Ever walked through the Fiction section of the Children’s Area and wondered why there were two different beginnings to call numbers: JF and TF?

Junior Fiction and Teen Fiction are sometimes interfiled in the Children’s Area at the Burlington County Library and our branches because of their overlapping reading levels. Junior Fiction usually begins with chapter books for those readers who have started reading on their own and have moved on from leveled easy readers, then move up to books recommended for grades two to four, with an overlap of grades three to six. These books are identified with a “JF” before the author’s last name.

You’re probably thinking, okay, but what’s with the Teen Fiction?

Shouldn’t that be in the Teen Room? Even though this is confusing, the answer is no. Teen Fiction in most libraries refers to books that are commonly recommended for a reading level over fifth grade. Depending on the content, books are separated between Teen Fiction and Young Adult Fiction. Young Adult Fiction, or YA, is most often recommended for seventh to 12th-grade reading levels with more mature themes. Teen Fiction is recommended for fifth to eighth-grade reading levels suitable for an older audience, but not quite YA, bridging the reading level gap for a more advanced reader into more adult themes and subjects.

While it might be a gray area of fiction, depending on the publisher’s recommendation and/or reviews of a particular title, that’s where your friendly neighborhood librarians come in! If you’re looking for an advanced reading level, but not ready for those mature themes of YA, this list contains books from Junior Fiction to Young Adult that have been read and come recommended as Totally Teen Fiction: