Honestly, I am amazed at how many twenty-somethings (and older) read a lot of young adult books - in fact, some almost exclusively. When I was an actual 'young adult' (as defined by the YALSA being between the ages of twelve and eighteen) I didn't know what 'young adult' was. I would have summed it up as those Buffy the Vampire Slayer tie-in novels. I seriously had no clue what it was.
Only after I reached my twenties did I discover what young adult as a demographic meant. And I had hit my mid-twenties before I ever read any young adult directed books. According to this wiki article, they say that young adult authors and readers define the age group as sixteen to twenty-five. In fact, if the article is to be believed, only 45% of young adult fiction is actually purchased by readers under eighteen.
So, I was wondering, if you read young adult books, why? Why do you like them? What do you get from them? If you don't read young adult, why not?
Personally, I enjoy reading YA books for the same reason I like any books. Likable characters, good story, well written. All those things. However, YA is rather nice because it doesn't often suffer from long winded prose and a plot that moves slower than molasses in January. (As some adult directed fantasy novels are wont to do.)
Also, I've been lucky in that most of the YA books I've read are a bit cleaner (in terms, specifically, of crass language and even some sexuality) and I do prefer cleaner books as a whole. To put it in terms of movie ratings: I always choose PG13 over R.
Leave me comments, please, as I would love to hear what you think about YA.
