Teen Literacy Day encourages younger people to read books and raises awareness for teenagers to be interested in reading more. Unfortuantely, teenagers are reading less and less and this is evident statistically:

STATICS

• Back in 1980, 60% of high school seniors read outside of homework every single day. That number dropped to 16% in 2016.
• The first smartphone appeared in 1992, years before any of today’s teens were even born.
• 1997 saw the formation of the first social media site, Six Degrees, which let users upload profile information and befriend other users.
• In 2025, the percentage of children and young people enjoying reading was its lowest in 20 years.
• Just 1 in 3 (32.7%) children and young people aged 8 to 18 said that they enjoyed reading in their free time in 2025. This marks a 36% decrease in reading enjoyment levels since 2005.
• The drop in reading enjoyment over the last year has been especially steep among primary-aged children and boys, particularly boys aged 11 to 16.

Introduction of Smartphones and social networking are the two heavy hitters in the battle for kids attention. Ray Bradbury said,

“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”

Obviously, this trend makes people nervous, there is no connection to real literature, stories, or imagination and thus no critical thinking, creative writing, or screenless engagement.

George R.R. Martin said,

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies . . . The man who never reads lives only one.”

As regular readers we understand that books allow us to peer through the eyes of people with different backgrounds, ethnicities and values. It is not only entertaining, but allows readers to become more empathetic.

Enter the librarians, YA authors, English teachers and parents/guardians and friends, who do encourage a lifelong love of reading. It may start with a graphic novel, or a trending book series, or a movie adaptation, but anything that captures the complexities of adolescence, will ensure curiosity and therefore entice a young person to read.

I have two novellas that cover the support of friends and accepting your true self and self awareness.

A robotic protector, an invading creature, and four friends on an adventure...
Join Lenni, Troon, Braze, and Nevis on their terrifying mission to seek out and destroy a creature intent on invading their planet.

Click. Click. Clickety-Click – Alice does not realise the significance of this sound; only feels the overwhelming fear it instills. What secret are her guardians keeping from her?  What future awaits Alice? What is Alice?

And my fantasy trilogy has been well accepted by young adults as well.