Welcome to Day Three of Teen Read Week, a national adolescent literacy initiative created by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). This year marks the week's 16th year of encouraging teens to be regular readers and library users.
I know we all still yearn for the glory years of whiteheads, braces and awkward interactions with your middle school crush, but teens actually do have the upper hand with one thing: YOUNG ADULT FICTION.
I have no shame in reading YA, and you shouldn't either, because it's not just for teenagers. Sure, if you actually read it when you're a teen it's a bit more socially accepted and all your friends have probably read the book too so you can actually have really great book discussions while you mom is driving you to the mall before Tommy Prescott from next door calls you later to see if you want to go see that movie, right?
Joking aside, the teenage years are a great time to bridge the gap between children's books and that million-page adult stuff. With all the hormonal confusion, shutting out the rest of the world with a good book could be just want adolescents need to avoid some of the stress of growing up (or – if you're like so many of us out there – already being grown up).
I know we all still yearn for the glory years of whiteheads, braces and awkward interactions with your middle school crush, but teens actually do have the upper hand with one thing: YOUNG ADULT FICTION.
I have no shame in reading YA, and you shouldn't either, because it's not just for teenagers. Sure, if you actually read it when you're a teen it's a bit more socially accepted and all your friends have probably read the book too so you can actually have really great book discussions while you mom is driving you to the mall before Tommy Prescott from next door calls you later to see if you want to go see that movie, right?
Joking aside, the teenage years are a great time to bridge the gap between children's books and that million-page adult stuff. With all the hormonal confusion, shutting out the rest of the world with a good book could be just want adolescents need to avoid some of the stress of growing up (or – if you're like so many of us out there – already being grown up).
I think the reason so many people love reading YA (myself included) is because it's a genre that's not afraid to take risks. Sure, there were a few years where every YA book seemed to be about vampires, and I think we're finally almost done with the here's-another-book-about-a-dystopian-future trap that authors have been so easily falling into (because hey, we know it sells). But I can't wait to see what's next for YA, because the genre has given us some pretty neat things already. I'm hoping for a new series with a particularly strong, positive body image message, personally.
With so many YA hits like Harry Potter, The Fault in Our Stars, If I Stay and The Hunger Games trilogy cashing in at the box office, you know that those wanna-be wizards, hopeless romantics and archery enthusiasts are picking up the books too – and that's all that matters.
The beauty about YA is it makes reading cool. At a time in a teen's life when being cool may be the biggest priority, that can serve as extra motivation to pick up a book and discover a new, lifelong hobby.
If you develop a strong enough passion for reading as a young adult, there's no way you're going to let the joys of reading slip away as you enter your older years. I mean, there may not be enough time to read for fun in college unless you forgo eating, sleeping and personal hygiene, but you'll graduate eventually. And when you do, those YA spectaculars will still be waiting for you. I know they were for me!
With so many YA hits like Harry Potter, The Fault in Our Stars, If I Stay and The Hunger Games trilogy cashing in at the box office, you know that those wanna-be wizards, hopeless romantics and archery enthusiasts are picking up the books too – and that's all that matters.
The beauty about YA is it makes reading cool. At a time in a teen's life when being cool may be the biggest priority, that can serve as extra motivation to pick up a book and discover a new, lifelong hobby.
If you develop a strong enough passion for reading as a young adult, there's no way you're going to let the joys of reading slip away as you enter your older years. I mean, there may not be enough time to read for fun in college unless you forgo eating, sleeping and personal hygiene, but you'll graduate eventually. And when you do, those YA spectaculars will still be waiting for you. I know they were for me!
*To learn more about Teen Read Week, visit www.teenreadweek.ning.com
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