Goodreads ask: Can You Be 'Too Old' for YA?
- The term "Young Adult" nods to a specific age group (12 to 19), but there are still a lot of adults who reads YA novels. On Goodreads over 15.8 million members have "Young Adult" as their favorite book genre, while only 20% of those 15.8 million have disclosed their age, 65 percent of that sample are 18 and older and 33 percent are above the age of 35.
- Erica Barmash, senior director of marketing and publicity at Bloomsbury Children's Books says "interest in YA doesn't immediately stop once someone turns 19."
- Lindsay Boggs, assistant director of publicity at Penguin Young says "Just because a narrative in a YA novel might take place when those characters are teenagers doesn't mean the experiences represented aren't relevant to people outside of that age bracket." & "Even as an adult, I often reflect on my teen years. I don't think I'm alone in that."
But does this mean that Adults who read YA novels are juvenile and immature? Well to answer that we need to look what draws older readers into the YA book genre.
- First: idealism. Young adult books are brimming with it.
- Second: intensity. Young adult books don't skimp on the emotional drama.
- Todd Krueger, president of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). says "I believe many adults like the coming-of-age nature of YA," & "It allows adult readers a reminder of a time of possibility, even if their own adolescences weren't spectacular."
So according to this article it is perfectly okey for Adults to enjoy YA novels. Reading is reading-so read unapologetically. Yes, growing up often means moving on, but you don't have to leave behind the stories that speak to you.
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Can you be to old for YA? Do you still reads YA novels? How do you feel about Adults who read (or only reads) YA??