Most teens only read the books they are assigned to read in English class. But what about those who read for entertainment? What are they reading?
According to Hannah Easter, a Youth Services Assistant at Delta Public Library, there is currently an increase in demand for dystopian, fantasy, and romance books.
“In the romance genre, we’ve seen books such as The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han, and My Life with the Walter Boys by Ali Novak increase in circulation following the release of their respective Netflix and Prime films and series,” said Easter.
Meanwhile, through 2019-2021 murder mysteries were all the rage.
It is no secret that pop culture affects what is in demand. For example, the rising popularity of Murder of the Orient Express in 2017 caused an abundance of mystery novels.
But classics still need to be addressed by the newer generations. “We’ve had an increase in historical fiction books from the Victorian era and retellings of Jane Austen novels that are being requested for our collection and circulating following the release of movie adaptations for Austen’s novels over the last few years,” said Easter.
Once one book of a particular genre goes viral, many try to find similar titles, so many books surfaced online.
Beyond trends, special interests guide people to read certain things.
“In middle school I was obsessed with books about kids who got cancer… no idea why… but in high school and college I was all about Harry Potter, and literary fiction novels (Raymond Carver, Danticat, etc,),” said Natalie Parkerson.
Many books we see today like Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros and One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus gained a huge following on BookTok. BookTok is a side of TikTok where creators can talk about their favorite books and it is a way authors can promote their books.
Libraries and bookstores like Barnes and Noble have displays on popular BookTok books so people can see what is popular. Lots of teens are on TikTok, around 63%, so there is a high chance for them to see book recommendations and pick them up.
But before social media, young adults and teens saw books promoted at school events like Scholastic Book Fairs.
“I remember taking home the Scholastic Book fliers and marking all the titles I wanted. Then I would take it to my parents who were generous in letting me order mostly what I wanted,” said Laurie Ranum.
The trends are constantly changing. What will be popular years from now?
