ShmoopTube

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Young Adult Fiction, a la Shmoop. The universe is pretty big. Infinite even.

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While our problems can sometimes seem world-ending…

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…it helps to remind ourselves once in a while how small we really are.

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Even those of us who make a habit of scarfing down fourthmeal at 2 am.

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We all have to deal with our own personal trials and tribulations…

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…and when they’re happening to us…

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…it feels like the planet should stop spinning until we’ve got things sorted out.

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The fact is that every one of us has issues that seem like a big deal…

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…whether it’s trying to figure out a way to make a million dollars last another thirty

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years when we’re 65…

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…or considering whether or not to take that job offer in Paris when we’re 30…

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…or deciding to ask Brittney Johnston to the Homecoming Dance when we’re 17.

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Ugh. As if she even knows you’re alive. While some older, perhaps embittered adults

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may look on the problems of a teenager and shrug them off as… kid stuff…

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…the authors of young adult fiction understand how important these issues are.

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After all, the way we handle relationships as youngsters helps form our aptitude… or

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ineptitude… for handling them later on in life…

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…and the way we apply ourselves to our schoolwork goes a long way to determining our work ethic

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once we enter the… real world. Plus, there’s probably a strong connection

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between the way we talk to our parents and the way we’ll eventually talk to…

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…other authority figures. Authors like Stephen Chbosky <<chuh-bahs-key>>,

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author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower…

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…and John Green, writer of The Fault in Our Stars…

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…are grown-ups who remember what it was like to be a kid.

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They recall the turmoil of adolescence…

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…dealing with bullies, the pressure to keep up grades, the first kiss, the first… more

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than a kiss… the hormones, the acne… the whole shebang.

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They know how amazing it is that any of us even makes it out of our teen years alive.

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The next time you’re reading a young adult novel…

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…think not only about what stuff you and the main character may have in common…

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…but about how your mutual dilemmas might figure into the bigger picture.

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How does what happens to you in high school… change you?

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How does it prepare you for the future?

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Does it strengthen your resolve?

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Does it weaken your heart?

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Does it make you more adept at forming spitballs? If the author has done their job, you may

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close the book thinking…

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…This book gets me better than any of my friends do.

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At the very least, it certainly gets you better than your alleged best friend Kevin…

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…who asked Brittney Johnston to Homecoming before you had a chance.

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Hopefully, that jerk will slip in a spilled puddle of fruit punch.

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