Book Review Friday: Young Adult Trends

Although today is book review Friday, I struggled to recommend any of the young adult fiction books I’ve recently read. I want to understand this trending market, so I’ve fully emersed myself in the genre, reading a young adult mystery/thriller every 1-2 days. Although fantasy continues to claim the largest market share for teens, I’m not a fan of fantasy (I know, what’s my problem, right?) The good news is that typically fantasy books are still clean reads! So, I’m happy to see my fellow fantasy authors sell tons of books because their novels are enjoyable, fun, and often lacking in adult content!

But personally, I’m a sucker for a good mystery suspense thriller! Currently, the fastest growing YA market is mysteries, to the point where Amazon now considers YA mysteries as “thrillers”, putting them side by side to adult thrillers. This comparison can lead to problems. In order to sell these books, publishers want authors to push the limits and incorporate all kinds of adult issues and social agendas. Kids tell me all the time when they read these books they feel “left out”, as if everyone is doing drugs and sleeping around. So why write these kinds of books? Because sensationalism sells. Think of these books written with a Netflix movie contract in mind and you get the idea.

As a parent of two teens, I’m vigilant as to the content they read and watch. Just because it’s popular doesn’t mean it’s appropriate for my teen! So how do we know if a YA book is appropriate when we don’t have time to read them all?

• Know when your child is ready for the content. It’s an individual decision because our kids are all different! In sixth grade, “everyone” was reading The Hunger Games. Although it’s one of my favorite books, I didn’t feel my son was ready for the content. After all, he still loved Diary of a Wimpy Kid! By the time I felt he was ready, he wasn’t interested and that’s okay. He still read dozens of other books, and not reading the trending book wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
• Read the first chapter. Although this is not full proof, it often sets the tone for what type of story you’re in for and what extracurricular social agendas the author may try to push. In one book, a mother takes her seventeen-year-old to a clinic and the rest is implied in further chapters. Although this had little to do with the mystery, it gave me clues that this book contained a lot of adult themes that went against my personal beliefs.
• Common Sense Media. My boys knew before they were allowed to watch a movie, they first had to check with me and I checked my Common Sense Media app. I just discovered Common Sense Media also reviews books the same way! I’m so excited to share this resource with you because they rate topics on a scale of 1-5. If strong language is present, you’ll see 4-5 dots. Same for violence, sex, and drugs/drinking. But they also share the positive messages and positive role models represented (if they are present). So, you get to see the good and the bad. www.commonsensemedia.org
• Read online reviews on Goodreads and Amazon. I especially like Goodreads because of the Q&A which answers a lot of good questions. Buzz words are also highlighted at the top of reviews as warnings to certain content. It’s a great way to get a quick overview.

Now that I’ve painted a bleak picture, you may be wondering, are there any good books for my teenagers to read? The answer is YES! Some of the more popular books are still clean!

A good book for high schoolers in my opinion is The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. This book isn’t 100% clean, but it’s a far cry from the other’s I’ve read in the same genre. For an older high schooler who wants a good suspense without all the dark themes, they may enjoy this one. The first line reads, “When I was a kid, my mom constantly invented games.” This sets the tone for a mystery layered in games and secrets. A word of caution …I was three-fourths in when out of nowhere a subplot emerged that caught me by surprise. It quickly faded and we got back to the story, but it does warrant a note of caution for younger teen readers.

Remember how I said I didn’t like fantasy? I contradict myself because I LOVE Peter Pan. In fact, one of my all-time favorite movies is Hook with Robin Williams. I’d seen a lot of press around Kara Swanson’s Dust, so I gave it a whirl. Wow, what a great book! Teen drama, abandonment issues, snarky teen comments, violence, and suspense all laced in a clean wholesome retelling of Peter Pan. Although I have not yet read Shadow (book 2), I’ve heard it’s even better than the first!

Know of any clean teen mystery suspense thrillers I would like? Drop them in the comments and I’ll review them for you in the next post! Until then, don’t give up on the young adult market! My friends and I at The Storyteller Squad have one goal: to produce best-selling clean fiction for teens! Please follow us on Instagram and Facebook to learn more!