Yes, young people like to read. Although they spend a lot of time in front of screens, children and adolescents also enjoy the pleasure of reading: 84% of young people say they enjoy reading*. And if their tastes are varied, certain works are clearly their preference. So, 7-19 year olds primarily appreciate comics, a genre that is constantly being renewedlike the Mortelle Adèle series, two volumes of which are among the five best-selling comic books in 2022. As for mangas, Japanese comics, they are still on the rise with 48 million copies sold Last year. “This generation likes their reading speed, the importance given to drawings and the efficiency of writing”assures Sylvie Vassallo, director of the Montreuil Children’s Book Fair which closed its doors on December 4, 2023. An interest confirmed by Guillaume Traisnel, children’s bookseller at Furet du Nord in Lille: “Every day we sell classics from the 2000s, like Naruto And One Pieceas well as more recent manga, Promised Neverland Or Frieren on your mind. Some high school students spend the €300 of the Culture Pass to acquire entire collections in one go.”
Teenagers follow recommendations from social networks
Today, 29% of young people choose a book after hearing about it on the internet, and 11% following a recommendation by an influencer*. Using the hashtag #BookTok, they share literary favorites and reading ideas on their Tik Tok account. As a result, sometimes certain titles create buzz, like The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, retracing the life and death of the Greek hero published in 2011, which achieved viral success after a widely shared recommendation on Tik Tok. In 2022, thanks to this media coverage, 2 million copies have been sold, although only 15,000 have been sold since its release !
Among novels, “fantasy” books, that is to say containing fantastic, science fiction elements, are popular. “These works evoke concerns of their age, in a world that is not the present”, analyzes Sylvie Vassallo. If the Harry Potter saga “continues to achieve very good sales”notes the Lille bookseller, “other bestsellers are emerging like the series The People of the Air by Holly Black which takes place in a fairytale world, with court intrigue. Enough to escape and experience great adventures.”
A craze for works adapted into films and series… and the original version!
Certainly, young people spend much more time on screens than on reading: on average, 7-25 year olds spend 3h50 there per day, and read 3h14… per week. But it can also motivate them to open a book. More than one in two young readers wanted it after seeing a series or film on a platform. “Following the broadcast of the first episodes of Lupineof the Bridgerton Chronicles or The summer I became prettywe had a spike in demand for their book version”assures Guillaume, children’s bookseller from Furet in the North.
New phenomenon, the Anglo-Saxon departments are enjoying real success. Formerly frequented by tourists and language students, they allow young people to have access to works not yet translated, particularly for series to which they are addicted like Heartstopper by the British Alice Oseman, comprising six volumes. “Our VO department saw a 150% increase in sales”says the bookseller.
* Source: ISPOS survey for CNL 2022 Young French people and readinge