I’m 23 and from the age of 11, I was reading YA. It’s just something I grown up with. I love the plots of the books and they pull me into the story. Plus, I feel like it’s easy to find out about an upcoming release for YA compared to an adult release. I mean I enjoy adult novels, but I tend to still pick YA up more. I do feel a lot of YA novels are written with older teens too and some of them do push the envelope.
With contemporary YA there’s some nostalgia, but I can only handle so much of that… so I read more fantasy YA which is usually themed around people finding themselves and discovering inner strength they didn’t know they had, which is something I still need. But I agree that you get the same degree of amazing plots and characters but without lots of sex or gore.
I love the stories though sometimes they do tend to get repetitive with the same plots/themes, but I still enjoy them. I’ve always been into dystopian/fantasy type stories and a lot of YA is just that.
I’m 27 and honestly I think YA (and NA more recently) are just written so well. I find these genres to be more approachable. I’m sure I’ll grow to love genres outside of YA eventually, but for now, I find it to be more relatable, more accessible, and geared more toward my interests!
(I’ve found a lot of wonderful LGBT representation, discovered more authors of colour, more female authors in general, mental health/illness depicted in more honest ways, as well as other disabilities being represented in a more realistic and inclusive way)
It reads easier. There’s such a huge audience for it that the authors have a lot of incentive to do good by their fans. I’m also very forgetful so a story that maybe isn’t “as deep” is better for me. ?
shit …you haven’t read A Court of Thorn and Roses..the sex surprised me in something that was YA, usually it’s toned down or hinted at..not in THIS series!!
some of the stuff they have now was a LOT better than what I had in the 90’s..I was going to highschool by then and a lot of books for teen girls were Sweet Valley High and I got tired of them, actually by eighth grade a lot of us started reading Stephen King, Dean Koontz and John Saul novels. What is coming out now is a LOT more edgier, the Wicked Lovely series was awesome. Love the concept of linking fairy glamour with the drug culture, makes perfect sense.
I started reading YA when my oldest got to that age and I was going to college to be a school librarian aide. Faster plot lines and not a lot of extra verbage to slow it down. If you look for the Newberry Award winners, you know it is quality reading.
It’s easy? Sometimes adult books can be too tough and I just want something”easy” and quick to read. Not to say that it’s bad or anything just that it’s easier. Like I’ve read 10 or 15 YA books while also trying to get through IT
I read it to sort of know what my daughter is reading! Trying to stay ahead of her, figuring what is appropriate and worth her time. Some of these YA books I consider my all time favorites——like The Outsiders, Sign of the Beaver and Esperanza Rising! ( latter of which are middle school books)
I just like how everything is a bit “lighter” than the adult versions…even though there are heavy themes and so on it is not as graphic, if that makes sense? So for me, I can still read a fantasy that is epic or a romance but it is not necessarily as heavy as some others? And also, I don’t mind the fact that some of the characters are really young…just in the same way that some books, such as Three things about Elsie etc. have older characters in them. I don’t feel the need to read only about people my age.
Easy and quick to read. I can knock one off in a few hours usually. Most of them are quite well written, which is more than I can say for some of the more ‘popular’ books (can you say ’50 shades…hmmn). I’m 55 and I read YA because they are entertaining.
Maybe the stakes are higher when you’re only sixteen and your whole life is ahead of you? I really wish I knew why I like it better than adult fiction. No clue haha.
I can zone out of the real world and fall into a whole different world, with different powers, characters etc. The real world’s is complicated and horrible place sometimes, and going to Hogwarts or the night court is just what a girl needs!..Or maybe bc I have the emotional stability of an adolescent fae warrior ??? jk idk but they’re my fave!
Best answer yet! When I was first reading Harry Potter,I was in my mid-20’s. I couldn’t help thinking “Boy,if only these had been published when I was a kid.” I would probably have turned into a truant or got more detentions due to reading in class or skipping school so I can read. I am jealous that I can’t say I grew up with the books or any of the wonderful children and YA books I have read over the years.
YA, I find, is usually a very easy read and therefore a simple quick escape from the horrors of reality. Even the most hardcore ones. But of course, the characters must be relate-able and easy to fall in love with/like. But also when you get to my age you have children who are the age that the books are geared for, so it helps to read them too.
The books ask very little of us, in terms of vocabulary level, sentence complexity, and remembering obscure plot details. They’re relaxing when you’ve just made it through Bleak House.
Because I feel I can understand that level of the storyline now. Working in a school library sometimes, there have been some really great new books coming through.
