Tag: YA literature
YA Title for Adults to Savor, Too
December 23, 2012
NPR book reviewer Maggie Stiefvater recently noted that 55% of YA (Young Adult ) fiction is read by adults. She goes on to recommend five YA titles “you’ll never outgrow.” Her favorite among them, and ours, too, is Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein. As Stiefvater writes, “[T]wo girls join the war effort in World War II Britain. During a mission, they’re shot down over France and a lengthy interrogation begins. What sounds like a deeply unpleasant story is actually a frequently wry and astonishingly real portrayal of two best friends. It’s hard, but not harrowing. And most importantly, it has stuck with me ever since I picked it up. It is one thing to love a novel. It’s another for that love to endure for months. It’s the holy grail for this particular reader, and that is why it is my No. 1 read of 2012. “
Olivia and Mary, RA
Why Adults Read YA Literature
March 18, 2010
Looking for a good book to read? Stop by The Loft of the Evanston Public Library. But those are young adult books, you exclaim!
A recent article in The Los Angeles Times illuminates a variety of reasons why adults are reading young adult literature. Says Skurnick, who also reviews adult fiction for the LA Times and other publications:
YA books are ‘more vibrant’ than many adult titles, ‘with better plots, better characterizations, a more complete creation of a world.’
Add to that the bonus of getting to know the teens in your life and/or community better, or even just to journey along with young adults who question the world around them with a refreshing honesty and intensity. Says Johnson:
There’s something really wonderful about taking the journey with someone of that age. One of the main reasons I’m attracted to YA literature is just the openness of the characters…
