Introduction
Education is a very important aspect in the life of a person. Through education, individuals become enlightened and gain the ability to undertake their activities successfully. Remarkably, education employs several techniques and strategies, which include the use of novels and storybooks.
Out of novels and storybooks, young adults receive insights concerning the importance of working hard and engaging in activities that are moral and ethical. Imperatively, storybooks and novels suit various students in different levels of education, and thus, certain novels fit young adults, whereas others suit the youth.
It is within this context that the essay examines the suitability of the novels, ‘I am Malala’ and ‘Every Day’ for young adults in different levels and grades in schools.
Grades 7-8 ‘I am Malala Novel’
Introduction
The novel ‘I am Malala’ is a real life story of a young teenager, who defied numerous challenges in pursuit of education. In the novel, the young girl, Malala, who is the main character, faced challenges focused on preventing the girl child from accessing education.
As a child born in Afghanistan and raised in a society, which believed that girls were lesser beings, Malala faced numerous challenges that several girls encountered. For instance, as a young girl, Malala’s mother did not receive sufficient education and had to continue with her studies at an advanced age (Yousafzai, 2014).
It is important to note that the drive for Malala to study and achieve the best in her education occasioned from her father, who instilled the importance of education in her and encouraged her to study.
Notably, Malala’s father was a teacher, who had established a school to educate and help children in the society to acquire the much-needed education.
The novel attained its peak when the atrocities of the Taliban became rife and heightened to an extent where they murdered individuals, who refused to practice some activities that they practiced.
When the Taliban arrived at the village where Malala lived and burned down several girl schools, Malala continued with her education hiding her books in her shawl, while attending school.
Eventually, when the atrocities executed by the Taliban worsened, the family relocated to a different place away from the war stricken border of Kabul and Afghanistan. However, the Taliban continued engaging in schemes geared towards preventing girls from accessing education.
According to Yousafzai (2014), the novel concludes with the attempted assassination of Malala, because of her continued fight for education of the girl child through media interviews and other social sites. During the fateful event, a Taliban fighter shot Malala from a close range on the head inside a bus.
Conversely, Malala survived and after a number of operations in Afghanistan and later in the United States, she recovered and continued her fight for the education of the girl child.
Characteristics of Young Adult (YA) Literature and Literary Genres in the Novel
Some of the young adult characteristics, literature, and literary genres that the novel employs include the use of personal experiences and the tender age of the main character.
Apparently, the three literary characteristics employed by the novel comprise one young adult component of literature and two components of literary genres. The component that pertains to young adult entails the use of a young girl and the challenges faced during her tender age.
On the other hand, the two literary genres include the application factors such as irony and tragedy in the novel. Butcher and Hinton (2010) explain that use of genres such as irony and tragedy captivate the readers and make them enjoy the novel.
By using a young girl as the main character, the novel qualifies as the best for young adults. The novel qualifies because when young adults read it, they acquire the relevant skills and insights concerning their unique abilities after relating the character with their ages.
In essence, young readers can easily relate with the novel and in turn understand it effectively.
The novel contains several instances that clarify the presence of young adult literature and literary genres.
For example, in the novel Malala, states ‘I was a girl in a land where rifles are fired in celebration of a son, while daughters are hidden away behind a curtain, their role in life simply to prepare food and give birth to children’ in page 17 (Yousafzai, 2014).
The statement proves that she faced challenges and struggled to overcome them. Notably the statement is very instrumental in appealing to students of the respective grade as it shows them that they can deliver the best if they develop a determination similar to that held by Malala.
Principally, the implication of the assertion in the novel is increased motivation from young adults that the novel targets. It is fundamental to explicate that the novel best suits the age group of students within grades 7-8.
Barriers in the Novel and Their Solutions
Some of the major barriers demonstrated in the novel include the location and the challenges faced by the main character. In the novel, the main locations where the character encounters challenges are Kabul and Afghanistan.
These areas are far and some students cannot decipher the relevance of the novel in the practical scenario. Moreover, since the challenges faced by Malala comprise problems like inadequate education of the girl child, which are not common in other parts of the world, the essence of the novel can fail to materialize.
The barriers occasion because young adults prefer stories that are relevant and those that they can easily understand (Butcher & Hinton, 2010). As a result, the use of a novel that highlights the challenges of a young girl from Afghanistan is challenging.
