#FSYALit Discussion Index/Hub

It began as a casual conversation over Twitter, but YA Librarian Ally Watkins and I decided that we really wanted to explore and discuss issues of faith and the spiritual lives of teens in YA literature, thus the #FSYALit Project was born. And as part of our initial research we found some interesting background information:

“When discussing the spiritual lives of teens the Barna Group notes that, “Teenagers are consistently among the most religiously active Americans, with nearly 6 out of every 10 teens engaged in some type of group spiritual activity in a typical week.” But having a spiritual life does not automatically translate to evangelical Christian. For example, 1% of the U.S. population is Muslim, another 1% is Buddhist and around 2% are Jewish. 16% are unsure or identify as Atheist. (Source: Pew Research Statistics on Religious and Public Life Project ; Child Trends Research Brief on Spirituality and Religiosity Among Youth)”

We want to talk about the spiritual lives of teens in YA lit in a meaningful way and compile a good list of resources for those who love, work with, or serve teens, but we can’t do it alone. You can join the discussion. Whether it be sharing your thoughts on a book or compiling a list, we hope that you’ll join us in this discussion.

Project Goals:

• To facilitate a discussion about the ways various faiths are (or are not) represented in YA literature.
• To examine specific titles and create lists of titles that those wanting to look for titles with diverse representations of faith can add to their collections (or buy for the teens in their lives)
• To include a wide variety of voices on the topic of the spiritual lives of teens in YA literature

Posts:

• Faith and Spirituality in YA Lit: A Discussion (Introductory Post)
• YA Librarians Ally Watkins and Karen Jensen Discuss Faith and Spirituality in YA Lit, part 1
• Because you gotta have faith
• Top 10 Titles: ‘Cause You Gotta Have Faith
• A discussion of faith and science in Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature by Robin Brande
• GLBTQ YA and Issues of Faith, a guest post by Robert Bittner
• The Distance Between Lost and Found, part 1: Wilderness Survival and Youth Group Culture (Ally Watkins)
• The Distance Between Lost and Found, part 2: Sex, Power, Politics and The Church (Karen Jensen)
• Catholicism in YA lit by Katie Behrens
• Vivian Apple at the End of the World by Katie Coyle, a book discussion
• Author Tessa Gratton talks faith and spirituality in YA fantasy
• Author Bryan Bliss post on NO PARKING AT THE END TIMES (We can’t be afraid of honest questions)
• Librarian Jen Leitch discusses PURITY by Jackson Pearce
• Amanda MacGregor on WHAT IF I’M AN ATHEIST?
• Girls Like Me Don’t: Thoughts on Things I Can’t Forget by Miranda Kenneally, a guest post by Katelyn Browne
• #FSYALit Roundtable Part I and Part II
• Doubt and the Teenage Religious Experience, Reflections on EDEN WEST by Pete Hautman (a post by Ally Watkins)
• Orthodox Representation in YA Lit, a guest post by Maureen Eichner
• Hinduism in YA Lit: A #FSYALit Guest Post by Shveta Thakrar
• Hidden Things: A #FSYALit discussion of the book CONVICTION
• I Was a Sixteen Year-Old Jesus Freak (Just Not In the Way You Think) a guest post by Terra Elan McVoy
• Kaye M, Muslim representation in YA lit
  
• Writing Religion When it’s Not Your Own, a guest post by Melissa Walker
• They Still Break Girls, Don’t They: A Reflection on THE SACRED LIES OF MINNOW BLY for #FSYALit
• DEVOTED: Religion, Feminism, and the Case for Compassion , a #FSYALit guest post by author Corey Ann Haydu
• The Faith of The Girl of Fire and Thorns
• Jewish LGBTQ Books for a Synagogue Collection, a guest post by Jill Ratzan
• Mormon Representation in YA Lit
• Freedom From Religion: A #FSYALit discussion of Burned and the Choice to Walk Away, a guest post by Sarah Alexander

Resources:

Including additional book lists, discussions and more – a resource list in progress.

• Pratt Picks: Teen Spirits: Novels About Faith
• Diversity 101: Religion in YA
• The Hub: Though Shalt Not – Religion and Teen Books
• Are You There, God? The Mysterious Disappearance of Religion in YA Fiction
• Interview: Sara Zarr on YA Fiction and adolescence as a crisis of faith
• The Brown Bookshelf: Faith in Fiction
• YA Highway: The Intersection of Faith and Fiction
• ALAN: Spiritual Themes in YA Fiction
• Why Are We AFraid of Religion in YA Books?
• The Reading Shelf: Discussion: Religion in YA
• Don’t Talk About What? Religions Place in YA Fiction (TLA)

Agnosticism and Atheism

• The Hub: Atheism and Agnosticism in YA
• Books for Atheist Teens
• What if I’m an Atheist?

Buddhism

• The Hub: Buddhism in YA

Catholic Fiction

• http://www.catholic-fiction.com/genres/young-adult-teen/
• http://www.catholicmom.com/youth_books.htm
• http://lifeteen.com/catholic-summer-book-list/
•  http://www.lizburns.org/2009/02/what-about-catholics.html

• Hinduism in YA Lit

•  Jewish Themed YA Lit, Not About the Holocaust
•  The Hub: Judaism in YA Lit
•  Great Books for—and about—Jewish LGBTQ Teens
  http://www.myjewishlearning.com/keshet/great-books-for-and-about-jewish-lgbtq-teens
• Jewish LGBTQ Books for a Synagogue Collection, a guest post by Jill Ratzan

• Mormon Representation in YA Lit
• Freedom From Religion: A #FSYALit discussion of Burned and the Choice to Walk Away, a guest post by Sarah Alexander

• Muslim Teen Reads: Top 10 Teen Reads
• Rebels by Accident: Telling Muslim Girls’ Stories in YA Fiction
• Where are All the Muslim Characters in Children’s Fiction?
• Teen Fiction with Muslim Heroes
• The Hub: Diversity in YA Lit: Muslim Teens
• Kirkus Books About Muslim Teens

Filed under: #FSYALit, Faith, Spiritual Life, Spirituality