Picture this:

You’re a teenager.

You’re an avid reader.

You’ve read everything from Harry Potter to Carved in Bone to The Fault in Our Stars to The Hunger Games.

You think you’ve read every type of book out there.

Then you walk into English class one day.

Your teacher hands you a book by an author you’ve never heard of before.

He tells you that he believes you will thoroughly enjoy it. That it’ll be nothing like you’ve ever read before.

You don’t believe him, but you take the book anyway.

You later find out that your English teacher could not have been more right.

That book opened your eyes to a world you never thought anyone but a genius could have imagined.

That’s exactly what happened to me.

When I read all of Matt's novels at the age of seventeen, I thought I knew it all. I thought the world was easily defined in a few simple sentences and that everyone lived roughly the same life. Boy, was I wrong. However, I didn’t figure this out on my own. I figured this out by reading every single one of Matt de la Peña’s realistic fiction books for young adults.

The first book that my senior year English teacher gave to me was Matt’s fifth novel, The Living. I immediately fell in love with his writing style and depth. I didn’t understand why I had never heard of him before, seeing as how he had already released six young adult novels. I didn’t understand why his writing wasn’t being used in English classes all over the country. Ever since I finished The Living, I haven’t been able to stop reading his novels.

The last book that I read by Matt was Ball Don’t Lie, the first novel he published. As I placed down the book for the last time, I grew angry. I didn’t understand why I was so angry until I texted my friends to talk to them about the book and none of them knew who or what I was talking about. I was furious. I asked them who their favorite author was. Some said J.K. Rowling. Others said John Green. A few even said Rainbow Rowell (note that all of the authors have written books approved for classroom reading). Not one person knew who Matt was. Not one person had read even one of his six novels for young adults. Not one person understood what his characters went through.

I find this so infuriating because Matt touches on so many more social and mental issues than many of the “most popular” young adult authors have. He doesn’t just dip his toe into these touchy subjects. He dives straight in, head first. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love J.K. Rowling and John Green just as much as the next person, but I find Matt’s novels so much more empowering.

I thoroughly believe that his novels need to be incorporated into English curriculums all over the country. Teenagers shouldn’t be forced to read about Gatsby’s obsession with a green light or Holden’s attitude without also being forced to read about Sticky’s foster homes or Miguel’s homelessness or Kidd’s internal battles or Danny’s feelings of abandonment. The feelings that Matt’s novels bring out inside of you are so much greater than those of any other authors teenagers are forced to read in the classroom. His writing brings about feelings of distress, confusion, hopelessness, but most importantly it brings out feelings of humility, inspiration, and gratitude.

Matt’s novels opened my eyes to a world most teenagers don’t ever think about. He introduced me to the world of homelessness and Juvi. He introduced me to the world of living in foster homes and what it feels like to not be wanted by anyone. He introduced me into a world where I would have nothing. His novels teach gratitude. They show you how lucky you are to not live how these characters do. They make you want to help people who do actually live how they do.

Many will argue that the language and scenes in Matt’s novels are far too graphic for students to be reading in the classroom. I completely disagree. Sure, the characters in these books do throw around curse words and do some questionable things, but that’s how life works. That’s what makes Matt’s books so raw and eye-opening. Teenagers like to read about stuff like that. Even if they won’t admit it, teenagers do actually like to learn and be introduced to new concepts and ideas. By not allowing a young adult to read what is to be considered a more “graphic” novel, you’re completely sheltering them from the fact that everyone doesn’t live the way they do. Most don’t realize what hardships people have to go through in life. Before I started reading Matt’s novels, I was aware that I was very blessed in life, but it never really hit me just how blessed I am. These books were like a slap in the face.

If high schoolers are only forced to read the “classics," it could potentially turn them off of reading entirely. I experienced that first-hand. From the beginning of freshman year up until the end of junior year, I read maybe ten books outside of the classroom. Every time I would go to pick up a choice read book, all I could think about was how much I hated whatever book I was currently reading in English class. After a while, my brain started connecting reading to the unpleasant feelings I got when I was forced to read books in class. I stopped reading entirely. When I was told at the beginning of my senior year that what I read wouldn’t be censored nor controlled and after I was handed The Living, I fell in love with reading again. I read twenty-seven books in seven months (thirty-two in the entirety of my senior year). Not censoring what a teenager reads could be life changing for them.

Take the time to read one of Matt’s novels. It’ll open your eyes. I know because they opened mine.