In this interview with Walter Dean Myers (which we watched in class), he notes that there are not very many YA novels (or TV shows) which take place in urban settings, and we mostly see YA novels which take place in (predominantly white) suburbia. I can admit that when I began this course, the first books that came to mind when I heard “problem novel” were love stories like Forever or stories in which teens from relatively privileged backgrounds deal with difficult problems, including drugs, sex, alcohol, death, etc.

In Monster, Steve Harmon faces the possibility of life in prison (or even death) due to a problem that is largely societal, rather than personal. Similarly, in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou writes about issues that she faced as a black woman in a racist and sexist society. Novels like these are an extremely important part of the YA genre because they broaden what might be a narrow view of the types of problems that teens face. Increasing the representation of people who are different from out typical YA protagonist (white, cis-het, suburban teens) benefits the YA genre by making it more diverse, accessible, and informative to its audience.