Young Adults Exist!

For better or worse, YAL is extremely prevalent in today’s society in a variety of ways. YA novels pack bookstore shelves, inspire movies, and even find themselves in syllabi of college English courses. David Cappella’s article, “Kicking it Up Beyond the Casual: Fresh Perspectives in Young Adult Literature”, is an introduction to a set of essays written by scholars who examine different YA novels and explore cultural themes within them. Capella; however, does a fantastic job of explaining why YAL is becoming more and more popular amongst older readers. Young adults are a part of life. While that statement is obvious and rather broad, it does help to show why adults are interested in reading about teenagers. Adults were once teenagers, so perhaps they want to reminisce by reading and relating to YA characters. In addition, many of these readers are parents, who may read YAL to attempt to understand teenage emotions. Some adults may feel a lack of excitement in their predictable lives, and choose to escape through reading about teenagers. Whatever the specific motive, the prevalence of young adults in the real world contributes to the interest in reading about them. In John Green’s “The Fault in Our Stars”, Hazel’s mother could be a relate-able character for not only cancer moms, but to any parent who feels protective of their kid(s). Any adult could read Green’s novel, because the themes are real. Regardless of age, YA novels retain a level of relate-ability because everyone comes into contact with teenagers.

Works Cited:

Capella, David. Studies in the Novel, Vol. 42, No. 1/2, THE YOUNG ADULT NOVEL (spring & summer 2010), pp. 1-10

Green, John. The Fault In Our Stars. Print.