Keywords: literature for children and YA, contemporary novel, teaching methodology of Serbian language and literature, thanatology. Abstract: The death of a close person is considered one of the typical ca- uses of trauma, and the thematization of the response to it, as well as me- mories of the deceased, are particularly sensiti ve in literature intended for young rea ders. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to identify the main moti vational and problem-oriented centers in the formation of the afore- mentioned topics on the basis of a se lected corpus of contemporary young- adult novels. An analysis of literary works has confirmed the presence of a broad spectrum of emotions and behavior as responses to the death of a close person, as well as a complex representation of memories and their integration into the life experience of the literary characters. Such content- rich artistic discourse on responses to death, the nature of memory, and the significance of forgetting opens up spa ce for various methodological approaches—interpretation based on the dominant character, comparati- ve thematic and moti vational interpretation, problem-based discussion, as well as research based on the corre lation-integration methodological mo- del—whether within the frameworks of regular classes or in the format of optional workshops. Belgrade : Faculty of filology ; Novi Sad : Academic book Decades after : Serbian literature 1991-2021 : collection of essays startpage: 103 endpage: 125 Вукомановић Растегорац, Владимир All rights reserved info:eu-repo/semantics/bookPart https://phaidrabg.bg.ac.rs/o:37442 doi:10.18485/slitam.2025.2.ch5 ISBN: 978-86-6153-771-4 application/pdf 294886 bytes 2025 eng Death, Trauma And Memory In The Contemporary Serbian Novel For Young Adults–Interpretive And Methodological Aspects