TEENAGE PREGNANCY: A STUDY OF NOVELS OF PAUL ZINDEL (Pages 155-165) by V. Sheela in THE ENGLISH RESEARCH EXPRESS / ISSN:2321-1164 (Online); 2347-2642 (Print)

Teenagers have many issues to cope with. Abuse is a common occurrence that almost every teenager encounters, Teens have to rebel and it is a part of the growing process. My paper will investigate how teens handle emotional, physical and sexual changes they experience. The author focuses on the problem of teen pregnancy and sympathetically portrays how female adolescents are abused. Paul Zindel’s YA Novels (Young Adults Novels) have enjoyed popularity because of portrayal of the problem of teenagers who are under stress, he also focuses children who experienced loneliness and struggle for independence. Novels from 70s and 80s empathize teenage preventing them from feeling lonely as they struggle to cope with life. Most of Paul Zindel’s YA novels focus on the problem of adolescents between the ages 14-21. His novels can help teenager to deal with unexpected events and problematic circumstances giving them the strength to carry on. Teen pregnancy is one of the major problems in the United States. There are many things which cause this pathetic problem. Lack of love and affection and lack of concern for children from parents also lead to teen pregnancy apart from adult abuse of female adolescents. According to research scholars, a female adolescent’s look for love and affection elsewhere which she does find at home and in the process does not mind getting pregnant. The novels which deal with particular problem effectively are termed as YA novels. The paper explores the problem of Teen pregnancy, the causes leading to it and the solution suggested as understood from the novels of Paul Zindel. Keywords: adult abuse, teenage pregnancy, unmarried mothers etc.