One theme I’ve wanted to cover for a while at my DIY MFA column is identity: who we are, what we want to be, and all of the joys and complications that comes with those explorations. This theme can be found in books across all genres, but it happens quite frequently in YA literature – frequently enough, in fact, that I opted to do something different than my usual case study. Thus, today’s post offers insights on how identity is addressed in YA lit, its importance to readers in this age group, and what to keep in mind if your YA manuscript covers this theme.
Click here to read “Who Am I?: Identity as a Theme in YA Literature.”
As always, if you have any comments on the DIY MFA post, or if you have suggestions on theme-related articles you’d like to see in the future, feel free to share them here or at DIY MFA.
Sara Letourneau 
A big issue for teenagers of all ages! Not helped by the pejorative use of the term ‘adolescent’ to mean unduly immature. In my WIP the teenage protagonist is surrounded mostly by adults, yet they sometimes behave in an ‘adolescent’ way in both positive and negative senses, belonging as they do to a revolutionary city-state based on 1930s New York City, and imbued with sometimes excessive energy and enthusiasm.
Now I’ll sweep the snow out of my laptop and head over to DIY MFA!
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*lol* Good point. Not everyone learns to shed their less mature habits as they grow older. It just goes to show how challenging it is to be an adult. Then again, would we ever want to truly “grow up” and let go of the inner child inside us? 😉
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Which reminds me of a Facebook post I saw recently which declared if someone hasn’t grown up when they reach forty they don’t have to!
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