Kids

Young Adult Books: Should We Let Our Teens Read Them?

by Kevyn Gohu
November 16, 2021

Here’s our take on whether or not we should let our teens read young adult books.

We’ve heard about books that our teens like—such as Twilight, The Hunger Games, and The Fault in Our Stars that were even turned into movies. These books fall under what is called the Young Adult genre. Young Adult books often have a particular theme of coming out, identifying oneself, standing against injustices, and romance. But are these books worth getting our teens into? Here’s what we know.

What are these young adult books that our teens love so much?

Young adult books follow a particular formula that teens love

Many young adult book authors follow a particular formula for this genre. It usually starts with a protagonist who’s either completely clueless or traumatized by a certain event. Most of the time, the protagonist is a strong female character who’s just thrown into a cliché love triangle between two other characters all while trying to figure herself out. This particular formula relates very well with our teens who are also in the process of figuring themselves out.

Young Adult =/= Adult Books

Young adult books often tackle adult topics but not as explicitly as adult ones. Adult books like the erotica genre are much more elaborate when describing sex, violence, and drugs. Young adult books, on the other hand, imply that it occurred rather than describe it blow per blow. It’s usually these kinds of books where our teens dive into a crash course of what sex is rather than finding the courage to ask us since it’s still a bit tricky for some parents to talk about.

If they can’t find the books, they’ll find it on the Internet

Since our teens may not have the monetary means to buy young adult books, they’ll scour the Internet instead for fanfiction. Whether it’s on Tumblr, Archive of Our Own, or Fanfiction.net, they’ll find stories to read about their favorite shows, books, cartoons, or anime created by other fans. A lot of these stories are made out of wish fulfillment. They support a particular pairing between two characters and write a story about it for other members who believe in the same pairings as them.

Engage their interest

We have to accept that we can’t monitor what they consume on the Internet 24/7. But what we can do for our teens is that we can engage their interests to find out more about these young adult books. Although we may not be into the whole romance between a human and a vampire, we can talk to them about relationships and how they’re portrayed in books. Some of these things can be overdramatized and we have to help them manage their expectations. After all, we’re pretty sure that we wouldn’t like our teens to fall in love with someone who sparkles because he’s about to burn.