Modern Fantasy

Among all the genres, this one maintains a high level of interest among the young adults and incorporates room for imagination and the stretching of the mind in an interesting way. Some of the critical issues associated with this genre are the following: it helps young readers to explore complex ideas on a symbolic level and fantasy is perfectly suited to thoughtful exploration of philosophical issues at a level that can be understood and appreciated by children.

To incorporate this genre into a classroom requires a creative method that will interest the students as well as meet the objectives of the lesson. It may be tricky but it can be done! Some simple ways to include it in the classroom would be the following: discuss the motifs to help the students know the language needed to apply their understanding of these elements in their future reading, discuss the truth in fantasy to help the children understand that at the heart of all fantasy lies the truth about ourselves and the world around us and students can respond through personal writing about fantasy stories from personal experiences.

Some examples of modern fantasy are the following: 

Twilight By Stephanie Meyers (grades 9-12)

      Bella, a simple girl who went to live with her dad after her mother moved away with her new husband. Once she comes to this new town, there are more secrets for she had to discover than she ever knew there to be and fell in love with one of the most dangerous one of all. As she encounters this new world, she is pursued by vampires who are not so nice and Edward, her newfound love, comes to her rescue.

The Lightning Thief By Rick Riordan (grades 6-12)

           Percy Jackson attends boarding school, one after another, and its about to happen once again. More than that, his Greek mythology book is leaking mythological monsters and gods of Olympus and Percy has only angered a few of them. As a result, when Zeus's lightning bolt has been stolen, Percy becomes the prime suspect. He must find the missing bolt with his friends and he only has ten days. On his journey to find the bolt, he faces more than the thief, he must face his own issues of a father who has abandoned him and the possibility of a friend betraying him.  

  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling (grades 6-12)

         In this adventure, there is a young boy named Harry Potter whose parents who supposedly passed away in a car accident. Little did he know that one day he will find out the truth and has been accepted into a wizard school, Hogwarts. In this epic journey, Harry finds out the truth of his family and saves Hogwarts from his arch nemesis, Voldermort.