Why still read young adult fantasy, and even middle grade, when you’re an adult?

C. S. Lewis has a famous quote about writing children’s books. He stated, “I am almost inclined to set it up as a canon that a children’s story which is enjoyed only by children is a bad children’s story.”

This shines a bright, and slightly controversial light, on the idea that some media is intended only to be consumed and enjoyed by children.

Is this even true?

Something my husband and I noticed very early on with our kids was the differences between kids’ shows. There were some shows (*cough* P J Masks, anyone?) that I had to force myself to sit through because a certain child really enjoyed it. It was like running my ears over a cheese grater! (Not really; but you get the idea.)

Then there were other shows that were so good, my husband and I would literally turn them back on again after the kids went to bed. (Hello, Dinotrux!) In fact, my husband and I got a rare day together to chill at home in bed. And we spent literally the entire day binging episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender because I had never seen them. One of the best days of my life!

This is also true about reading fantasy chapter books aloud to my children. Reading aloud takes a lot of energy, and it requires us to be in that world with those characters for a long time. So I tend to be very picky. Reading The Magician’s Nephew by Lewis this summer and fall…I was on the edge of my seat while reading, and I was the one who had read the book five hundred times already!

The same phenomenon happened when we read The Unicorn Quest by Kamilla Benko. I was almost more engaged than the kids. (Don’t even get me started on Treasures in the Snow – not fantasy, but I was sobbing multiple times, and I knew how the story ended!)

So we come back to the original question…WHY would an adult go back and read kid or teen-based fantasy?

My answer is simple: if it’s good enough for an adult to still enjoy, that just means it’s great fantasy.

There is more to it than that, though.

The themes in stories written for children and teens are often the kind our souls long for once we’ve grown up. Family. Home. Finding our place in an ever-changing world. They usually ring with hope and joy discovered in strange and difficult circumstances.

So many adult sagas focus on “reality” (something I’m actively trying to avoid by reading fantasy), to the point that they are grim, unpleasant, sometimes downright depressing. Not ALL are like this. But more and more are leaning that way. Sometimes we need those darker books. Other times, we need the purity and inspiration of a book written for a younger audience. And that’s when I pull out my favorite YA fantasy books. (Or, more often, sit down to write one.)

God gave us a gift when he gave us literature designed for children. If you’ve ever felt you needed permission to sit down and read a good children’s book or a young adult fantasy novel…this is me giving you permission. Read. That. Book!

What a month October has been.

For one thing, it’s my birthday month. And it was one of the best birthdays I’ve had in several years. Hubby got me a cute writer T-shirt, and I’ve been wearing it almost daily since. I also hosted a mom’s night in with my amazing sisters in law and mother in law. I decorated for autumn and turned on the soft lofi and fixed BLT frittata and pumpkin pie…It was a perfect birthday gift to myself!

Cozy weather has been slowly creeping up on us. And I am LIVING for it. (Especially now that the mosquitos are almost gone!) As I write, I’m wearing flannel PJs and an oversized sweater and fuzzy socks. And I’ve got a little $8 Christmas tree from Dollar General sitting beside my writing desk with white lights. (Not quite time for break out the Christmas décor yet, so I’m waiting for ornaments.)

We’ve been busy carving pumpkins, taking bike rides, finding pecans around the new property. My oldest dressed up as Rumi for our church’s Trunk or Treat (iykyk). Not gonna lie; I was a bit jealous I didn’t have time to make a matching costume for me. Next year, baby!

Swan Song Book 2 is coming along beautifully. In this book, Princess Eliza’s journey to free her brothers from their curse gets her tangled in a mess of politics as she struggles to win the hearts of the court of Thalin. I’m just past the midway point and fast closing in on the long-awaited “The End” mark. And this time, the story is hitting ALL the emotional beats!

Eliza’s fears and courage, the teen king’s inspiration and worries, the budding romance between two young royals still learning to navigate the world they’ve inherited…It’s giving me chills! Always a good sign of what’s to come.

And, a new development I hadn’t planned on…

I’ve come up with ALL the titles for the individual books! WHAT?!?!?

Titles are always one of the hardest parts for me. And this time was no exception. (Boiling down an entire story to a handful of words that are trending but haven’t already been used and somehow tell you what the story is about is NOT for the faint of heart!) I procrastinated on it as long as I could before finally forcing myself to just start the process.

But after a few weeks of agonizing over naming conventions and word choices and playing with my options, I have narrowed it down to titles for the first three books with a fourth still under consideration. The title for Book 1 will be dropping at the end of THIS WEEK – who’s ready?

I’ve been continuing to work on my high fantasy projects on the side (always after my work on Swan Song). And I’ve honestly had a lot of fun with them, from drawing maps to discovering main plot points and character arcs. I’m very excited to talk more about these projects next years as Swan Song gets closer to publication and my other projects loom higher on the horizon.

That’s all for now, dear friends. Until next month!

Joanna

 Want to continue the conversation? Feel free to email me at joannagholden@gmail.com or DM me on Social Media (@authorjoannagholden).

Clean, wholesome Christian fantasy for preteen girls.

Want to read what’s already out?

Click Below to learn about my Middle Grade Fairy Tale Retellings.

https://www.joannaholden.com/middle-grade