Abstracts
Abstract
The Reading for Normal project discussed in this article sought to interrogate some of the assumptions about “normality” that underpin everyday life, and to understand how reading fictional representations of ordinary life might help young readers better manage periods of uncertainty and instability. Using data from a small‑scale UK‑based reading group project that ran from December 2020 to May 2021, we explore the affordances of authenticity, belonging, and connection that emerged when teens were offered opportunities for a “common dwelling in fictional ordinariness with a generational cohort”. We consider the ways in which reading and talking about young adult (YA) fiction helps teenage readers address questions about the changing world around them.
Keywords:
- Young adult fiction,
- reading groups,
- social norms,
- ordinariness,
- Britishness
Résumé
Le projet « Reading for Normal » s’intéresse aux conceptions de la « normalité » qui sous‑tendent la vie quotidienne, ainsi qu’à la manière dont des représentations fictives de cette banalité sont susceptibles d’aider les jeunes lectrices et lecteurs à mieux composer avec des périodes d’incertitude et d’instabilité. Les données, recueillies de décembre2020 à mai 2021 auprès d’un club de lecture actif au Royaume‑Uni, nous permettent de constater que, lorsque des adolescentes et des adolescents se voient offrir la possibilité de « fréquenter », avec d’autres jeunes de leur âge, des oeuvres de fiction mettant en scène le quotidien dans ce qu’il a de plus banal, il émerge une impression d’authenticité, et un sentiment d’appartenance et d’être en relation avec les autres. Nous nous intéressons aux manières dont le fait de lire de la littérature pour adolescents, et d’en discuter, permet aux jeunes lectrices et lecteurs d’interroger le monde en mutation dans lequel elles et ils vivent.
Mots-clés :
- Littérature pour adolescents,
- clubs de lecture,
- normes sociales,
- banalité,
- britannicité
Appendices
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