If you’ve been following the articles we’ve been posting this summer, then you know how important the Young Adult (YA) market is to the publishing industry. You’ve probably also seen, from the passion with which we addressed these issues, how important it is to us here at Radiant Lit as well.
Because of this YA trend, teens and tweens have found themselves positioned in the crosshairs of a marketing machine the likes of which has never been seen before. Internet campaigns, social media, schools and libraries are all targeting kids as young as 8 and 9 years old with their messages. It’s unprecedented and as a parent, it’s hard to combat these campaigns.
As parents ourselves, Jill and I both obviously feel very strongly about the things that our kids read. The new books that are slated to hit the shelves in coming months are, in many cases, more deceptive than ever and the subjects being covered are frightening to say the least. This is what kickstarted us to figure out what we can do to help parents and kids with their reading.
So today, we are proud to announce our new program, RADIANT YOUNG ADULTS!
This program is a first of its kind in the industry. We have assembled a staff of young readers who will be reviewing the books for us alongside adults. We will pair the reviews together so you can see not only what the YA readers on our staff had to say but also what the adults and parents saw when they read the same books.
Our mission with Radiant Young Adults (RYA) is to provide a place where parents can research the titles their kids want to read and see what other adults and parents thought about the topics. If we see something that concerns us, we’ll be sure to share it in the review. This will also provide a place for tweens and teens to see what their peers thought about the books.
Visit our Radiant Young Adult page today, ‘meet’ our staff, and please let us know what you think! If you’ve got ideas or suggestions, we’d love to hear them. Comment here or email Jill@radiantlit.com and Lori@radiantlit.com to tell us what you think!
