My Guilty Pleasure: Teen Reading

May 4, 2008     Posted in Reality

twilight1.jpgEver heard of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight books? What about the Clique or Gossip Girl series? Or how about Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian?


By Carly

Well, I have a little confession to make. I’ve read them, and I love them. And maybe you have, too.

I do have an excuse for having my nose stuck in YA novels half the time—I absolutely love children’s and YA literature, and it’s my ambition to become an editor and writer of children’s books. Even if I didn’t have that going for me, though, I think I would still love teen books.

They’re irresistible, you know? When you’re 16, it’s so great to read a book that lets you know that you’re not alone in being a drinker/a geek/the biggest loser in school/the most popular person in school/pregnant/generally weird/awkward. There are teen books for everybody.

And the best part is, once you’ve passed 18, you can read those books and think to yourself, “I am so glad I’m not in high school anymore.”

It’s tough to write a teen book, and it’s even tougher to write a teen book that’s successful. Sherman Alexie won the National Book Award in the young people’s literature category this year for his Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, but just check out this link to read about all the flack he got from adult authors for writing a teen book.

Here’s a choice quote: “I thought I’d been condescended to because I’m an Indian. That was nothing compared to the condescension I get because I’ve written a YA novel.”

Because I care so much about YA literature, that quote makes me want to cry. But discounting my personal prejudice, I’m genuinely curious about why there is such a stigma surrounding teen books.

CC readers, would you be caught reading a teen book? Are there teen books you like, or do you turn up your noses at them? And most of all—why?

11 Comments on "My Guilty Pleasure: Teen Reading"

  1. rose says:
    Sun, 4th May 20085:06 am 

    i loveee the twilight series! i think it's great. YA novels are great fun reading – theyre easy to breeze through, and don't require tons of thought. they're fun, and thats why i enjoy them! :)

  2. Allison says:
    Sun, 4th May 20085:25 am 

    I feel at this point in my life I've grown out of them. There were a few I liked- Sharon Creech was good- but even as a kid/tween I was more interested in adult lit (Jurassic Park, LotR, Stephen King, etc.) than YA. Every YA book I found was too angsty and now, as an adult, there's even fewer YA I like.

    I think because the lit is aimed at younger people, it's not as technically mature writing as adult lit. The sentence structure is simpler, and the topics, as you said, mainly apply to kids. Adults just don't get it, and view the books as tools to get you to the next reading level, not as something viable as a recognizable genre from which lessons can be learned.

    Today the only YA author I still enjoy is Meredith Ann Pierce. Darkangel Trilogy and Treasure at the Heart of the Tangelwood are two of my favorite books- and you're right, they are relaxing and easy to read.

  3. Erin says:
    Sun, 4th May 20086:51 am 

    YAY I'm glad I'm not the only one who loves visiting the YA section! My favorites are the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson, and The Looking Glass Wars trilogy by Frank Beddor.

  4. Emma says:
    Sun, 4th May 20087:03 am 

    im glad that someone else reads these books too!! my favorites happen to be the Ann Rinaldi books, historical fiction – right up my alley!

    22 and still reading YA books…now i dont feel so dorky lol

  5. Carly says:
    Sun, 4th May 20087:25 am 

    Ahahahahahahhaha!!!!!!! I'm so glad some of you guys like YA books, too! They're soooooooo where it's at.

    Allison, I totally understand that they're not your cup of tea, but I do have to disagree with the sentence structure/overall content being less sophisticated or more simplistic than that of adult books. It's true in some cases, but not all. By the time you're old enough to read a YA book (13-14, I'd say), your "reading level" is high enough so that it wouldn't make much difference if you were picking up a YA or picking up an adult book. It's just a matter of personal taste, I guess.

  6. Cassie says:
    Sun, 4th May 20088:00 am 

    I'm a sophmore in college and I discovered the Twilight series about two weeks ago. Honestly, I'm in love! haha.. It took me about 8 days to read the three books and I'm already re reading them. I cannot wait for the movie!

    Also, if you like Gossip Girl, there's anothr series similar to it called the A-List thst you might enjoy.

  7. Erica - Kent State says:
    Sun, 4th May 20088:34 am 

    I love them as well! I read books about adults as a teen, so I don't really see the problem with reading books about/for teens as an "adult". I love to read Francesca Lia Block books, which are technically YA but deal with more adult themes.

  8. olivia says:
    Thu, 26th Jun 20085:45 pm 

    im soo glad that people read the same books as me.. i loved the twilight series. i cant wait for the 4th book and the movie. i also read the maximum ride series and those are really good. theres also another series just three books a great and terrible beauty by libba bray those are really cool. if anyone has other series im open for options..

  9. Beth says:
    Tue, 19th Aug 20086:30 am 

    I'm 18 and still read from the YA section all the time-I know I'm still technically in the teenager mode, but most 18 year olds by now have moved on. I love them, however! Some are ridiculous, but most are definitely quality literature! For example, Tamora Pierce's books, especially her later ones. Her book "Lady Knight" has allusions and parallels to 9/11 and her Trickster series simply…isn't for children! And all those paperback Simon and Schuster romantic comedies are my total guilty pleasure! Although just now I tried to look them up on the Simon and Schuster website and I'm quite peeved that I had to go under "children's literature" then "ages 12 and up" to find them. Geez, get a separate YA section.

    Anyway, I've been ranting. By the way, I noticed you mentioned you want to be an editor/writer of children's literature someday-that's what I'd love to do! Not write it, but edit it, work with it in the publishing process, specifically YA literature. No idea how I go about getting into the business, but it sounds…perfect.

  10. Aislinn says:
    Sat, 24th Jan 20096:51 am 

    I rarely read anything else. I used to be embarrassed but honestly, with all the work I haveto do for school and work I don't want to read a challenging over my head book, all I want to do is escape and remember what it feels like to let go. I loved the Twilight series, it was a great way for me to let go of all the things going on in my life and just fall in love with the characters. People can be haters all they want but I fully intend to eventually write a novel and it will totally be YA cause honestly, we never really move past 16 anyways.

  11. Crystal B says:
    Tue, 19th Oct 20101:39 pm 

    I'm not too fond of the Twilight series, as I couldn't get through either of the last two books, but I have a major guilty pleasure with the Clique series, as well as the show gossip girl ^.^

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