Out of here: Exploring locally regulated difference in contemporary novels of adolescence.

The role of the adolescent protagonist, as a critical medium through which to view society, is well established in the scholarly field of developmental fiction however, the concept of place - as it relates to societal norms, values, and expectations - remains relatively unexamined. Out of Here: Exploring Locally Regulated Difference' discusses ways in which contemporary novels of female adolescence appropriate developmental genre conventions and themes to explore the place-based definition and regulation of difference. Each of the novels suggests that conflict and transgression facilitate a critique of the social boundaries of place. Three contemporary Canadian novels that engage with local and systemic constructs of place frame this thesis: Kalyna's Song by Lisa Grekul (2003), The Sudden Weight of Snow by Laisha Rosnau (2002), and A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews (2004). My theoretical approach focusses on contemporary place theory as it relates to the critical function of conflict, a characteristic theme in developmental novels. --Leaf ii.