Crossover Advisory: Adult Book for Teens and Teen Books for Adults

This workshop was presented by Jessica E. Moyer, a doctoral student in literacy education and a panel of four.

First up was Diana Herald, editor of Genreflecting and co-author of Strictly Science Fiction. She gave many recommendations of books that work well for both teens and adults. Some good ones at the moment are Going Bovine, What I Saw and How I Lied, and Audrey Wait.

Next up was Katie Mediatore Stover from Kansas City Public Library. She discussed some of the things teens look for in books - grit, honesty, social awareness - and she highly recommended any and all Alex Award books for both teens and adults.

The next speaker was the author Brandon Sanderson, who writes epic fantasy for teens. He spoke about his own experience as a "reluctant reader" and how an 8th-grade teacher made all the difference by introducing him to adult fantasy books. Until he found that genre, he felt "talked down to" by typical YA books, but fantasy inspired and challenged him.

Last was the author Kim Harrison, who is best known for her adult books. She writes a YA series about the character Madison Avery, a high school girl who just happens to be dead, which creates some issues. She talked about the differences between writing for adults/teens, and shared her perspectives.

I enjoyed this workshop very much. I don't read much YA or genre fiction, so it was helpful to get some good titles to recommend. The main points I took away were that good books are good books, period, whether they're labeled YA or genre fiction or anything else. A good book will automatically appeal to a diverse audience. Also, young readers deserve quality writing and often don't get the credit they deserve for their reading choices.