The Power Of Young Adult Literature

Lately, I have been hearing adults who read and enjoy young adult literature derided as being “too juvenile.”  I have heard the same of individuals who read fantasy meant for adults with the caveat that they could be reading “real literature,” by which I am assuming that those deriding them mean classics like those written by William Faulkner.
 
At one of the last Harry Potter conventions, the news media was laughing about the fact that one had to be over fourteen to register, saying that that would sure diminish the crowds. They did not seem to realize that much of the HP fan base was made up of adults. This attitude about young adult literature and the implied assumptions about the maturity of adults who read it infuriates me.

The best young adult fiction can be enjoyed by people of any age. Yes, it may have teen characters, but its situations and dilemmas can be identified with by anyone.  For instance, in the seventh Harry Potter book, everyone around Harry is urging him to use a killing curse on the servants of his enemy whenever he encounters them so he will not have to fight them later. However, Harry chooses to only knock them unconscious, reasoning that he does not want to stoop to their level.  
On a smaller or larger scale, we have all had to make these kinds of moral decisions. If a classmate is insulting us in school, we have to decide whether to play the game, inventing even more witty, nasty insults or to let it lie. At jobs, I have heard of many people who have had to choose whether to respond to a fellow coworker with escalating nastiness or let it lie. I have heard of people, offered jobs by their managers who made a moral decision to refuse, even if they had to take a demotion because they did not want to oust a coworker.

So, the morality present in these novels, the themes themselves, are often universal to a smaller or larger extent, depending on the individual.

It shocks me that anyone could be considered juvenile for reveling in the courage and bravery that pours from the pages of a fantasy novel like Eragon, when the protagonist, Eragon, sets out virtually alone, with only his dragon and a village storyteller for company. He sets out on what first appears to be an impossible quest, avenging the brutal torture of his uncle by the king’s own servants, deciding that he will do this, even if the end result is a coup de grace and the overthrowing of the king.  “What a rash thing to do,” some will mutter and “What a terrible role model for our children.”  Eragon does become wiser, more logical, and gains a greater understanding of what his quest means. But the sheer courage displayed in this scene is awe-inspiring and in my humble opinion a fine model to grow up with.

Writing about this scene reminds me of the controversy that sprang up upon publication of Harry Potter and The Prisoner Of Azkaban. Harry’s godfather is confronting the man who betrayed Harry’s parents into the hand of the enemy.  The man asks him what he would do if confronted with such a powerful wizard and without hesitation, he responds that he or Harry’s parents would have died to protect each other, and ironically enough, because he was their friend, the man who betrayed them. Everyone was horrified that children could be exposed to the concept of friends dying for each other, but it left me with a wonderful portrait of what true friendship entails—a love so strong that if a situation arose, like the one recounted in the book, there would be no hesitation in sacrificing one’s life to protect a friend. Of course, it should be explained that these friends faced a combat situation and that putting one’s life on the line for someone should not be done save in the direst of situations (which the child probably already understands). But why they would have done it wasn’t so important and inspiring to me as the fact that they were willing to.

All these things, unbelievably strong friendships, courage, and moral dilemmas of epic proportions are all contained in young adult novels. So, if over the next few weeks, a young adult title catches your eye, and you shrug and think that would be juvenile, rethink that choice, and give it a try. It may turn out to be the best book you’ve ever read.