Cancer and Young Adult Literature

This collection specifically and solely focuses on Young Adult literature texts where cancer plays a prominent role, including widely-read texts like John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, Nicholas Sparks’ A Walk to Remember, and Jesse Andrews’ Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. The chapters present a variety of arguments, each developing a novel investigation into how these stories explore the effects cancer has on a person, a family, or on a relationship. As scientific studies continue to devlop new understandings of the biology behind cancer, and new sociological studies continue to uncover how a cancer diagnosis impacts the fabric of our culture(s), these collected essays continue to investigate how authors have woven cancer into the stories we write for young people. A number of distinct avenues are taken here, arguing for new approaches in crafting narrative, deeper appreciation for family support networks (or their absence), and what literary criticism can uncover when applied to cancer narratives.

Stephen M. Zimmerly is associate professor of English at the University of Indianapolis.