I read a lot of books. I also read a lot of different types of books. But, there’s one genre I keep coming back to which I probably shouldn’t be.
Young Adult or Teen fiction. Or, books for kids.
Obviously, there are stand outs in any genre. Harry Potter is the classic Young Adult series which has found favour with adults. But, the books I enjoy the most are nearly always young adult books.
Twilight, Alex Rider, everything Garth Nix, Young Bond, CHERUB, Pullman – I could go on. In fact, young adults get some of the best one off novels too. Things like Feather Boy come to mind. Novels which are deep and meaningful.
Yet, there still seems to be a stigma attached to reading them. Shouldn’t one start reading adults books as soon as one can? I don’t think so. Because, they really are so good. I think there’s more to it, also. For example, YA books are, generally speaking, easy to read. That isn’t to say that adult books are hard to read. Just, there’s something so easy about reading through a YA book. Many of them can be powered through in just a few hours and are a great way to relax.
In fact, children get some of the best books. There doesn’t seem to be as much pressure on the author to write a work of art which, I think, often makes them better. Really brilliant stories come from YA books.
So, this is what I want to put to you: try out some books for younger people. They really are very, very good.