Many adults cannot remember a time when they were not reading.  As teenagers, the printed page was a door to different worlds, many far across time and space, and others as familiar as his or her own neighborhood.  Their shelves were crammed with books that named the guides to those worlds on their spines—Judy Blume, J.R.R. Tolkien, S.E. Hinton and Stephen King, (when they knew their parents were not paying attention).  They met people in those worlds that they could have only dreamed of meeting in real life—a greaser called Pony Boy, a girl with poor posture named Deenie, Jerry Renault, and a gang of wild boys stranded on a deserted island.  However, recent studies say that reading, especially among teenagers and young adults in the United States, is on the decline.  Statistics show floundering test scores and a general lack of adequate reading skills.  But what is to blame?  Many feel that advances in visual media and for some, a lack of accessibility to books, are the most apparent causes.  Others think that teenagers are no longer being encouraged to read and become “reluctant readers.”  Despite a surge of new and interesting reading material geared toward young adults and the advent of technology that may actually promote interest in reading, and the use of comic books to lure young readers, some still wonder if there is any hope for the printed word, or is all lost to the world of television, internet and video games?

The History of Young Adult Fiction

Young adult fiction or simply “YA,” as it is often abbreviated and found in bookstores, is fiction that is written for, published for and marketed to teenagers.  The category of “Young Adult Fiction” is relatively a new one, but signifying young adults as a distinct group of people has been around for two centuries.  The first recognition came from Sarah Trimmer, who described young adulthood as the ages of fourteen to twenty-one, back in 1802.  According to Sherry Garland notes that in the 1950s, two novels were released just before the advent of modern publishing marketing practices.  These were Catcher in the Rye (1951) and Lord of the Flies (1954).  Though written for adult audiences, both novels were especially well-received among adolescent readers, marking the path toward marketing to young adult.

Diminished Reading Test Scores: What are the Causes?

Young people are reading for fun less now than ever before.  This decline in reading is having an extremely adverse affect on test scores.  According to The New York Times, scores in math and science have also dipped, and employers are finding that workers are deficient in basic writing skills.  Further studies detailed findings by the Department of Education that better reading skills correlated with higher incomes.  Workers who scored “below basic” on reading comprehension tests earned a salary that is significantly less than those with average-to-above-average reading skills .

Students are no also longer reading at grade level and many have now started to question the reasons.  A lack of books in the home is certainly a culprit.  The Department of Education found that in American households with 100 or more books, both reading and math scored were drastically higher than homes with ten or less books.  According to a report by Stephen Krashen , children who fall within poverty level are among the lowest scorers on reading aptitude tests.  Simply said, children who have more access to books read more.  Those who read more also read better.   Children of low-income have little access to reading material at school.  Schools in poverty-stricken areas have inferior classrooms and school libraries.  In addition, public libraries in low-income neighborhoods are of poorer quality and are open less.

A 2007 article by Claudio Sanchez says the onset of the digital visual media is another, more vexing reason.  Despite the plethora of accessible reading material the World Wide Web brings, the internet and the many facets of streaming media feeds, video games, instant messaging and texting are all diversions to picking up a book for entertainment

The Rise of Visual Media and the End of Reading

Krashen also writes that the 2002 Census showed that literary reading (as defined by the National Endowment of the Arts as novels, poetry and play, in book form) had fallen 10.2% from the 1982 numbers. That comes to about 20 million potential readers over the span of only twenty years.  He goes on to say that the number young adults engaging in some form of literary reading in 1982 was 60%.  By 2002, the number had fallen to a dismal 43% Many educators and parents say the blame falls on the shoulders of visual media.

With so much visual stimulation at their fingertips, today’s teenagers have little time for the antiquated written word, it seems. Video games, web surfing and texting appear to have taken a toll on interest in reading as a pastime.  However, some allow the idea that the Internet is actually a continuum of the written word, with fiction, poetry and articles published electronically through website and e-books. Fred Guterl writes in Newsweek  that still others point out that visual media are more natural modes for the human brain than the written word.  Reading is a skill that takes years to learn and many more in which to master comprehension; the visual brain can take to videogames almost with no effort

One can argue that visual media is a more passive experience than reading.  With visual media, the work is done for the viewer, thus eliminating much of the visual and auditory imagination.  Through reading, the reader’s mind is engaged to that of the author.  It is an active experience, from scanning the eyes across the text to turning the page to creating the faces and actions of the characters, the lay of the landscapes and the sound of voices with only the mind.

However, proponents of visual media say that is not always the case.  The debate over the effect of motion pictures on reading has gone on for ages.  In a report dating all the way back to 1939, F. Cleary mentioned that frequent movie-goers read more and higher-quality books. Many also claim that the lines between active and passive entertainment are unclear.  Some feel that film and television can engage the viewer in many of the same ways as a book.  One may certainly not feel that her or she is having a passive experience when a good film has them on the edge of their seat, it is still a more manipulative one. 

