A young reader scouring the pages of the "Percy Jackson" series by Rick Riordan encounters two things: On the surface it's a fantastic and thrilling story. But beneath the book's inconsequential guise is a lesson in Greek mythology.

In "The Hunger Games" trilogy, by Suzanne Collins, political issues course through the pages alongside the expected personal threads of grief, love and loyalty. The third book of the increasingly popular series, called "Mockingjay," hits bookstores today.

Unlike some adult novels, heavy with disillusionment or overwrought prose, these books are fresh and frank -- qualities that kids love. Their commercial success, too, is a clear indicator that both children and young adults are absorbing a ton of literature these days -- "Mockingjay," in particular, will have a first printing of 750,000 copies.

But here's the conundrum: While book sales in the young adult and children's categories are up despite the recession -- a surefire sign that young people are still reading -- Newbery Medal-winners like "The Giver" and "Bridge to Terabithia" may be falling by the wayside. Teachers across the country are finding it more and more difficult to push traditional titles without squelching their students' love of reading.

Many educators have found that the way to cope with that challenge is to find a compromise.

Sarah Flowers, president-elect of the Young Adult Library Services Association, says teachers need to be informed on trends in the book industry or risk losing the attention of their students.

"Some teachers don't keep up on what's new in young-adult literature -- they tend to assign the same things year after year," Flowers said. "But young-adult literature is as varied and diverse as adult literature. And that just wasn't true 10 or 15 years ago."

Anita Silvey, author of "Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Children's Book," said that for the first time in years, there has been a tremendous increase in pleasure reading among preteens and teens. "But the books children have embraced are discounted a little too vehemently -- it's almost as if we're in a time where, if a book is popular, everybody assumes something is wrong with it."

Catherine Truesdell requires that her sixth-grade language arts students at Mill Middle School in the Williamsville Central School District do independent reading. That way she can still assign time-honored books and, at the same time, encourage them to read what they really like.

"If I'm constantly prescribing to them, I might burn them out," Truesdell said. "Sometimes people think you're only an English student if you're reading the classics, and that's just not the case. My feeling is that, especially with this age group, they are still developing readers."

Truesdell emphasizes that for struggling students, active reading of any kind is better than not reading at all. For a child who has never finished a book before, reading what excites them can be an empowering turning point.

Nardin English teacher Emma Eddy incorporates the "Twilight" series into her ninth-grade class discussions of "Romeo and Juliet," and has used it in past discussions of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" and "Paradise Lost." She was inspired to fit "Twilight" into the curriculum when one of her students recommended the book to her.

"I wanted to know what was going on in my students' minds," Eddy said. "I thought, here are two young people who are making life choices -- the choices that make and define us. This could be used in the classroom."

 'Battle of the Books'

Earlier this month, students from across the region gathered at Erie Community College to participate in the 12th annual Buffalo and Erie County Public Library's "Battle of the Books," a trivia competition based on a half-dozen young-adult novels. The atmosphere at the event was spellbinding Ñ a gymnasium brimming with girls and boys quizzing one another about books that, for the most part, they hadn't even heard of a few months ago. Dressed in matching T-shirts embossed with glitter gel, the various teams were sharp and enthusiastic.

The event confirms that young students are not limiting themselves to "Twilight."

The event acts as a bridge between classics and commercial successes. On a few occasions, the selection committee has chosen a Newbery Medal-winner or a Harry Potter book, but for the most part the books lie somewhere between these two extremes.

The kids don't seem to mind. Many of them simply welcome the opportunity to read something new.

"It's not necessarily the books themselves, but the act of reading," said Taylor Heywood, 14, of Orchard Park. She and her friends Melissa Barton, 13, and Stephanie Macchia, 14, say they have moved past the "Twilight" craze; however, they acknowledge that trends like these have the power to beguile and transform readers. Now they approach their friends, rather than respected book lists, to see what else is out there.

Come September, the same students who attend the Battle of the Books will shuffle off to school, where they hope teachers will discover what new young-adult books have to offer. "We want more books that are from our time," said Allison Staebell, a student at Mill Middle. "We want to learn, but we're reluctant. Once you get past that, you can read anything."

Some parents, however, have misgivings about such changes in school curricula. One Battle of the Books parent from Hamburg (who spoke on condition we identify her by only her first name, Shirley) said she is not happy with the current state of English education.

"I think teachers sometimes fold to the kids and let them read what they want, when I would like to see more classics," she said. "I've had to beg my daughter all summer not to read 'Twilight.' It was on her summer reading list for school." She pauses. "I'm not sure teachers even realize what it's about."

 Trust the experts

If teachers are to solve this three-way conflict among themselves, parents and students, they may have to defer to the experts --librarians.

"Nobody is a better source than your local librarian," Silvey said. "That person knows what is being read and appreciated in the community, and they also have those literary standards that you would want them to have. I can say from experience that settings in which library staffs and teachers work together get the best reading lists."

Angela Yates, a librarian at Julia Boyer Reinstein Library in Cheektowaga, says availability suffers when librarians and teachers do not communicate.

"What we've noticed is that often teachers do not consult the library catalog, and then you've got 50 kids or more who all need the same book, and sometimes we only have four of five copies," she said. "Then the kids have to end up buying them through Barnes & Noble, and that's an expense we don't want to incur."

Ultimately, though, teachers cannot please everyone. Truesdell says that parents can step in and suggest books that cater more to their son's or daughter's interests and reading level.

"There's a lot on the Internet for parents to look into, but it comes down to the individual child," she said.