formation, and social agency ' can also be found symbolically represented 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. Young adult fantastic realism is a new critical term proposed here to categorise a popular and established genre in literature for teenagers. This genre has previously been overlooked, or subsumed into the wider class of fantasy, but it plays a crucialpart in the short history of young adult literature, and a number of well-known authors have experimented with it, including Robert Cormier, Melvin Burgess, Gillian Cross, Margaret Mahy, K.M. Peyton and Robert Westall. The purpose of this book is to explore the themes and ideological perspectives embedded in fantastic realist novels; to ask whether parallel realities and fantastic identities produce forms of adolescence that are dynamic and subversive; and to understand our own adult attitudes towards adolescent identity.