Let me tell you a story about a 14 year old girl who had just discovered the joy in reading. She didn't quit know what kind of books beside vampire books that she liked so she used to read anything she came across and always asked one of her best friends for reading advise. One day this friend suggested she give one of Nora Roberts book a try. Her friend said that the book was great and wasn't too immature. The girl thought this sounded like an amazing book and went to the library right after school with her mum. The girl searched the shelves for minutes without finding the book and asked for help at last. The librarian showed her the way to the book with a quizzed look. She took down the book from the shelf but didn't give the book to the girl. Instead she said "but this is a adult book, not for kids". My mum looked at the girl like she had done something wrong. The girl told the librarian her friend had recommended the book to her and the librarian just repeated herself. "This is not a book for kids"
That kid was me.
What the librarian did was wrong on so many levels I don't even know where I should begin. A book gets labeled even before it's out, so that readers know where to look for a book they might like.
But that doesn't mean it's wrong to "go against" the labels.
A lot of adult books talk more freely about sex than YA and teenage books, amd let's be honest, that's probably the biggest difference. Even YA have begun to describe it in bits. But other than that adult books are not very different. The characters are often older and just because they are older than me im not supposed to read about them? Are people afraid I might learn some adult secret?
I have read EVERYTHING now at the age of 17, and I have a strong opinion about labels. - they confuse readers. Harry Potter is a children's book but I saw a 90 year old lady enjoy it last year. I saw a 8 year old boy read the Da Vinci Code.
What im trying to say is that just because you have lived a shorter amount of time than your mother doesn't mean you guys can't enjoy the same books. Its all about personal preference. I don't become more mature with year, the books I read do.
And just so that we are on the same page, I don't think you should pick up 50 shades of Grey, no matter age. There are better R rated books out there, im sure of that haha.
LOVE FROM SRI LANKA
XOXO Lihini
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