Adults Reading YA

I read YA all the time. (I'm in my early 20s.) Sometimes they're juvenile and I don't like them, but that happens with adult books too, right? I've enjoyed several YA novels. I base what I read off the premise, the suggestions of others and my feelings after reading the first few pages - not where they shelve it.

If you're interested, why not take a look in the YA section in your bookstore or library and see if anything grabs you?

The vast majority of YA novels on the market are written by adults, so it's safe to assume many adults are also reading YA.

I'm an adult and I've been dabbling into YA this year, mostly based on recommendations from others. I enjoy the stories, and I enjoy the different tones and themes presented in YA novels. Just because they are targeted to teens doesn't mean adults can't enjoy them; it's like saying movies made for kids (like Disney animated classics) can't be enjoyed by adults.

I love YA novels, most of the time they get to the heart of the story without fuss and unnecessary fussy bits

I both read and write YA, as well as adult literary, non-fiction, and some adult genre writing. The YA that's published now can be highly sophisticated and just as well-crafted as adult literary, or it can be fluff. There's some really beautiful writing in YA and it's pretty easy to tell the two apart.

What I love about YA is the pacing (which, as Thump alludes to, is quicker than much adult work, being less wordy), the voice (more snark, more hope, more honesty, I've found, in YA), and the sweet, eye-opening and sometimes ground shattering romance. Plus, I adore teenagers in real life, so why wouldn't I love them in book form?

There is a wide range of writing in YA. Historical, Paranormal, Fantasy, Contemporary, Romance . . . if you read it it an adult version, it's available in a YA version. Are they fulfilling? Just as with adult, some are and some are crap. And no, I never "yearn for adults" in those books. It's nice to get away from the adult world sometimes.

The vast majority of what I read is YA. But this isn't due to the fact that I'm technically still in the targeted age bracket (19). I work in a public library, so I'm constantly having books recommended to me by coworkers and patrons. And the majority of recommendations I'm receiving are for YA books.

Perhaps, in recent years, there's just been more YA books published that are both critically acclaimed and incredibly popular.

I also think adults reading YA can be attributed to the fact that there is a lot of crossover appeal. While MCs in YA are generally teenagers, the problems and situations they face can be very relevant to an adult, or, at least, very interesting to one.

I love YA books. One thing that fascinates me is the mix of great writing and fast paced plot. I read all sorts of things, from adult classics to adult genre, but the majority of what I buy new are YA books. They resonate more, somehow.

hey, I'm nearly 30 (!!!) and I always wondered when i would stop haunting the YA section. I've now realised never, as I am more in love with YA now than I was as a teenager.

The pacing is awesome, a lot of authors capture that perfect voice of whimsical idealism, there's snark, and yeah, I guess it does take me back a bit I find YA a lot more easy going to read and not so gruelling.

Teenagers are at a perfect crossroads of life, which makes for fantastic tensions and dilemmas.

Although I think I prob read a mix 50/50 YA and Adult. Yet my faves are all pretty much YA's.

I'm 33 and I read what I please, of any genre.

I am a very eclectic reader - I am 48 (gasp) and I read YA among other genres- I've read Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Leven Thumps, warriors, Seekers, and the Magyk series just to name a few-

I love YA novels and usually read them when my pre-teen daughter disgards them. I started picking them up about 2 years ago, and now I shop for them for both of us. I still read adult novels, but I also purchase YA. They are usually easy and fast reads.

Not to mention - that's what I love to write.

I'm 45 and I read YA. I read quite a few other things too.

If I can read novels about twentysomethings or seventysomethings, I don't see what's wrong about reading about teens. The best YA to me has a freshness and immediacy that is lacking from many adult books, many of which I find overlong and unnecessarily padded. (And yes I know there's a commercial reason behind that - publishers won't let their writers produce novels under a certain length.)

As a writer, my heart lies in the darker, edgier 14+ end of YA, though as a reader I'll quite happily read younger YA or MG - or adult books for that matter - if I feel I'll get something out of them.

I read and write YA and I'm 26 and like what's been said above, I like it more now than when I was actually a teen. I consider myself 16 on the inside so I find the stories more appealing on a few different levels. While I find the flood of romance of all varieties into the YA world a little meh, there's still a lot there.

I've also found that my attention span in reading has lessened and YA allows me to punch through a book in much less time than your standard adult book. I love Stephen King to no end but looking at his most recent books that could prop open bank vaults, I recoil from them. Too many unnecessary words. Plus I run a YA review blog so I have to be rather timely with reading to keep up. Can't do that reading tomes. I read fast but not that fast.

I just like YA better overall. They're more engaging, they're more about getting to the point of the story and they're more about entertainment. I bought 5 books today, all YA.

I'm a 28-year-old lawyer. I read YA (and even MG *gasp*), and often prefer those books to the adult books I read.

They're faster paced, the stakes are often a lot higher for the characters (they're creating the foundation for their entire lives, after all), and the voice tends to be more entertaining.

Smish