I'll admit I'm biased in saying this, but Young Adult literature is super important in the world of English. It's what I grew up reading and it's what I want to write for a living one day. For many kids/teenagers like me, it was our first dive into complex subjects that would shape the world we were about to enter. Coming-of-age stories remain my favorites, as well as good YA fantasy, like Leigh Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy (shameless plug).
However, it also seems to be the most neglected genre in my educational life, as the college courses that are based around it at my school are not mandatory, or even really encouraged. They are either filed under "writing for children," which touches on YA but does not focus on the more mature aspects of the genre, or the generalized fiction workshops, which are hardly specialized at all. While they are beneficial, the ways they are taught do not touch on the common attributes of YA literature specifically, nor is it guaranteed that the audience reading the YA piece you have written will appreciate or understand your target audience. I'm shocked at the number of people who say they've never touched a young adult novel in their lives.
So why is this such a big deal? For a lot of teenagers growing up, it's an outlet -- a reflection of life through the lens of a different world or person. YA is the genre that allows our more imaginative ideas to flourish in a way unlike that of a cookie-cutter comic book, a way that takes a more mature spin on things we think we recognize. YA fantasy gives the reader the idea that anything is possible through story. It is this introduction to an original mythology that can aid them in understanding older myths and their place in the world, as well as the formulaic process by which the are written. An example of this would be something along the lines of the use of the theory of the hero's journey in Lord of the Rings, or the use of alchemical symbolism in Harry Potter. While the listed series may fall under fantasy, they teach us an underlying truth about what it means to be human, and a person worthy of love and respect.
On the more realistic side, while John Green or Stephen Chbosky's works do have plots involving romance and silly acts of debauchery, such as egging your ex's car or getting thrown by your underwear into a lake, they also speak to a much more sensitive side of life that a young adult may not have fully explored or seen in traditional media. Chbosky's novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, deals heavily with the themes of depression, discovery of sexuality, and childhood sexual abuse. These topics, while highly taboo, are important to discuss during the target age of the reader. They reflect a human value that said reader may not yet be familiar with, in this case, that being sexually abused as a child is not the child's fault and does not reflect the person that they can be at their full potential.
This genre not only helped me find my passion and my place as a writer, but I also believe that it can be a gateway into helping others. Whether it is through passing on advice, telling a compelling narrative that helps the reader believe in something greater than themselves, or simply giving a young student an idea of the road ahead of them, YA should be given a lot more credit. Granted, anyone of any age can read and enjoy these works of literature, as they have the same, almost magical property as any other book that allows us experience the same joy in triumph and the same sadness in doubt that the characters do. That is a sign of something worthy of recognition.
"It is our choices...that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." - J.K. Rowling
