In Cart‘s last chapter, he rationalizes young adult‘s dislike for reading by claiming “they regard it as a task”, like homework (Cart, 211). As he went on to cite not only the declining data for teens who read, but also a decrease in overall proficiency rates, I found myself both stressed and devastated by the data. I‘ve seen this data before, but it never fails to incite a frantic reaction that the education system is failing its students.
Something I felt very strongly about when reading this chapter was the balance of work and literature. Cart mentions how no one is reading for fun anymore and how we regard reading as a “task“ that no one is doing as deeply as we should, often blaming the Internet. I blame modern work culture for this, bringing the economy directly into our literary lives. Everything is so focused around WORK now, and a shift away would help bring reading back.
It‘s so interesting how the idea of 'young adulthood' wasn‘t even fully recognized until the 20th century, and now we have a whole entire genre built for it. As English teachers, I also think it‘s so important to understand that YAL doesn‘t just entertain, but it also gives students in this age group a space to see themselves, question, and navigate the world, and figure out who they are becoming as individuals, which is really cool.
In chapter one I really liked how Cart highlights the parallels in early YAL book with its society. He mentions the hegemonic traits that get reinforced through fictional books and even in seventeen magazines which were targeted for young girls. I found this intriguing because these early forms of YAL were influential. Youth (whether they realized it or not) were learning how to operate in their society through the usage of YAL.
Chapter 18's content discusses the rise of technology and its impact on literacy. I've always believed that the field of English is interdisciplinary and can be explained through a variety of media. I am glad to see that Cart agrees with this sentiment. He and other researchers agree that, while the internet has some drawbacks, it essentially encourages students to read more, whether they visit social media, fanfiction sites, or wikis.
I've never given much thought to what YA literature was in the past, but Cart's chapter on the supposed 'invention' of YAL is as insightful as it is (slightly) unnerving. The basis of YAL seems to be manipulation: teenagers were gifted media that excited them while also exploiting their interests. From Cart's explanation, it seems that the first YAL books were created not in the interest of writing or art, but in the interest of profit.
