Crossing over: A research essay and a fantasy novel for young adults

This dissertation has two distinct parts: a research essay titled "YA Fantasy and the Myth of Childhood" and an original work of fantasy fiction for young adults titled Under Your Skin. The essay provides a scholarly context for the accompanying novel by presenting the thesis that young adult fiction has become progressively more similar to adult literature in the U.S. since the 1950s due to a shift away from the romanticized definition of childhood that was popular in the United States in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The essay includes analysis of three young adult fantasy novels by Ursula K. Le Guin (A Wizard of Earthsea), J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone), and Philip Pullman (The Golden Compass), all of which exemplify the "crossover phenomenon" in publishing because of their sophisticated thematic content, style, diction, and character development. A brief historical summary of the various approaches to childhood adopted by parents and teachers in the U.S. since the mid-nineteenth century is appended.;The fantasy novel, which is approximately 56,000 words in length, meets the definition of a crossover book expounded in the research essay. In keeping with the models provided by Le Guin, Rowling, and Pullman, the novel incorporates some of the sophisticated themes now commonly found in young adult fiction, including challenges associated with sexual maturation, ineffective communication between parents and adolescents, and stereotypical notions about gender identity. Because the featured brother and sister in the novel switch bodies when they enter the fantasy world, they make significant discoveries about family dynamics and gender differences as their adventures unfold. This crossover book demonstrates the growing stylistic and thematic complexity of novels intended for young adults and symbolizes a new, more transparent and inclusive approach to childhood in the United States.;Rather than lamenting this change, as many literary critics and social scientists have done recently, the essay and novel both suggest that the crossover phenomenon in YA fiction may help to establish positive ties between adolescents and adults in the U.S. based on mutual understanding and shared literary experiences.