NEVER TOO OLD. Don't be afraid to reach for those young adult fiction books – they're popular for a reason!

Growing up, you may remember that reading seemed to be something that appealed to you more. Maybe you recall reading the most recent Harry Potter book during class, texting with your friends about The Hunger Games, or even reading Spider-Man comic books under your bed sheets with a flashlight; after all, who wouldn’t love such memorable stories about young adults? 

Unfortunately, as we age, it’s easy to believe that we can’t or shouldn’t read stories like these anymore, especially if we begin to consider ourselves to be the wrong audience and think that we have grown out of this type of literature. Even I was not immune to this idea, despite my love for literature, and thought that I must be doomed as an adult to read the dreaded classics that we all begrudgingly read in high school: goodbye John Green and hello John Steinbeck.

Fortunately, while I was going to college, I had the pleasure of being able to take a young adult literature course as a mandatory credit toward my degree. Initially, I was worried that the books I would have to read were not going to apply to me and my new “adult” literature preferences, especially since I no longer fit into the target audience of ages 12-18. Surely these books would be boring to me now, since I was no longer living the life of a teenager, right?

As it turns out, young adult literature is as engaging and diverse as I remember it being when I was younger, if not more so. I was blown away at how such complicated and unique ideas could be broken down and written about in a way that a high school, or even middle school, student would be able to understand and begin thinking critically about. It was during this class that I was introduced to multiple novels that I never would have picked out to read on my own, none of which would seem like they are “exclusively” for young adults if you removed the protagonists’ ages.

As it turns out, young adult literature is as engaging and diverse as I remember it being when I was younger, if not more so.

Riley Richards

Reference assistant, L.E. Phillips Memorial public library

Through reading the novels assigned in this course I read stories about post-apocalyptic climate change and coping with grief, utopian societies and the unthinkable downsides to living in them, as well as the challenges that come with keeping families together after a particularly challenging loss and the passage of time (and more!).

It truly surprised me as I read through these books how easy it was to fall into them; not only were the stories engaging, but the readings were not nearly as intense as trying to read something stuffed with absurd levels of details and unique writing styles that take far longer to get through comfortably. Although I do still love (and highly respect) books with that level of detail, it felt great to read through an exciting story without having to worry about missing anything or having to reread a particularly unique paragraph. It was like a break for my brain, and truthfully, it reignited my passion for reading again after struggling to read “adult” novels one after the other.

Ultimately, although young adult literature is defined by its use of protagonists and target audiences that are around 12-18 years old, this genre also gives authors a wide range of ages to use for exploring growth, learning, and even failure. These ages do tend to be the most fruitful for these experiences, but even if you might not work part-time at a fast food restaurant or wear ripped jeans anymore, you do not stop learning, growing, or failing as an adult.

Despite the fact that reading young adult literature may lose some of its relatability as you age, that does not mean you aren’t allowed to read and enjoy it, even if it is only a break from more challenging stories. Try to remember that you don’t have to relate to it, but instead try to think about it as an homage to the ages we all remember: a tribute to the trials and tribulations of some of the most memorable learning, growing, and failing we experience in our lifetimes (maybe along with some extra wizards and witches, post-apocalyptic societies, or pantheons of gods… just for good measure!)

Riley Richards is a Reference Assistant at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library. This was originally posted on their blog: ecpubliclibrary.info.