When you’re a frumpy mom stuck in a routine of life, like me, it’s a nice way to reminisce and feel hopeful about life again. They’re filled with so much adventure and possibility. It’s a relaxing yet exciting escape from reality. It makes me feel like I can still have a story.
bcz it shows intensity of emotion, passion… without all those dirty staff (yeah, I know I sound like a prude. I’m not tryin to b offensive. I can enjoy an erotic book now & then) that are like compulsory part of every adult book out there. also, ya books can take us back to our golden time…. & I feel like ya books r filled with so much hope, so much light, so much…. life…
I enjoy the storylines and the characters…brings me back to those times in my life. My daughter is that age, so I connect with her over books.
You get the same great plots as adult novels without all the gore and sex. They don’t take as long to get into and are faster reads
I don’t like it
I’m 23 and from the age of 11, I was reading YA. It’s just something I grown up with. I love the plots of the books and they pull me into the story. Plus, I feel like it’s easy to find out about an upcoming release for YA compared to an adult release. I mean I enjoy adult novels, but I tend to still pick YA up more. I do feel a lot of YA novels are written with older teens too and some of them do push the envelope.
Yes ..some of it I really enjoy ..I don’t look for which age a book is I just read it if it sounds good
I breeze right through them. Can read one to two a day. I also read children’s books. Cute and fun escapes from reality lmao.
They are so fast paced!!!! I never feel like they get boring…
They are exciting.
With contemporary YA there’s some nostalgia, but I can only handle so much of that… so I read more fantasy YA which is usually themed around people finding themselves and discovering inner strength they didn’t know they had, which is something I still need. But I agree that you get the same degree of amazing plots and characters but without lots of sex or gore.
I agree with this
I love the stories though sometimes they do tend to get repetitive with the same plots/themes, but I still enjoy them. I’ve always been into dystopian/fantasy type stories and a lot of YA is just that.
I’m 27 and honestly I think YA (and NA more recently) are just written so well. I find these genres to be more approachable. I’m sure I’ll grow to love genres outside of YA eventually, but for now, I find it to be more relatable, more accessible, and geared more toward my interests!
(I’ve found a lot of wonderful LGBT representation, discovered more authors of colour, more female authors in general, mental health/illness depicted in more honest ways, as well as other disabilities being represented in a more realistic and inclusive way)
@Maria I totally agree with you about more representation. One of the main reading I stick with ya.
@Maria I agree. I was trying to think of how to word what I thought. Lol
I’m 29.
What is NA?
@Melissa it’s a term for New Adult 🙂
@Melissa
Ahh, ok. Thank you!
Could you give me a few titles? You seem to know a lot ?
@Fanny what are some of your faves and I’ll try and come up with a little list 🙂
Like it because it’s kind of “romance lite”. A bit of action, a bit of romance without being totally graphic about either.
I’m 40. And I love the characters and stories. ?
@Raphaëlla I am 45 and some of the best books I have read lately are YA. I don’t look at labels. I read I think looks interesting.
I totally agree with you @Donna. ?
I will also read children’s novels. Some of my top ten favorites are children’s books I read growing up that I still like to reread.
It reads easier. There’s such a huge audience for it that the authors have a lot of incentive to do good by their fans. I’m also very forgetful so a story that maybe isn’t “as deep” is better for me. ?
Stories are a bit more fun to me
Easier read
More interesting plot lines
Cheaper
Can identify more with the characters
Easier & better for my imagination
No graphic sex or foul language and more imaginative plots.
shit …you haven’t read A Court of Thorn and Roses..the sex surprised me in something that was YA, usually it’s toned down or hinted at..not in THIS series!!
@Julie, ACOTAR is NOT YA, it is NA. It’s just put by YA because most places have no spots for this new genre yet…
some of the stuff they have now was a LOT better than what I had in the 90’s..I was going to highschool by then and a lot of books for teen girls were Sweet Valley High and I got tired of them, actually by eighth grade a lot of us started reading Stephen King, Dean Koontz and John Saul novels. What is coming out now is a LOT more edgier, the Wicked Lovely series was awesome. Love the concept of linking fairy glamour with the drug culture, makes perfect sense.
@Julie OMG,I remember Sweet Valley Twins and Sweet Valley High. You’re right. YA books back then were not as good.
Us women in our forties, mothers of young children, are actually the largest consumers (and writers) of YA, just FYI. Because it’s AWESOME! ??❤️❤️?
@Siri yes
@Siri and quick to read!!
It doesn’t matter what you read, just enjoy reading ??
@Mikey Exactly! Who cares
I like the messages behind the stories most times. Or that they are easier to read when my brain has all the thinking power of a boiled potato.
It’s way more emotional than regular books.
Like there’s a small child in all of us, there is also a teen and a young adult. We all like to recount our past experiences.
Adult books, (that I’ve read) are more prone to have some sort of sex in it. YA has sexual tension, but not graphic sex.
What does NA mean?
New Adult
So new adults are older readers than young adults?
Yes, typically. It’s more mature content.
To me it’s just a book, a story.
I don’t care if it’s YA or not. If it seem interesting and have good reviews I’m checking it out.
