I am twenty years old. Legally, I am an adult. The teen or young adult (YA) section at my local library says that it is for people ages thirteen to eighteen. Don’t tell anyone, but I check out my books from there anyway. About 75% of the books that I read are young adult books. I work in a bookstore and I am constantly trying to convince people that young adult isn’t just meant for teenagers, it’s meant for everyone. When I answer questions about the best books I’ve read recently, my favorite books and favorite authors, there is often an immediate look of disappointment when I tell the asker that I prefer young adult literature. (And yes, I consider YA, literature.) I often find myself adopting an apologetic tone as though I too am sorry that I mostly read YA.
But I am not sorry. I am completely content reading YA. Often people in my life, friends, family, colleagues, ask when I am going to grow up and start reading “real” literature. And my answer is always that I don’t need to read adult literature. I do read it from time to time, and I like it, but YA is my home. I consider it real literature and I find that much of it has as much literary merit as any adult novel, and often more.
In the past twenty years, many of the most popular bestsellers have been young adult novels. Look to Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Twilight, Divergent and The Fault In Our Stars. To achieve this level of popularity, these novels have to be read by people of all ages, including adults. The wild popularity of these novels demonstrates the power of young adult literature to span generations and find appeal to people at different points in their life. The universality of young adult literature is likely as a result of the emotional depth of these novels. Adolescents experience emotions in a different way than adults. Their emotions are stronger, more passionate, a true whirlwind. This intense emotional experience makes these novels and characters more vibrant and intensely relatable. It creates a different emotional experience than adult novels, but often makes these novels more enjoyable to read.
Young adult novels are full of intense feelings, whirlwind romances and coming of age stories. Everyone can find themselves in the emotional experience of a young adult novel, whether through the relatability of these emotions, nostalgia for their own time as an adolescent or a longing for the freedom of teenagers. Adults often long for the time when intense emotions, intense love and heartbreak, freedom from responsibility and the pressures of adult life were acceptable. Young adult novels offer an escape from reality in a way that adult novels often don’t. And what are we seeking in reading if not escape from our lives?
I will keep walking into my library’s teen section, and I encourage you to go to your library and pick up a young adult novel today. Who knows, maybe you’ll discover a new author or series and fall in love. Let me know in the comments what your favorite young adult novels are!