Comic books: Can They Capture Reluctant Readers?

For decades, teachers and parents considered comic books as sub-literate threats to developing brain cells.  But times have changed.  In the time of visual media, many now feel that getting reading material in the hands of kids is more important than the type of material.  Others feel that comic books and graphic novels are paths to “heavier” reading.  

This concept is hardly a new one. As far back as the 1940s, schools were using Classics Illustrated and Illustrated Stories from the Bible as educational tools.  A 1996 study found that middle school-aged boys who enjoyed comic books read more in genera. 

In fact, many famous authors and important thinkers of our time credit comic books for giving them their initial interest in reading.  Among them are Stephen King, who as a child devoured E.C.’s Tales from the Crypt comics, and South Africa’s Bishop Desmond Tutu.  Bishop Tutu wrote, “One of the things that my father did was to let me read comics. I devoured all kinds of comics . . . letting me read comics fed my love for English and my love for reading. I suppose if he had been firm I might not have developed this deep love for reading and for English?”.

Equal parts picture and text, a comic book or graphic novel can often capture a young person’s attention longer than simple text.  There is evidence that comic books may also expand the vocabulary of teens by exposing them to words they would not normally use.  Author Stephen Grant mentions that reading comic books may introduce kids to concepts such as plot structure and character development, as well .  In addition, many comic readers find they would like to create their own comics, making comic books a viable tool for promoting not only reading, but art and writing, too.

So, What Are Your Kids Reading?

Adolescents often feel isolated and alone.  Reading is a wonderful tool for discovering that there are others out there coping with similar issues.  Through reading, young people can find kindred spirits.  They also find an escape, although temporary, into a world more like the one in which they wish to live.  It can expose the reader to new ideas and beliefs.  Reading provides endless gateways to stoke the imagination.  So, what books are teen readers choosing to pick up?

New titles and series are emerging constantly to feed the need to read.  The obvious choice is, of course, Harry Potter, but Twilight, Stephanie Meyer’s romantic vampire novels, have created a craze among fans that rival that of J.K. Rowling’s boy-wizard.  Jamie Reno of Newsweek writes that other books popular with young adult readers include Cirque du Freak by Darren Shan, The Awakening by Kate Chopin and David Levithan’s acclaimed Wide Awake and Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist..  In fact, Levithan says this is the “most exciting time for young-adult literature since the late 1960s and 1970s when ‘The Chocolate War’ [by Robert Cormier] and ‘Forever’ [by Judy Blume] were published” .

Despite the fact that visual media has often been detrimental to the number of readers, there is little doubt that C.S. Lewis’ Narnia series has certainly enjoyed resurgence since the release of the films. Interest in Cecily von Ziegesar’s already popular Gossip Girls series has sparked even more since the airing of the television program.  Movie and television show tie-in novels such as Heroes, Lost and 30 Days of Night (which was first a graphic novel, then motion picture and now series of novels) are often quite popular.

However, many young readers crave edgier content than Twilight’s shimmering vampires and Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak.  Books like Gossip Girls often deal with teen alcohol abuse and occasionally sexuality.  13 Reasons Why deals with teen suicide .  But even the darkest subject matter offers a glimmer of hope, without an off-putting sermon to go along with it.

Optimism among Both Readers and Publishers

In spite of all the gloomy reports that claim reading for pleasure, especially among young people, is a thing of the past, publishers say teen agers are buying more books now than they have in decades.  According to her Seattlepi.com article, Cecelia Goodnow writes that “now is a time of both strong writing and strong sales” .  Young people are enjoying terrific writing and subject matter that is more sophisticated.  This is welcome news coming on the heels of the recent decline in reading test scores. 

Amazingly, despite the lagging test scores, teenagers rate reading higher than math and science in regard to the impact the ability will have on future success.  Paired with better and more interesting fare, the boost in reading may in fact be related to visual media and technology, after all.  The Amazon Kindle e-book reader has become this year’s “iPOD.”  TechCrunch reports that over a quarter-million units of the original have already sold, since coming on the scene less than a year ago. Amazon has confirmed a new version of the device, specifically designed for high school and college students to be released in 2009 . 

Many people feel that declining test scores paired with the onslaught of visual diversions such as Internet, cell phones and video games have signaled the death-knell for reading among adolescents in the United States.  However, other reports say that despite these statistics, book sales among young people is up.  Thanks to talented writers and intriguing plotlines, young adult fiction is enjoying a renewed interest.  Pony Boy, Deenie, Jerry Renault and that band of deserted boys have been replaced by Draco Malfoy, Bella and Edward, and Blair Waldorf, but the results are the same.  These characters are people teens wish to meet or wish to be, living in worlds today’s teenager wish to live.  Young people may spend less time reading than they ever have, but one thing is constant.  Books are still the easiest form of entertainment there is.  When the cable is out, the video game is solved or when the Internet goes down, books still work as they should.  One needs only to open one up.