With all of the challenges facing the rising and younger generation today, fantasy has become huge. Today series like Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and Hunger Games are the hot topics for youth. J.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Suzanne Collins are authors known throughout the world and the reasons for their popularity may spark curiosity.

I have a couple of theories about what it is about the fantasy and sci-fi genre that has caught attention. Perhaps the main reason people go to books in the first place is to forget about life and enjoy the adventure of someone else’s trials for a moment. Whether it is comedy, horror, romance, etc. it’s a breath of fresh air to sit down and read. Escapism, to be able to escape the trials of life and become a part of something else for a time is one of the main reasons we read.

Fantasy, or other things paranormal, is something so different and unique that for the longest time it has been a curiosity. Practically two hundred years ago the pilgrims considered things like magic to be an abomination. However, as in many things, this abhorrence, over the years, grew to a curiosity, and then from there to acceptance, till finally we embraced it.

As for myself I have always loved fantasy. I love reading and becoming something that in reality I’m not and being a part of something great while the real world appears to be going to ruins. I don’t think I am the only one with the opinion that life is difficult. It would be a lie for me to say that I have not sometimes wished I could sprout wings and fly or be a part of something much greater in order to escape my real life.

Every day we are told from various sources that we have to get an education, we have to get a job, etc. etc. and for many people that kind of a life may be miserable due to many circumstances. In the media today there are so many tragedies happening all over the world. Bad things are happening everywhere and it is confusing. I think the rising generation sees this and sees what unpleasant things are happening and we don’t want that. Hence we seek for something exciting and new that brings pleasure and maybe offers fantastic solutions to everyday human problems. Thus there is a growing fascination with the peculiar and strange, the impossible. I have a feeling that if the world continues down the path it is going, this curiosity will only grow because of our desire for change, or answers, or for a better, easier life.

Juliet Petersen is the author of ASHER a fictional novel based on a boy changed as a baby to have wings. She is an avid reader of fantasy and is a student majoring in Creative Writing.