Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys
Young adult mystery has never been well defined, but many suggest that Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys were the start of Young Adult Mystery genre. Nancy Drew was a sixteen year old girl detective who maintains a social life while solving crimes. The Hardy Boys are teenage brothers, who still attend high school while working with their detective father solving crimes.
During the 1930s, when these two series began, they were meant to appeal to the younger audience, but they were not considered what we know as Young Adult Mystery today. It was not until Young Adult Literature was created that these series fit the young adult profile. Today these are classic original Young Adult Mystery novels with a huge number of young readers still reading the series.
During the 1930s, when these two series began, they were meant to appeal to the younger audience, but they were not considered what we know as Young Adult Mystery today. It was not until Young Adult Literature was created that these series fit the young adult profile. Today these are classic original Young Adult Mystery novels with a huge number of young readers still reading the series.
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards or The Edgars as it is now called. This award was created in 1946, and are considered the Oscars for Mystery writers. Writes from Agatha Christie, Alfred Hitchcock, Stephen King, and Michael Connelly have all received an Edgar for their talents in the mystery genre. The Edgars pick winners for best mystery novel, short story, television and movies. In 1961, the created the Best Juvenile Edgar Award which was meant for young adults. By 1989, Best Juvenile Edgar Award went to more young kid mysteries, and in 1989, the Edgar Award for best Young Adult Mystery was created. Any mystery writer can enter their novels for an Edgar Award. The Young Adult Mystery category has only been around for a couple of decades, but many of the winners are popular books for young adults. The book Reality Check that is in the High School Lesson Plan won the Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Mystery in 2010. In the List of Books on this website has also won Edgar Awards for Best Young Adult Mystery.
Young Adult Mysteries Today
Young Adults today want to read older books, and writers should write young adult novels that deal with older characters. Young adults want to read about a protagonist who is between the ages of seventeen and twenty-two because they want to read about those characters who are facing adult situations, because many young adults are about to enter that period of they are not children anymore, but they are not quite adults yet. So reading young adult mysteries with older protagonists will allow the students to feel that they are ready to embark on a journey towards adulthood.