Date of Award
Spring 5-13-2026
Document Type
Open Access Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
English
First Advisor
Dr. Danica Savonick
Abstract
In this thesis, I will explore a wide range of young adult fiction novels that feature themes surrounding activism. My goal will be to use a number of novels to illustrate the importance of analyzing literature that features young people as activists within social justice movements. My main overarching question is: How are young people represented as activists in young adult literature, and how can young people use such literature as a catalyst for social change? I also plan to explore questions relating to how young people are represented as activists, why their voices are so integral when promoting social change, and the power that young people have in creating such change.
Young adult activist literature refers to texts like The Hate U Give, The Hunger Games, Dear Martin, and Internment: novels in which teenage protagonists are involved in social justice movements, aiming to make meaningful changes within their communities. Part of the work this thesis will do will be to define this genre more specifically, focusing on books like All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely, This Book Won’t Burn by Samira Ahmed, Does My Body Offend You by Mayra Cuevas and Marie Marquardt, and Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian. These titles have received less scholarly attention than texts like The Hate U Give. Additionally, these texts are all contemporary, following characters who range from ages 13-18, fighting against an oppressive 20th and 21st-century America. By analyzing these modern works, I am hoping to draw more attention to the battles young people are facing in the heart of an antidemocratic society.
In this thesis, I will analyze young adult activist literature, while weaving in scholarship that emphasizes the importance of positioning young people within activist movements; through this work, I hope to illustrate all the ways in which we can use young adult activist literature to push back against police brutality, homophobia, censorship, and misogyny, working toward embracing true intellectual freedom.
Recommended Citation
Stack, Emma, "The Undaunted: How Young Adult Activist Literature Depicts the Fight for Social Justice" (2026). Master's Theses. 201.
https://digitalcommons.cortland.edu/theses/201
Thesis Abstract
Included in
Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons, Higher Education and Teaching Commons, Junior High, Intermediate, Middle School Education and Teaching Commons