Animals in Young Adult Fiction

Few studies have been devoted to adolescent-animal encounters depicted in young adult fiction. This work examines several hundred novels and stories to explore the ways in which wild, working, performing, companion, and fantastic animals are represented in young adult realistic fiction and speculative works, including fantasy, supernatural, horror, and science fiction. Discussion on many of the novels centers on the significance of an animal relationship to the personal development of an adolescent protagonist. In some instances, broader social implications of a narrative are explored. Animal rights, environmental, and conservation issues are also explored as they arise. The book will be used by librarians, teachers, and students of children's and young adult literature. Author, title, and subject indexes are included. Hogan is professor and librarian at East Michigan University Annotation c2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Walter Hogan is professor and librarian at East Michigan University. He is the author of Humor in Young Adult Literature: A Time to Laugh (Scarecrow Press, 2005) and The Agony & the Eggplant: Daniel Pinkwater's Heroic Struggles in the Name of YA Literature (Scarecrow Press, 2001).