Amy Sturgis, Secondary works biblio on YA Dystopias, excerpt, reprint

Research Resource: Half a Century of English-Language Young Adult Dystopias
Bibliography at http://eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com/383211.html


A Select Bibliography of Works About Young Adult Dystopias

Ahtezak, Janice. "The Visions of H.M. Hoover." Children's Literature Association Quarterly. 10 (1985): 73-76.

Applebaum, Noga. Representations of Technology in Science Fiction for Young People: Control Shift. New York: Routledge, 2009.

Bacigalupi, Paolo. "The Dark Side of Young Adult Fiction. The New York Times (December 27, 2010). Online here.

Braithewaite, Elizabeth. "'When I Was a Child I Thought as a Child…': The Importance of Memory in Constructions of Childhood and Social Order in a Selection of Post-Disaster Fictions." Papers: Explorations into Children's Literature. 15:2 (September 2005): 50 (8).

Brians, Paul. "Nuclear War Fiction for Young Readers: A Commentary and Annotated Bibliography." Science Fiction, Social Conflict and War. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1990. 132-150.

Butts, Dennis. "The Adventure Story." Stories and Society: Children's Literature in Its Social Context. Dennis Butts, ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1992. 65-83.

Clements, Andrew. "What Poe's Publishers Could Not Imagine." The New York Times (December 26, 2010). Online here.

Crew, Hilary S. "Not So Brave a World: The Representation of Human Cloning in Science Fiction for Young Adults." The Lion and the Unicorn. 28 (2004) 203-221.

Deane, Paul. "Science and Technology in the Children's Fiction Series." Lamar Journal of the Humanities. 16:1. (1990): 20-32.

Esmonde, Margaret. "After Armageddon: The Post Cataclysmic Novel for Young Readers." Children's Literature: The Annual of the Modern Language Association Group on Children's Literature and the Children's Literature Association. Philadelphia: 1977. 211-220.

Fraustino, Lisa Rowe. "The Comfort of Darkness." The New York Times (December 26, 2010). Online here.

Gates, Jaym. "The Relevance of YA for Adults": The Harry Potter Effect." Apex Book Company Blog. December 19, 2010. Online here.

Hintz, Carrie. "Monica Hughes, Lois Lowry, and Young Adult Dystopias." The Lion and the Unicorn. 26 (2002) 254-264.

Hintz, Carrie and Elaine Ostry, eds. Utopian and Dystopian Writing Children and Young Adults. New York: Routledge, 2003.

James, Kathryn. Death, Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary Adolescent Culture. New York: Routledge, 2009.

Kennan, Patricia. "'Belonging' in Young Adult Dystopian Fiction: New Communities Created by Children." Papers: Explorations into Children's Literature. 15:2 (September 2005) 40(10).

May, Jill and Perry Nodelman. "The Perils of Generalizing about Children's Science Fiction." Science Fiction Studies. 13:2: "Nuclear War and Science Fiction." (July 1986) 225-229.

Mendlesohn, Farah. "The Campaign for Shiny Futures." The Horn Book Magazine. (March/April 2009) Online here.

___. The Inter-Galactic Playground: A Critical Study of Children's and Teens' Science Fiction. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., 2009.

Miller, Laura. "Fresh Hell: What's Behind the Boom in Dystopian Novels for Young Readers?" The New Yorker (June 14, 2010). Online here.

Milner, Joseph O. "Oathkeepers and Vagrants: Meliorist and Reactive World Views in Science Fiction." Children's Literature Association Quarterly. 10 (1985): 71-73.

Muller, Al. "Doomsday Fiction and the YA Reader." The ALAN Review. 16:1 (Fall 1988): 42-45.

Nikolajeva, Maria. Power, Voice and Subjectivity in Literature for Young Readers. New York: Routledge, 2010.

Nodelman, Perry. "Out There in Children's Science Fiction: Forward into the Past." Science Fiction Studies. 12: 3 (November 1985) 285-296.

Ostry, Elaine. "'Is He Still Human? Are You?': Young Adult Science Fiction in the Posthuman Age." The Lion and the Unicorn. 28 (2004) 222-246.

Parini, Jay. "Feeling 'Gamed.'" The New York Times (December 27, 2010). Online here.

Paul, Pamela. "The Kids' Books Are All Right." The New York Times (Online) 6 August, 2010. Online here.

Reeve, Philip. "The Worst Is Yet to Come: Dystopias are grim, humorless, and hopeless—and incredibly appealing to today’s teens." School Library Journal 1 August, 2011. Online here.

Reber, Lauren L. Negotiating Hope and Honesty: A Rhetorical Criticism of Young Adult Dystopian Literature. M.A. Thesis, Department of English: Brigham Young University, 2005.

Sambell, Kay. "Carnivalizing the Future: A New Approach to Theorizing Childhood and Adulthood in Science Fiction for Young Readers." The Lion and the Unicorn. 28 (2004) 247-267.

Springen, Karen. "Apocalypse Now: Teens Turn to Dystopian Novels," Publisher's Weekly (Online), 15 February, 2010. Online here.

Sullivan III, C.W., ed. Science Fiction for Young Readers. Contributions to the Study of Science Fiction and Fantasy, Number 56. C.W. Sullivan III, ed. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1993.

___. Young Adult Science Fiction. Contributions to the Study of Science Fiction and Fantasy, Number 79. C.W. Sullivan III, ed. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1999.

Stiefvater, Maggie. "Pure Escapism for Young Adults." The New York Times (January 11, 2011). Online here.

Svilpis, Jānis. "Authority, Autonomy, and Adventure in Juvenile Science Fiction." Children's Literature Association Quarterly. 8 (Fall 1983): 22-26.

Walton, Jo. "The Dystopic Earths of Heinlein's Juveniles." Tor.com. 5 August, 2008. Online here.

Wehmeyer, Lillian B. Images in a Crystal Ball: World Futures in Novels for Young People. Littleton: Libraries Unlimited, 1981.

Westerfeld, Scott. "Breaking Down the 'System'." The New York Times (December 27, 2010). Online here.

Yoke, Carl B. Phoenix from the Ashes: The Literature of the Remade World. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1987.

Zipes, Jack. "The Age of Commodified Fantasticism: Reflections of Children's Literature and the Fantastic." Children's Literature Association Quarterly. 9 (Fall 1984-1985): 187-190.


"Dystopian fiction may be the only genre written for children that’s routinely less didactic than its adult counterpart."
- Laura Miller. "Fresh Hell: What's Behind the Boom in Dystopian Novels for Young Readers?" The New Yorker (June 14, 2010). Online here.