Phoenixes, mockingjays and chameleons : youth re-empowerment in contemporary fantasy and speculative young adult literature

Children’s literature tends to invite controversy among academics because children rarely produce the literature they read. This apparent passivity within a child-centred discourse has led some theorists to argue that children lack agency because they internalise whatever morals the adults, or power-holders, wish to impart. This thesis examines three YA book series as case studies in an evidence-based, exploratory approach to textual analysis: Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, and The Hunchback Assignments. I examine how each protagonist engages with the constructed social hierarchy of the narrative, which generally privileges adult power, in order to exercise as much autonomy as possible.