In this course, young adult fiction in English is studied with a focus on central themes and different societal issues. The course focuses on young adult fiction from the birth of 1950s youth culture until today and provides an overview of the modern development of young adult fiction in English. In the course, we use basic analytical tools from literary studies in order to analyze the literary works.
Young Adult Fiction
7.5 credits
There are stories that stay with you long after you have closed the book. Stories that follow young characters through choices, conflicts and dreams that reflect the world we live in. In this course, you step straight into those stories and explore how young adult literature has changed, grown and shaped the way we think about society. It is a journey through youth cultures, powerful themes and questions that remain just as important today.
Young Adult Fiction, 7.5 credits
Autumn 2025, One-quarter-time, Distance
Young Adult Fiction, 7.5 credits
Autumn 2026, One-quarter-time, Distance
About the course
Sara and Elin about the coruse
The teacher Sara Peltokangas Wilén and the course coordinator Elin Käck talk about the course.
The student Jelena
Why did you choose to take the course?
I am in the process of building my own bachelor’s degree in English Literature with the hopes of continuing on with a master’s degree (and potentially a doctorate) within the same field. I am interested in English literature and Children’s Literature, so I am looking for courses in those areas. This course, Young Adult Fiction, seemed like a perfect fit for me. It is also a genre I enjoy reading the most, therefore exploring it from a more analytical perspective sounded interesting to me.
What was the best part of the course?
The reading list chosen for this course was one of the things I enjoyed the most. While some of the books selected for the course would, without a doubt, fall into the YA genre, there were other books that pushed the boundaries of what the YA genre is. It was intriguing and fun for me to question the borders and limits of what a genre is and think about certain books from the reading list from a different perspective.
If someone asked you about the course, what would you say?
An important aspect that I feel like pointing out when talking about this course is how comfortable the learning environment created by the teachers was. As students, there were certain assignments and exams we had to do, but none of that felt stressful at all, like it tends to sometimes. Instead of being this big, scary thing we had to do, it simply felt like another way to explore these books and another chance to learn something new. The discussions we had during the lectures were inspiring and educational conversations between people who were passionate about literature and reading. Attending evening classes can feel daunting sometimes but it never did for this particular course.
Tell us what you are doing today.
This spring semester, I am continuing my journey towards a Bachelor’s degree. I am taking three different courses, one of which is with the same teachers from the Young Adult Fiction course: Creative Writing and Reading. This course is providing me with yet another way of approaching a literary text and another perspective on reading. It is also giving me a perfect excuse to sit down and write creatively, which is a skill I would like to develop more in the future.
I am in the process of building my own bachelor’s degree in English Literature with the hopes of continuing on with a master’s degree (and potentially a doctorate) within the same field. I am interested in English literature and Children’s Literature, so I am looking for courses in those areas. This course, Young Adult Fiction, seemed like a perfect fit for me. It is also a genre I enjoy reading the most, therefore exploring it from a more analytical perspective sounded interesting to me.
What was the best part of the course?
The reading list chosen for this course was one of the things I enjoyed the most. While some of the books selected for the course would, without a doubt, fall into the YA genre, there were other books that pushed the boundaries of what the YA genre is. It was intriguing and fun for me to question the borders and limits of what a genre is and think about certain books from the reading list from a different perspective.
If someone asked you about the course, what would you say?
An important aspect that I feel like pointing out when talking about this course is how comfortable the learning environment created by the teachers was. As students, there were certain assignments and exams we had to do, but none of that felt stressful at all, like it tends to sometimes. Instead of being this big, scary thing we had to do, it simply felt like another way to explore these books and another chance to learn something new. The discussions we had during the lectures were inspiring and educational conversations between people who were passionate about literature and reading. Attending evening classes can feel daunting sometimes but it never did for this particular course.
Tell us what you are doing today.
This spring semester, I am continuing my journey towards a Bachelor’s degree. I am taking three different courses, one of which is with the same teachers from the Young Adult Fiction course: Creative Writing and Reading. This course is providing me with yet another way of approaching a literary text and another perspective on reading. It is also giving me a perfect excuse to sit down and write creatively, which is a skill I would like to develop more in the future.
