Editor’s Note: Roxanne J. Coady founded R.J. Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT, in 1989 after leaving her job as national tax director at a New York-based international accounting firm. Roxanne is the co-editor, with Joy Johannessen, of The Book That Changed My Life. Visit R.J. Julia at www.rjjulia.com.

As children settle into the rhythms and glories of the summer, I’d like to make a pitch to encourage you to take a peek at some of the young-adult literature out there today, because this is the season when you have time to get lost in a great book. I’ve been amazed in the past five years how much YA literature has grown. Really, what used to be a few shelves upstairs in our store has turned into almost a full wall of titles, some of which we have trouble keeping on the shelves. The industry is up by a quarter since 1999, and seems to be growing more and more each day. Why? Well, the short answer is Harry Potter. But I think there’s more to it — even a few minutes of looking closely at new YA titles shows there is a breadth and quality of authors writing specifically for teenagers, and bringing a refreshing sophistication to the genre that’s sweeping up adult readers as well as young ones.

Prime example? The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, which is an incredible story with death as the narrator. I can’t tell you the number of book clubs that have used (and loved) this novel for  discussion. But still, they all look a bit sheepish when they admit to enjoying it — after all, "It’s just a young adult book." But that goes right to my point: these books aren’t "just." Instead they pack a real punch that makes them worthy of your time and attention as a reader, especially if you’re a parent, but even if you’re not.

Take, for instance, the bestselling YA author right now: Sarah Dessen. Along for the Ride, her latest, is one of those classic YA stories that deals with divorced parents, self-discovery, love and tendencies toward overachievement. It’s about an 18-year-old girl who’s a little bit unhappy and has been a diligent only child living with her mother. She decides to spend the summer at a beach community with her dad, his new wife and their baby. We experience through her eyes her entry into a normal teenage life — hanging with boys, female friendships, romance and even learning to ride a bike, all this coupled with trying to find a way to have a relationship with her father. The innocence of her experience, the dialogue and the setting tugged me back into being that age, and did that wonderful thing that only a great book can do: It took my outside myself. Go ahead, get it for yourself and if you have one, share it with a teenager daughter, or a friend’s daughter.

Of course, there is another equally addictive (perhaps disturbingly so) subset of YA lit that has been seeing a lot of press recently: books focused on the dark and disturbing. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal explored why it is that teen books about fatal car crashes, murder and eating disorders all are seeing such success in stores (RJ Julia included).  Really, some of the most popular YA books right now tend toward grimmer matter than falling in love and fighting with parents. One in particular that has caught my attention and won’t let go is Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why, the story of Hannah, a teen who sends a recording of her story to the 13 peers who she feels are the cause of her suicide. This book is shocking, eye-opening, jarring. Asher brilliantly puts us in the middle of it all, and forces us into the shoes of someone we might not like, but still need to understand.

And now a final thought …