For the second year in a row, I had the opportunity to discuss teen reading trends and young adult books with the president of the Young Adult Library Services Association (
YALSA), a division of the American Library Association. Not only was it interesting to get the perspective of the 2008-2009 YALSA president, Sarah Debraski, it was also interesting to see how things had changed since my
interview with the 2007-2008 YALSA president. Below are the topics Sarah Debraski and I covered and her responses.
1. What are some of the trends in young adult literature?
One very popular trend is vampires and dark fantasy -- both are popular enough that we used it to guide this year's [Teen Reading Week] theme, Books with Bite @ your library! The
Twilight series, about an ordinary teen girl who enters into an extraordinary romance with a vampire, is probably the best known example of dark fantasy books aimed at teens, but there are plenty of others: the
Hallowmere series,
Feed by MT Anderson, Melissa de la Cruz's series
The Blue Bloods, the
Modern Faerie series or
Wicked Lovely.
Young adult literature also often mirrors adult publishing trends. So, when chick lit became a popular adult genre, it also became a popular young adult genre -- the Gossip Girl series and The Clique series.
Series books continue to be very popular; often a novel comes out with two books to follow it already planned. Teens seem to like blended genres as well: historical and fantasy, for example (such as the Twilight series or Libba Bray's Gemma Doyle trilogy, which ended last December with The Sweet Far Thing).
Of course, manga and graphic novels remain teen favorites. A trend with graphic novels is to retell classic stories -- Beowulf or Shakespeare, for example -- but in this visual form.
2. Do you see particular genres increasing in popularity?
A new series that's gotten a lot of attention is
The Luxe, which is similar to
Gossip Girl in that it's about the juicy social lives of wealthy New York teens but set at the turn of the twentieth century. The appeal of both, which give an inside look at wealthy teens and their social lives, is not diminishing at all.
Fantasy will definitely stay popular, if the twin successes of Harry Potter and the Twilight series means anything. Teens have always been interested in the morbid and gothic, whether it's Annette Curtis Krause's werewolves or Bella deciding between Jacob and Edward in Breaking Dawn. 

3. Are there certain themes or subjects that are particularly popular with certain, or all, YA groups?
Teens and young adult literature are just as diverse as adults and adult literature. There are fans of all sorts of different genres. Fantasy is a perennial favorite with many teens, as is realistic fiction. Graphic novels have legions of fans, and this year we saw how popular broody vampire stories are. Whether realistic or fantastic, historical or futuristic, teens want a book in which they can see a bit of themselves. 


4. When would you say a child is ready for at least some YA books?
When a child is ready for YA books is so dependent on the individual child and his or her emotional maturity and world view. Most YA books are geared towards readers who will have an understanding of the themes, topics, and emotions in the novel. So, a novel about adolescence is best comprehended by an adolescent. In general, around age twelve is when most kids begin reading YA novels, though some readers will start as early as ten. 


5. Since some YA fiction is suitable for mature ten year olds who read and comprehend well and other YA fiction is definitely geared to older teens, can you recommend good reading lists or other resources to help parents identify good YA books for tweens and young teens and good YA books for older teens?
It's critical for parents to help their children find the right books for them. One of the best resources is your school or public librarian, who can help parents figure out which books are suited for tweens and which are for older teens. YALSA offers many
booklists. One particular list that would be a good start is the 2006 list
Books that Don't Make You Blush. 
 


6. With all of the continuing publicity about research showing that people are reading fewer and fewer books each year, I'm impressed by all that libraries are doing to serve teens.
Teens are a huge part of our population and a 2007 Harris Interactive poll shows that a significant number of them use the library for personal use. Reading is one of the few things which is still fun, free, and can be done anywhere. We also know that teens who read for pleasure score higher on reading tests. Bearing all that in mind it makes sense for libraries to target teens with programs, activities, and collections suited just for them.

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