Young Adult Fiction

Faramola has some thoughts on the Young Adult world that she’d like to share with you…

Do people not realize how lucky they are to live during this day and age? The reason why they are lucky is not due to the fact that technological inventions such as cars, phones, and social media now exist and thus serve to make life a whole lot easier (or more complicated, I suppose, depending on the stance that you take). No, it is because a thing such as Young Adult now exists and graces our shelves with its hallowed presence.

When it comes to Young Adult literature, our grand-bibliophiles (grandparents of bibliophiles, see what I did there?) will say “back in my day, we didn’t have young adult books”. And indeed, this is the truth. Just like its audience, this is a fairly young genre compared to other book genres, but my, has it emerged with a force.

Perhaps it is just me, but when I read Young Adult fiction, I notice that young adult novelists tend to unleash more of their creative imagination and allow it to freely flow on their pages in comparison to fictional works meant for an older audience. In the book world, the possibilities are endless, but in the young adult book world, it seems not just to be possibilities that are endless, but impossibilities that are present. How refreshing.

Another component about Young Adult books that I cannot help but love is that it is timeless. While its name connotes that it is for readers that find themselves in the awkward stage of life between childhood and adulthood, I find that it is meant for readers of all ages. There is this level of maturity fused with an always present youthfulness that gives young adult novels a certain flavor meant for the palettes of readers of all ages. I find that I must be patient with those that sneer derisively down at Young Adult, dismissively claiming that they are too mature for it, before wandering off to a more “mature genre”. Their words pain me, but I must forgive, for they do not know what they are saying: older readers will find that reading young adult books is just as educational as adult fiction novels, as one can learn so much from books such as these.

When I was a teenager, I was anticipating with dread the day when I would have to graduate from Young Adult and move on to more mature genres, but even now I find that my graduation date is continually being pushed back, and I suspect that it will be continually pushed back for the rest of my life. I am okay with that. The beauty of Young Adult is that it is meant for all readers and offers a level of imaginative creativity that makes one gravitate to these books. They are empowering, adventurous, youthful, mature, hilarious, tragic and they make you love books - in genera l- even more.