Trends in Young Adult Literature. A Glance at American and British Fantasy with an Eye on the Transylvanian Variant

Abstract The present paper looks at the main contemporary trends in writing literature for young adult readers The theoretical part focuses on possible definitions and characteristics of young adult literature by distinguishing it from children’s literature and adult fiction, as well as by establishing the different age groups these novels are written for The practical part of the paper gives examples of different types of novels written for this particular audience, such as J K Rowling’s prominent Harry Potter series, but also Lois Lowry’s The Giver or Meg Cabot’s Abandon trilogy At the end, the study also presents a Transylvanian author who has recently started writing fantasy for young adults, namely Balázs Zágoni, and his Black Light series