2020
Fincham Press is the
academic press of the University of Roehampton and it is so appropriate that
they should produce this account of these liminal readers and those who write
for them. The University of Roehampton is a centre of excellence for the study
of children’s literature.
The subtitle is
apt. This is a reflective book in which Aidan
Chambers tells us of and rationalizes his journey into becoming a full time writer,
writing mainly for the young adult, for that age between.
Yet the work is more than
just a reflection. Chambers presents us with a sound definition of what the young
adult text is and who are the readers and writers of those texts. He identifies
key texts, his selection demonstrating a history of the genre and recommending
a canon. He also analyses his own texts, showing that they conform to the
habits and etiquette he has identified.
He also demonstrates
here a piece of metatext. He argues that we don’t grow so much because of our experiences
rather than because of our reflection about those experiences. Writing about
them is a form of reflection. In writing about what these texts do and how they
are made he establishes his own rationale
about writing for young people.
I used the word “liminal”
in my opening sentence because that is important in Chambers’ argument. The young
adult exists between two ages and in many of the texts discussed, including some
of his own, the protagonists and other characters are often in a liminal space
for other reasons.
Chambers admits to some
limitation to his arguments. He has only referred to British and American
texts. He has not referred to texts written
in other English-speaking countries, or to those in other languages. He highlights the lack of translated texts
for young people. With some relief I note that his arguments coincide with my
own and my study did include texts from other English-speaking countries and written
in other languages. Chambers highlights IBBY and IRSCL as offering a way
forward on this.
Usefully for many of us,
Chambers recognizes that it isn’t only young people who read these texts. Adults other than school librarians and
teachers read perhaps in order to redefine their own youth. He gives us permissions
to carry on reading.
The final thirty pages
are an interview with of Chambers by Doctor Deborah Cogan Thacker, who has a
special interest in youth literature and literary theory. They cover the topics
of voice, adult character in young adult literature, the implied reader, reader
response, reading for companionship, multiple personalities, ethics, morality, responsibility,
multiple points of view, preparation and research, the reader as co-author, and
the connection between reading and writing.
This has all the
hallmarks of an academic book: its price, the fact that it is produced by an academic
press, and some sound and valid arguments demonstrated well by the texts
discussed. It is also a very readable
book for any adult interested in this area of literature. As one would expect
of Chambers it is well written.
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