Best books for young adults: An analysis of the structural, stylistic, and thematic characteristics of the 1998 Best Books for Young Adults and 1998 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers.
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TextDescription: 364 pISBN: 0599827149Subject(s): Education, Reading | Library Science | 0535 | 0399Dissertation note: Thesis (Ph.D.)--Texas Woman's University, 2000. Summary: This study analyzed the 1998 Best Books for Young Adults list and 1998 Quick Picks for the Reluctant Young Adult Reader list to determine what characteristics the books possess that make them “best” books for young adults and to compare the two lists to determine how a best book for a reluctant reader differs from a best book for a young adult. Research questions guiding the study asked what are the structural, stylistic, and thematic characteristics of a best book for young adults and a best book for reluctant readers, and how do the books designated for reluctant readers differ from the best books for young adults?Summary: The study sample consisted of all of the books on the 1998 Best Books and Quick Picks lists. For analysis purposes, the books were separated into three groups based on the genre of the book: fiction, collections, and nonfiction. Different evaluation forms were created for each genre. Fiction and collections evaluation forms were guided by the analysis framework used by Lukens and Cline (1995); nonfiction evaluation forms were guided by the work of Carter and Abrahamson (1990). Outstanding features of each book were recorded as exceptional points.Summary: Content, what a book is about, and character were the most important aspects of fiction and collections books. Quick Picks fiction often tends to be more plot driven than Best Books, Collections have darker modes and exceptional format more often than fiction. Nonfiction varies widely from the other genres and between lists. Structure, style, and thematic elements are exceptional in almost half to almost all nonfiction books. All Best Books in all genres are generally more complex than Quick Picks books, although nonfiction is only slightly more complex than Quick Picks.Summary: The fiction and collections on both lists generally match the characteristics deemed important by traditional, literary criticism, indicating a consensus by both committees on what good fiction should be. Nonfiction is a different matter. The wide variation in nonfiction results indicate the lack of a common knowledge base about what constitutes nonfiction.
Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 61-06, Section: A, page: 2239.
Adviser: Margaret Griffin.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Texas Woman's University, 2000.
This study analyzed the 1998 Best Books for Young Adults list and 1998 Quick Picks for the Reluctant Young Adult Reader list to determine what characteristics the books possess that make them “best” books for young adults and to compare the two lists to determine how a best book for a reluctant reader differs from a best book for a young adult. Research questions guiding the study asked what are the structural, stylistic, and thematic characteristics of a best book for young adults and a best book for reluctant readers, and how do the books designated for reluctant readers differ from the best books for young adults?
The study sample consisted of all of the books on the 1998 Best Books and Quick Picks lists. For analysis purposes, the books were separated into three groups based on the genre of the book: fiction, collections, and nonfiction. Different evaluation forms were created for each genre. Fiction and collections evaluation forms were guided by the analysis framework used by Lukens and Cline (1995); nonfiction evaluation forms were guided by the work of Carter and Abrahamson (1990). Outstanding features of each book were recorded as exceptional points.
Content, what a book is about, and character were the most important aspects of fiction and collections books. Quick Picks fiction often tends to be more plot driven than Best Books, Collections have darker modes and exceptional format more often than fiction. Nonfiction varies widely from the other genres and between lists. Structure, style, and thematic elements are exceptional in almost half to almost all nonfiction books. All Best Books in all genres are generally more complex than Quick Picks books, although nonfiction is only slightly more complex than Quick Picks.
The fiction and collections on both lists generally match the characteristics deemed important by traditional, literary criticism, indicating a consensus by both committees on what good fiction should be. Nonfiction is a different matter. The wide variation in nonfiction results indicate the lack of a common knowledge base about what constitutes nonfiction.
School code: 0925.
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