Adults are reading Young Adult (YA) literature. Yeah, adult adults — grown people with jobs, who pay their own bills, chat about interest rates on mortgages, or maybe even have young adult children themselves. Not only are they reading it, they also make up most of YA literature’s readership. A 2012 Publishers Weekly survey found that 55% of YA readers are adults, 28% of which were in the age range of 30 to 44.
Even if you haven’t read a YA book, you have most likely been exposed to YA media. Don’t tell me you don’t know about our favorite sparkling vampire, Edward Cullen, from Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight. Or you haven’t seen Katniss Everdeen volunteer as tribute at the reaping in Suzanne Collin’s The Hunger Games. And let’s be honest with ourselves, you know you bawled your eyes out in John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars. These are all YA books. YA books are emerging as leading profit makers in both the media and publishing industries.
Why, you ask? Because these stories, no matter how fantastical, are tackling diverse themes — like friendship, identity, discrimination, politics, family, love, good vs evil, death … you name it. YA is just straight up relatable. We’ve all been young. We’ve all faced adversities in this life. And we’ve all sought meaning in the inevitable ticking of time.
The moment is here. Crawl out of your hideouts, together we can break down the societal stigma surrounding adults who read YA. Join me in the Forever Young (Adult) Book Club, held every third Saturday from 11 AM to 12 PM starting March 26 at Lexington Main Library for not only a pleasurable read but also a lively discussion on topics that don’t only tackle what it means to be young, but what it means to be alive.
Looking for something new or different to read? Our knowledgeable staff is happy to provide personalized reading recommendations. Simply fill out the interactive form at What Should I Read Next? And don’t forget to check out NextReads to get reading recommendations delivered straight to your inbox based on subjects you’re interested — no matter the label of age.
