Lets Hear It For YA

For the first time in a long time, I find myself having the free time to allow myself to read books again. I tend to be one of those people who marathons books and therefore in the past have had to deny myself the pleasure of reading a book from start to finish because I’ve had school projects to do or a job to answer to. Being that I have neither responsibilities right now (not by choice, except for the school thing who wants to get more than a Master’s anyway?) I am able to sit down and read at my leisure. I have read 3 new books in the last 2 months, but for every new book I have reread 5 of *my* “classics.”

In reading and rereading my collection of books, I have started to notice that I have a type of writing that I enjoy. I always joke that I am reading seedy, gossipy young adult novels because I very rarely deviate from that area of the library/ book store. The truth is that I really enjoy a good story told from an interesting perspective.

When I was in High School, YA was not the sensation it is today. I was forced to find characters to relate to in actual classics. While I do love The Catcher in the Rye, I never could get behind Holden Caulfield’s callous attitude. So for many years, I struggled to find books that made me feel invigorated as if I was picking up on something more than just what was written on the page. I was 10 years old the last time that had happen, the book was Lois Lowry’s The Giver.


Once I started to work in a book store and around the time my younger cousin became old enough to read YA I was introduced to the genre myself. Between the flashy displays at work and my cousin telling me what I needed to be reading, I discovered a whole new world of literature. Over night I was introduced to characters who were presented with seemingly unremarkable situations but managed turned them into full on adventures. I met girls who spoke openly about their feelings rather than batting their eyelashes at their male counterparts hoping to get noticed. I became acquainted with young men who fretted over the mark they’d leave behind on the world instead of how many girls they’d sleep with. In short, YA literature opened the doors to a world that always existed yet was swept under the rug by the media and yes even my own peers in lieu of a flashier, seemingly more entertaining environment.

Today I am a 28 year old who reads primarily young adult novels. That is not to say that I don’t enjoy adult fiction or get engulfed in a compelling non fiction piece now and then. Yet, I can not deny that the work being published for young adults right now is incredible. It touches on so many emotions and brings to light circumstances that are so often glossed over in the real world. In a society where the casts of Jersey Shore and 16 and Pregnant are glorified as celebrities, there are books being published about quirky individuals who have their own opinions about important issues. These books and the authors that write them are encouraging readers to see beyond the glossy pages of magazines and the scripted hours of reality television.

I am not trying to say that young adult literature is the answer to the world’s problems, because it’s not. It does offer readers, specifically younger readers; an alternative view of our society. I also realize that for every well written book about teens involved in realistic situations, there are 4 that involve supernatural characters who sparkle or teens who are forced to reproduce in order to keep their society alive. These are just blips on an otherwise outstanding genre of writing that is available to us.

Please, don’t let the label young adult turn you off to a novel. If nothing else, let it pull you into a bout of nostalgia. Open the pages of these books and prepare to be brought back to your own adolescent experiences. Who knows perhaps you, like me; will find yourself mind blown by the stories told within these pages.