Week 13 Response

Growing up, I never really read much ‘young adult’ literature. I always read 3 to 4 grade levels above my grade, so I started reading adult books by the time I was in middle school. I went from middle readers to adult, and never really gave young adult books much of a thought. I wasn’t into Harry Potter, nor was I into Twilight or The Hunger Games.

I will admit that I was one of those people who used to wonder why grown adults would be reading juvenile literature and young adult literature, and I thought it a bit strange. “Why is this grown adult reading books meant for teens?” And then I read the Divergent series. Followed by Twilight. And then The Hunger Games. With each book I started seeing the appeal of YA literature a little bit more. When I started working in the library’s Children department, we were required to read a book from each section to familiarize ourselves with the collection and the materials as a whole. I also made it a personal and professional goal to read TWO juvenile books a month and found some really great reads and authors I’d never heard of before.

Looking back on the young adult books available when I was a teenager, I can see a difference between what was written then and what’s been written and continues to be written today. There are actually some really good YA series and standalone books available that I personally would read and have added to my TBR list.

The best way we as librarians can work to ensure that we’re able to serve adults who enjoy YA literature or graphic novels is to first and foremost be as neutral and non-judgmental as possible. It’s not our place to judge people for what they want to read, and we should be excited that adults are reading. I’d like to see libraries perhaps create book clubs for adults that focus on YA reads and graphic novels. Libraries are a space where people can just come and BE their most true, authentic selves and feel supported and seen, and with the current legislation and bills being passed and laws restricting much of these freedoms, libraries are probably the safest and most neutral spaces for our patrons right now. And books are for everyone, regardless of your age, gender, sex, etc.

There are so many adults who have re-discovered their love of reading because of YA and graphic novel reads, and one of the things I’ve discovered about the newer young adult novels and graphic novels is that they teach us about life and often discuss issues that adult novels either gloss over or ignore entirely. The authors aren’t afraid to go there with topics like rape, violence, challenging the status quo, speaking out on racism, LGBTQIA issues, self-esteem and body issues, etc.

And if you look at the banned book lists, you’ll notice that the majority of books that are being banned are ones written for young adults. There’s a reason for that. Libraries need to continue purchasing and supplying these materials to patrons because if we don’t, we’re essentially practicing censorship on the highest level.