To overcome the barriers and disinterest from the young adults, comprehensive narration and humor are useful so that the target group create an association with the ideas contained in the novel.
Grades 11-12 ‘Every Day Novel’
Introduction
‘Every day’ is a novel that revolves around a creature, which is not human. The creature, which the author calls ‘A’ is unique and can change bodies every day. Levithan (2012) asserts that the novel is interesting as it uses a being that can recall the memories of the body used as well as the feelings, emotions, and passions.
One day the creature is in an addict, another day the creature occupies the body of a suicidal girl, and in another instance, it is in the body of an obese teen boy.
The turning point in the novel occurs when the creature occupies the body of Justin, who is the boyfriend of Rhiannon.
Significantly, although A had lived for more than 5000 days on earth and had laid down rules that governed its interactions, feelings, and emotions, meeting and falling in love with Rhiannon initiated notable changes in its life (Levithan, 2012).
After falling in love with Rhiannon, the creature relaxed all its rules and started spending more time with the girl. As a result, A was compelled to visit the newfound love every day in a different body, which was initially weird for Rhiannon, who later accepted the creature and loved it.
Characteristics of Young Adult (YA) Literature and Literary Genres in the Novel
The novel employs various YA characteristics and literary genres. Among the YA literature used by the novel is fiction through a creature, which changes bodies every day. Conversely, the two aspects of genre used by the novel include romance and comedy.
Vitally, romance and comedy are some of the genres used in various young adult novels (Butcher & Hinton, 2010). By using a creature that switches bodies every morning and can adapt to different emotions, the novel captures the attention of young adults in the particular grade.
The ability to capture the attention of young adults emanates from the use of fiction alongside genres like romance and comedy. Fundamentally, young adults in the respective grade are emotionally active and have challenges presented by the novel such as sexuality, obesity, and addiction.
Therefore, by employing these young adult literature and literary genres, the novel becomes the best for young adults in grades 11-12.
In the novel, various examples justify its usefulness for young adults. Use of elements such as addiction, romance, obesity, and suicide makes the novel practical as it touches on challenges that the young adults of the respective grade face every day.
According to Levithan (2012), some of the examples include ‘This is not my body, but it’s the body she wants. I feel like a pretender.’ statement made by A in page 250. The statement substantiates the fact that love is a powerful experience that many teenagers face in their daily endeavors.
Moreover, when A fights to overcome the whims advanced by the addictive body, it is clear that the novel discourages teenagers from abusing substances and drugs.
Principally, the significance of the novel for the particular grade is a factor that scholars and teachers cannot downplay in their quest to select a suitable novel that best fits the young adults.
Barriers in the Novel and Their Solutions
Some of the barriers that are evident in the novel include overemphasis on some issues such as romance and little emphasis of factors like religion. Moreover, other barriers that can lead to disinterest from the target young adults comprise judgmental behavior of the main character in the novel.
The novel focuses on romance and revolves around A and Rhiannon. Consequently, the issue of religion does not have a pronounced coverage in the novel, and thus, young adults, who value different religions, may develop disinterest towards the novel.
The use of judgmental language in the novel on some bodies worn by the creature makes it judgmental. For instance, when A states ‘I had to drag the heavy mass of the obese teenage boy to class’ in page 337, it creates a negative attitude on individuals, who have weight problems (Levithan, 2012).
To overcome the barriers, solutions such as creativity, humor, and comprehensive explanation would be very instrumental.
Conclusion
The process of selecting the right novels has instilled a lot of skills and expertise in my field of teaching. Ethics, morality, and social presentation of the novel are some of the essential components that are very vital when selecting a novel for a particular grade.
In addition, creativity, application of humor, and use of comprehensive explanations are very critical in ensuring that the novels selected are practical and well understood by the target young adults.
In future, the lessons learned will enhance my teaching skills and advance the quality of knowledge that the young adults in different grades acquire from the respective learning institutions.
References
Butcher, K., & Hinton, K., (2010).Young Adult Literature: Exploration, Evaluation, and Appreciation (2nd Edition.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon/ Pearson.
Levithan, D. (2012). Every Day. Melbourne: Text Publishing.
Yousafzai, M. (2014). I am Malala: Young Readers Edition. New York: NY 10017.