Week 13 Prompt

 

I am familiar with the embarrassment some adults feel about reading young adult books. My husband loves YA books. Recently we were on vacation and stopped in at a local bookstore. He went straight to the young adult section and began browsing. The store employee asked if he needed help finding anything and he stated that he was just browsing for books for our son. I asked him why he told her that, and he said he is embarrassed to admit he reads young adult books. Growing up he had a reading disability and struggled in school. His brother used to make fun of him for reading lower lexile level books. He still carries that stigma with him. When I introduced him to audio books, it was life changing. He has his earbuds in all the time listening to his favorite Sarah Maas books over and over again. He doesn’t struggle to read the books, and he feels that his choices are private. 

As librarians, how can we make adults feel comfortable reading young adult books? In the public library setting, I would say a display would be helpful. I’m thinking a sign that says, Young Adult Books Are for Everyone. If you have a patron like my husband who is embarrassed to even be searching for YA books, reassure them. Maybe share that you like to read YA as well. I remember when the first Harry Potter book was released. I was purchasing it at the now closed Border bookstore, and the clerk said: “You know that book is for children, right?” I think acceptance has come a long way from the 1990’s. If I were to walk into Barnes and Noble and purchase the same Harry Potter book, I don’t think I would encounter the same mentality as the clerk from thirty years ago.