The School Story: Young Adult Narratives in the Age of Neoliberalism by David Aitchison (review)

Abstract

Children’s Literature Association Quarterly ostracism” (152) in order to convince kids who think they like fantasy to also like science fiction. Equipping Space Cadets argues that children do not need to be convinced to like science fiction—they like it already, as her case study of library borrowing suggests. It is, for Midkiff, the adults that need to be convinced. To accomplish this intervention in adult mindsets, Midkiff promotes a definition of science that allows for speculation and the fantastic, but which at the same time demands accuracy in human representation. These dictates will help reluctant adult book buyers, including some librarians and teachers, to feel more comfortable in the (widened) world of science fiction. They will not, however, end the debate over the literary definition of science fiction.