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BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — For some, reading a well-written novel is like taking a vacation from reality and escaping to a brand new world. 

That said, statistics indicate that not everyone is enthusiastic about taking a “vacation” via a book. One study claims that roughly a quarter of American adults (23%) admitted they hadn’t read a book in the past year.

In Louisiana, the literacy rate is 84% is well above the national average, an estimated 79%, but this doesn’t mean that everyone who can read enjoys it so much that they do so for pleasure.   

In this regard, many parents would agree that their teenagers lack enthusiasm when it comes to reading.  

So, what can parents do to encourage teens to read a bit more this summer? 

Some experts recommend:

Leaving plenty of reading material around the house– Select books, magazines, and other literature that you think your teen might be interested in and place them in various locations around your home. Then, take notice of what your teen chooses to peruse. This will let you know what kind of reading material they might be interested in. 

Giving teens the chance to choose their own reading material– If you’re ordering books for yourself from Amazon, ask teens to pick out one or two YA (Young Adult) books for themselves. Try doing the same when you’re out and about in a store that sells books and magazines. 

Try reading a few YA books yourself- Not only will seeing you enjoy a good book encourage your teen to give it a try for themselves but as you read about the experiences young people face you may gain insight into some of the challenges your teen is dealing with. This will also give you something the two of you can talk about. 

In harmony with the above advice, a recent article in the Washington Post suggested that parents pick up a few popular YA books and check them out. Five of the suggested YA books are listed below: 

  1. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz 
  2. A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney 
  3. Check, Please! Book 1: # Hockey by Ngozi Ukazu 
  4. Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
  5. The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee

Another practical resource to utilize is the East Baton Rouge Parish Library’s online portal that’s just for teens. Users can find new YA books, information on gaming, crafts, music, and more.

Click here to access the webpage.