Picture this: you are in your local bookstore, searching for a novel to buy your younger sibling who loves young adult (YA) fantasy books like “Harry Potter” or “Percy Jackson & The Olympians.” You come across a series in the fantasy YA section and decide this is the one to give to your sibling. If only you knew that although this particular book is in the same section as their favorite reads, it’s actually meant for more mature readers. This has happened to me, multiple times. As an avid reader, I read any books I could get my hands on when I was in middle school, some which were definitely not age-appropriate. I was reading books with unhealthy relationships, descriptive sex and graphic assaults, but I wasn’t ready. But how was I supposed to know? Books don’t have a solid rating system like movies do. If a book is advertised as a YA novel, its target audience is usually anywhere between ages 12 to 18. This is obviously a very diverse group, with very different life experiences and preparedness to read certain content. By combining these stories into one large section, we are ignoring these differences. How are we supposed to prevent younger readers from being exposed to topics they aren’t ready to understand? A new section must be created by publishers to help sort these books into their appropriate sections. These sections could be divided into “young teen” and “young adult,” meaning readers would have much more defined boundaries when selecting books.

According to an article written by MasterClass, YA novels generally have protagonists between the ages of 15 and 18, and allow for much more graphic violence in comparison to younger, middle-grade fiction, where protagonists are between the ages of 10 to 13 and the novels lack descriptive violence. It also states that YA novels allow for romance, but attempt to limit eroticism. But then how do series like “A Court of Thorns and Roses,” “Throne of Glass” and “Serpent & Dove” get away with in-depth and detailed sex scenes? Obviously, if these intimate scenes are important to the development of the plot, it’s understandable, but in the case of the Sarah J. Maas’ “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series, sometimes it’s too much. The series has a large fanbase, selling millions of books worldwide, and with such a large audience, it’s important to critique such novels. Since these books have such a large target range, they may be preteens’ first exposure to sexual relationships. These readers may not be able to distinguish between healthy sex in the real world and the intense fantasy sex presented in the series. The main relationships between several of the faeries in the series could all be considered unrealistic and unhealthy, relying on primal, animalistic “mating” tropes to explain toxic male violence and overprotectiveness. Many of the characters have borderline nonconsensual interactions, which may confuse younger readers about sexual consent in the real world. One example is in the first book, when a character was forced to publicly display acts of intimacy with one of her captors. This is all forgiven later when we find that her captor was doing all of this to protect her, and later becomes her love interest rather than addressing the act as sexual violence. Of course, these scenes are seen as more appropriate for older teens, who can dictate what’s realistic and healthy. These books definitely belong in a different section than books targeting younger teens.

In continuation, I strongly believe publishers should add another section for younger readers. As I said before, I believe it should be split into “young teen” and “young adult.” The first category could encompass books targeting readers 12 to 15, while the latter can target true young adults, ages 16 to 20. This could ensure we protect young readers from topics they aren’t ready for while still engaging older fans. With this, we may increase free reading rates. This is really important, since reading books, especially fantasy and dystopian novels, is proven to be a hobby that expands imagination, improves memory and decreases stress. If more teens found it easier to discover books that are targeted toward them, this may increase their chances of picking up reading as a hobby. The only problem that arises is that are series that could fit into both categories. Long series like “Harry Potter” gradually get darker and more mature as the characters get older. In other words, the books age with the readers. We could solve this problem by spreading the series across the two sections, which lets parents and young readers know which books in the series are appropriate.

Overall, splitting the YA fiction section into “young teen” and “young adult” would be beneficial for seasoned readers and those who have just begun getting into the “bookworm” life. Hopefully, publishers will consider this seriously and help the reading community sort these books out.

Nicolette Cavallaro is a sophomore majoring in integrative neuroscience.