England's first Queen Elizabeth gave her name to an age. Inheriting a bankrupt, famished, and powerless country, she healed its religious rifts, replenished its treasury, redefined diplomatic guile, defeated the Spanish Armada, and inspired a new flowering of English culture.
As the 19th century drew to a close, the age-old quest to understand the physical world appeared to be complete except for a few minor details. "It seems probable that most of the grand underlying principles have been firmly established," said Albert Michelson, the first American scientist to win a Nobel Prize. But when Michelson made that prediction, he never dreamed that one of the "details"would soon be explained by a revolutionary theory that redefined the very concepts of space, time, matter, and energy.
Contemporary young adult literature is a relatively new genre. This guide provides an overview of the burgeoning field, focusing primarily on fiction. Included are 32 chapters on particular themes of special significance to young adults, including Abuse, Sexual Violence, and Healing; Families, Traditional and Redefined; Imagined Futures; Supernatural and Alien Beings: Confronting the Other; and War's Impact.