A few books I look for are in the YA section. Like ‘A Book Thief’…….Or, any Mark Twain.
If I’m rereading something I read as a teenager, I get another perspective on what the author was trying to say.
I started reading YA when my oldest got to that age and I was going to college to be a school librarian aide. Faster plot lines and not a lot of extra verbage to slow it down. If you look for the Newberry Award winners, you know it is quality reading.
It’s easy? Sometimes adult books can be too tough and I just want something”easy” and quick to read. Not to say that it’s bad or anything just that it’s easier. Like I’ve read 10 or 15 YA books while also trying to get through IT
And when I say easy I mean…I can stop in the middle of a page and come right back to that part, where as that’s not always the case with adult books.
@Belynda ?
I read it to sort of know what my daughter is reading! Trying to stay ahead of her, figuring what is appropriate and worth her time.
Some of these YA books I consider my all time favorites——like The Outsiders, Sign of the Beaver and Esperanza Rising!
( latter of which are middle school books)
Ive been reading YA since I was 10 so yeah love it. Its just a bit more mature and more plot twists to make you think more.
I just like how everything is a bit “lighter” than the adult versions…even though there are heavy themes and so on it is not as graphic, if that makes sense? So for me, I can still read a fantasy that is epic or a romance but it is not necessarily as heavy as some others? And also, I don’t mind the fact that some of the characters are really young…just in the same way that some books, such as Three things about Elsie etc. have older characters in them. I don’t feel the need to read only about people my age.
Easy and quick to read. I can knock one off in a few hours usually. Most of them are quite well written, which is more than I can say for some of the more ‘popular’ books (can you say ’50 shades…hmmn). I’m 55 and I read YA because they are entertaining.
Maybe the stakes are higher when you’re only sixteen and your whole life is ahead of you? I really wish I knew why I like it better than adult fiction. No clue haha.
@Amanda Does one need a reason? 😉
I can zone out of the real world and fall into a whole different world, with different powers, characters etc. The real world’s is complicated and horrible place sometimes, and going to Hogwarts or the night court is just what a girl needs!..Or maybe bc I have the emotional stability of an adolescent fae warrior ??? jk idk but they’re my fave!
Same (about the emotional stability of an adolescent fae warrior lol)
Because it’s not my fault that these books weren’t around when I was a teenager!
@Joanne i was a stubborn teen that would only read James Patterson ??? why Idk
Best answer yet! When I was first reading Harry Potter,I was in my mid-20’s. I couldn’t help thinking “Boy,if only these had been published when I was a kid.” I would probably have turned into a truant or got more detentions due to reading in class or skipping school so I can read. I am jealous that I can’t say I grew up with the books or any of the wonderful children and YA books I have read over the years.
YA, I find, is usually a very easy read and therefore a simple quick escape from the horrors of reality. Even the most hardcore ones. But of course, the characters must be relate-able and easy to fall in love with/like. But also when you get to my age you have children who are the age that the books are geared for, so it helps to read them too.
Simpler stories. Quick read. Nice reprieve from the drama of adult life.
Relatable stories, beautiful writing and sometimes they’re a quick and easy read ?
The books ask very little of us, in terms of vocabulary level, sentence complexity, and remembering obscure plot details. They’re relaxing when you’ve just made it through Bleak House.
I love it because it much more relevant than the YA we had when was a teenager in the late 80’s and early 90’s.
For me it gives me a feeling of living vicariously through the characters.
@Katie yesss!
I like the style of the writing mostly, it’s not too “wordy” and the story lines seem to suit me better
Because I feel I can understand that level of the storyline now. Working in a school library sometimes, there have been some really great new books coming through.
The writing in some of the good ones seems more distilled and pure. Thats really refreshing and I’m sure not as simple as it seems.
What do you mean by YA?
@Sara Young Adult
I still think like a child..
also, their plot has more interesting topic than New Adult genre..
Honestly, I don’t know… I guess it just speaks to me… ??
I love it ? for me they feel far away from the problems of the real world . It’s like a break from being an adult . Adulting is hard
When you’re a frumpy mom stuck in a routine of life, like me, it’s a nice way to reminisce and feel hopeful about life again. They’re filled with so much adventure and possibility. It’s a relaxing yet exciting escape from reality. It makes me feel like I can still have a story.
bcz it shows intensity of emotion, passion… without all those dirty staff (yeah, I know I sound like a prude. I’m not tryin to b offensive. I can enjoy an erotic book now & then) that are like compulsory part of every adult book out there. also, ya books can take us back to our golden time…. & I feel like ya books r filled with so much hope, so much light, so much…. life…
some of the ya books have been quite intense. Sarah A Maas ‘s books are…. I was quite surprised.
The Throne of Glass Series had a few um….moments as well. I didn’t quite expect it.
Generally speaking…