Aren’t You Too Old To Be Reading That?

I am no longer in my teens. In fact, I’m thirty years old (yes, really). Despite this, about a third of the books I read are from the teenage or ‘young adult’ section of the library.

I’m not the only adult who enjoys fiction targeted at 12-18 year olds. The young adult (YA) market has really taken off over the last few years, encouraged in part by the ever-growing numbers of YA books which have been made into films. Books such as The Hunger Games trilogy, the Twilight series,  The Maze Runner and The Fault in Our Stars are requested by customers of all ages. It is also not uncommon to find  adults happily browsing in the snug little corner of the library where our YA books live.

So, why exactly does YA fiction hold such an appeal, one which transcends the otherwise tricky boundary between teenagers and those of us who are, in terms of age at least, regarded as adults?

Young adult fiction covers a huge range of genres. Romance, fantasy, science fiction, crime, thrillers, horror, humour and books that simply refuse to be categorized, the teen fiction market has it all.

Like any kind of fiction, it provides both a reflection of real life (which is particularly complicated when you happen to be a young adult), and an escape from it.

I thought I’d share my Top 5 YA Books with you, to give you an idea of just a few of the books that are out there.

Butter by Erin Jade Lange

Butter is a teenage boy who is very overweight. His size makes him a victim of direct bullying from some of the other kids, but others either ignore or pity him, and for Butter, that’s almost worse than the name-calling. He earned the nickname ‘Butter’ after a particularly cruel little episode of harassment. He has decided that he no longer wants to live, and will commit suicide. His chosen method is rather unusual – he plans to eat himself to death. Live. On the Internet. Once other students learn of this, rather than telling an adult or trying to stop him, many of them encourage him. Suddenly, Butter has the ‘positive’ attention he’s always longed for. But popularity, like the Internet, is a treacherous beast, and Butter soon finds he is in way over his head.

Butter is a troubling book that asks questions about the deceptive forms which bullying can take, but it is shot through with moments of both grim humour and genuine warmth.

 

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

This is another book which asks troubling questions about bullying. A boy named Clay receives a box of tapes in the mail. Starting to play them, he’s shocked to hear the voice of his classmate, Hannah. Hannah recently committed suicide, and over the course of thirteen sides of cassette tapes, she names the reasons why she took her life. The reasons are kids at Clay’s school, and he is one of them.

Thirteen Reasons Why does what a good book should – it makes you feel. It is heartbreaking, powerful, and ultimately hopeful.

 

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

 

Numerous books and movies tell of heroic teenagers who fight off evil – in the form of vampires, zombies, post-apocalyptic horrors and megalomaniac governmental powers. But what if you’re not a hero? What if you’re just an ordinary kid with (mostly) ordinary friends? Mikey, our narrator, is just such a kid. There may be some mysterious blue light plaguing his town and bringing death to all it encounters, but Mikey has bigger things to worry about. He has OCD which is beginning to take over his life. His family is falling apart at the seams. He’s in love with his closest female friend and all he wants is to go to prom. Oh, and his best male friend may just be a real-life god.

‘The Rest of Us Just Live Here’ is a both a bittersweet, very honest reflection of *normal* teenager-hood – with all its highs and lows – and a wickedly funny take on the recent deluge of teens-as-heroes stories in books and on the cinema screen.

Say Her Name – James Dawson

Say Her Name scared me silly. Do you remember the Bloody Mary urban legend? As a teenager. did you ever stand in front of a mirror, in a room lit only by candlelight, with your friends and say ‘Bloody Mary’ a particular number of times? Of course, nothing ever happened because Bloody Mary is just a legend. Right? It’s just a story.  That’s what Bobbie thinks, too. Until it’s too late…

This one had me just a little bit wary of looking into mirrors while I was reading it. YA horror is a growing genre and Dawson is a master of it.

 

The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood and Co. #1) by Jonathan Stroud

The Lockwood and Co. series is set in a world very similar to our own. The main difference is that in this particular world, ghosts are accepted as a fact. While some are harmless, others can be dangerous to humans, by sapping their energy and joy or by deliberately attacking and even killing them. Children, and teenagers are particularly talented at seeing ghosts. Consequently several ‘ghost hunting’ companies have been set up across the country. Children aged between about 7 and 17 are the agents, and are usually overseen by adults. The firm of Lockwood and Co is different however. It has only three agents, and no adults. Anthony Lockwood is the brilliant boy who leads the agency, assisted by the rotund and bookish George, and the strong and equally brilliant Lucy, who narrates the tales of things that go bump in the night.

Utterly chilling one moment, laugh out loud funny the next, and surprisingly tender at times, the Lockwood and Co books are great reads.

So, if you’ve ever been tempted by a book from our Young Adult shelves but have thought ‘I’m too old to read that!’, grab the book and give it a go. Truly great stories have no boundaries and can be enjoyed by anyone.