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A recent Guardian article (available via TNI’s syllabus) examines the common theme of death in teen fiction (i.e. The Lovely Bones, Before I Die, Thirteen Reasons Why, not to mention the onslaught of vampire books). Why such focus on mortality in art for the young?

Teens aren’t concerned with death, but rather life. It’s no surprise “get a life” or “this is my life” (or more often, “you’re ruining my life”) are phrases associated with adolescence. Young adulthood sees our first examination of the content and quality of our lives— and death provides the ultimate vantage point. Will I be missed, who will miss me, and what kind of mark did I leave? Dead narrators are on the outside looking in. Either their death is the impetus for further self-examination (think Scrooge seeing his own grave), or the dead narrator is beyond redefinition. Her life (and identity) is discrete and complete.

This examination is fundamentally an attempt at self-definition, to answer the question of “Who the hell am I?” by asking “Who was I?” With our first taste of independence, we begin to define the parameters of our own lives. Rather than home and family, which are decided for us, we begin to build communities of our own. We seek spaces free from the control of adults— either hangout spots, or the claimed territory of our own bedrooms. We create identities with music, fashion, and art. We build our own lives— which is another way of saying we build ourselves.

This is why suicide in particular is such a common theme in young adult literature. It is the ultimate act of self-definition, irrevocably overpowering the influence and control of others. No one can tell you what to do when you’re dead.

John M. Cusick is a Brooklyn-based literary agent and founding editor of Armchair/Shotgun. His first young adult novel, Girl Parts, will be released by Candlewick books in the fall 2010.