According to Sheila B. Anderson, author of the book Serving Older Teens, teenagers are “drawn to stark realities and gritty details” and have “an element of morbid curiosity.” In turn, this makes them “want to read about other teens who are in the midst of problems, whether those problems relate to relationships, death, homelessness, or any of the other social problems featured in young adult literature.” As themes such as drugs, alcohol, and relationships are a common part of teenage life, it is only natural that teens would want to read about people like them who are going through similar situations. These themes and ideas are prevalent in a specific genre of literature – young adult novels. Young adult novels often chronicle the lives of young people and the issues that they encounter, reflecting the same situations and sentiments that young-adult readers experience in their own lives. …show more content…
Two of the more recent and popular additions into the genre are The Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Spectacular Now. Stephen Chbosky is the author of the novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower, which was published in the late 1990’s and has gained considerable popularity throughout the 2000’s (even being adapted into a major motion