The definition of "Young Adult Literature" has changed significantly over time and is still nebulous. Basically, any book written for and marketed to teens and young adults can be young adult literature. There is often a lot of overlap between young adult and other genres, and some young adult books are popular with adults as well.
Finding young adult books in the catalog is more difficult than finding other genres because there is no subject heading for young adult lit. The heading 'juvenile literature' is used, but it's also used for children's books. The best way to find young adult books is to visit the Curriculum Library where most YA books are shelved and browse there.
These authors write books that are popular with people who enjoy YA novels. Click on any name to be take to a list of their works in the WIU catalog. If you're interested in a particular author not listed here, you can also search for that author directly from the WIU catalog home page.
Is a book by your favorite author not available at Western?
You might be able to borrow it through I-Share. By creating an I-Share account using your WIU Library ID, you can borrow books from 80 different Illinois college libraries.
The I-Share catalog lets you search the collections of all I-Share libraries simultaneously. You can also request books from other libraries through the 'Request 1st Available' feature.
This guide has information to help you create a new I-Share account and place requests for books.