Young people are hooked on reading, but what are they reading?

BarcelonaTeenagers read a lot, but what are they passionate about? What catches their attention? The latest Reading and purchasing habits barometer prepared by the Catalan Institute of Cultural Companies (ICEC) gave very optimistic figures: in 2024, 75.3% of young people between 14 and 24 years old read in their free time. In terms of language, the barometer itself shows that 45.3% of these young readers read in Catalan. However, there are sales data (not reading data) that show a higher percentage for books in Spanish. "Last Sant Jordi, at Abacus, in young adult literature, 17% were sold in Catalan, compared to 83% in Spanish. There is a very high and varied offer of titles in Spanish that are not available in Catalan," says Pema Maymó, editorial director of the children's and young adult literature labels of Abacus Futur. There are many publishers that publish in Spanish that have enthusiastically focused on literature that some describe as young adult and others Romance and fantasyIn many cases, the phenomenon has been driven by platforms like Wattpad and recommendations to TikTok and Instagram. bookstore owners either bookstagrammers.

No teenager is the same, nor do they all have the same literary tastes. There are bookstores with shelves full of brightly colored romance sagas, and others where these types of books are practically nonexistent. But if we use the most borrowed books in libraries or those that appear among the best-sellers according to the booksellers' guild to guide us, there are authors from the Països Catalans such as Eloy Moreno (Castelló, 1976), Care Santos (Mataró, 1970), Joana Marcús (Joanna, Internacional, Fornautx, 20). 1980), Chloe Walsh (Cork, 1989), and Rebecca Yarros (Washington DC, 1981) who are true publishing phenomena. Yarros sold more than 12 million copies in the United States alone with the saga that began with Wings of Blood (in Catalan in Columna), and where everything happens in a Harry Potter-style academy, but with riders riding dragons and explicit sex.

"Romance novels are in fashion, like vampires or dystopias were a few years ago. There's a huge production and, in many cases, the authors have jumped from the platform Whatpadd "on paper," says Isabel Resina, librarian at the Nou Barris library in Barcelona. Resina believes that young people should have access to all kinds of books. Furthermore, they tend to be very independent. "They rarely ask for advice and often come alone and take what they want because they have already informed themselves. There are many types of romantic novels, and there are some with very nice stories, like Eleanor & Park "by Rainbow Powell," says Resina, who also highlights that there has been an explosion of novels with LGBTI themes.

The reasons for the reading passion

Cristian Olivé is a secondary school language and literature teacher. Author of Rebel teachers: The challenge of educating based on the reality of young people (Rosa dels Vents, 2020) and The notebook where I can finally express myself without filters (Larousse, 2021), has just published the first volume of a saga: Unique. Two for one. (Rosa dels Vents), a love story about two twins fighting over the same boy. "I think they read more now because a lot of work has been done to promote reading and make it more accessible. More relatable genres are offered, and reading is taught in a more experiential way, more based on knowledge and experience," says Olivé, who writes in Catalan: "I decided this from the beginning; it's almost a political decision."

Olivé believes there are few young people's offerings in Catalan with LGBTI themes. "I wanted to contribute something based on my experience as a teacher, and I wanted people from a very minority group to have role models," she says. However, she admits that she has many more female readers than male readers. In fact, most stories with male protagonists who fall in love are predominantly read by women. "I've often wondered why this happens. Some have told me it's like an impossible love that they'll never experience. It's like watching it from the sidelines with a certain amount of gossip, experiencing a new feeling," she explains.

Olivé argues that there are also trends in literature, and now there is an abundance of titles where the plot is basically that feuding people fall in love. In Yarros's book, these toxic relationships are explicit, and the heroine is aware of it. "I'm not attracted to toxic men, I tell myself, but here I am, totally attracted," reads the caption. Wings of blood. It's an old stereotype. "We're talking a lot about avoiding toxic love, and precisely these types of novels, featuring possessive and unequal love, are successful. Perhaps it's because we're thinking about it more and analyzing it now, because if we look historically, we find these types of relationships in both novels and films," says Olivé. There's a component inherent to adolescence that can also contribute, which is rebellion. "Some may feel that reading certain novels makes them feel like they're against the system," says Olivé. Regardless of whether they read, adolescents often seek the same things as many adults: "To understand themselves, to accept themselves, to find a channel to reflect on themselves. You can read to have fun, but also to ask yourself a lot of questions," adds Olivé.

Changes in the Way We Read

"We don't like to talk about Romance either fantasy, but we are talking about literature young adult", explains Mar López, commercial manager of Bookish and the Crush Fest. "They are novels that are aimed at an audience between 13 and 30 years old and the romantic novel is predominant, but there are also fantasy novels and thriller, which are becoming increasingly popular. It's literature that appeals to young people because of the type of plots and concerns and because it's written by young people under 35," he says. López explains that the phenomenon is understandable because it has changed the way we immerse ourselves in stories. "Reading is done in a more communal and experiential way, experiences are created around the book and experiences are created. For example, this afternoon we organized a tea party in the style of the Bridgerton series".

"The protagonists of these novels are usually very powerful, but at the same time there are these quite toxic love stories in which the sex is very explicit," says Maymó. In none of these books does she specify recommended ages. years. "What do we do with these children who are between 12 and 14 years old? I think that at these ages they should still be supported," reflects Maymó, who is committed to more titles being published in Catalan as well. and who is committed to a type of novel that is not so dark or toxic, with books like A lighthouse at the end of the world, by Gerard Guix (Elastic), or Eleanor & Park.

Among all these young people hooked on reading, there is, evidently, a great deal of diversity. "There are young people who are looking for love stories, but there are also those who want to understand their world, or who are passionate about science fiction," says Laura Huerga, editor of Raig Verd, which also publishes the young adult imprint Indomita. "There are young people who also read essays on fascism, environmentalism, feminism, and there are many love stories. We have published Guide for lesbians in Catholic school from Sonora Reyes, where love does not arise from animosity but from admiration, and reflects on the fact of accepting oneself," Huerga adds.