Friday, September 14, 2012

Who’s reading Young Adult novels?

Camy here! I came across this article in Publisher’s Weekly today about a study that showed 55% of YA Books are bought by adults. I thought that was interesting, although not really surprising.

I know this blog has a wide age range of readers, but the majority of you guys are young, right? So I thought if you guys are up for it, some of you please tell me:

1) how old you are (you can fudge and say twenties or thirties or forties rather than your age)

and

2) if you read young adult novels

I admit that I do, and I’m almost 40. But I’ve also worked with the youth group at church for 16 years now. My editors have often told me my adult characters sound too young, and I’m like, “But that’s how I talk!” so I think my youth group stint has made me think I’m younger than I really am. :)

Camy Tang writes romance with a kick of wasabi. Out now is the first book in her new series, Protection for Hire, which is like Stephanie Plum meets The Joy Luck Club. She is a staff worker for her church youth group, and leads one of the worship teams for Sunday service. On her blog, she ponders frivolous things like knitting, running, dogs, and Asiana. Visit her website to sign up for her quarterly newsletter.

16 comments:

Sapphire said...

I'm 19, and I read YA novels only very, very rarely if someone whose taste in books I trust strongly recommends one. Even when I was as young as 13, I read "adult" novels because I prefer "real world" issues like war, racism, and gender roles to the (what I consider to be) smaller issues like fitting in that dominate so many YA books (I'm not trying to sound like a literature snob; that's just the way I'm wired). So maybe I'm the oddball here. :-)

Abbi Hart said...

I'm 18 and I read predominately "adult" novels but I still do read a decent amount of YA. For me they are just some fun, quick, light-hearted reads, that I can just enjoy without too much thought. Also I have 3 younger siblings who sometimes find reading to be a chore so I try to read books I think they might like so I can recommend them to my sibs!

Carissa said...

I am in my 20's I read YA novels. Some of which comes from reviewing them to make sure that they are alright for my younger sister to read.

Betsy St. Amant said...

I'm 28 and read and write YA :)

Camy Tang said...

Sapphire, I feel the same way about not quite liking the "fitting in" issues in many YA books. That's just my personal preference, too. I've found that the ones I like best are those not set in schools but in the real world, like dystopian fiction or paranormal fiction that's with characters who are not in school. However, that being said, I did read a book set in school that was really quite good, Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry (not a Christian book, and with some language). The issues it dealt with were really deep and the characters really well done.

Abbi, that's great! I was really sad to read that literacy is down and kids are more apt to read short things like blog posts and tweets rather than novels. We should do whatever we can to get kids to read more!

Carissa, I know a lot of people who read YA mostly to review them for kids or younger siblings. I think that in today's publishing industry, you kind of have to because just because it's YA doesn't necessarily mean it's appropriate for all teens from 13-19.

Betsy--but you write it, too! :)

Anonymous said...

I'm 13 and I am reading "A Love That Multiplys" by the Duggars. I normally don't read much besides school books and the Bible:) I rather listen to books than read them. This summer I have enjoyed listening to the Chronicals of Narnia. What is classified as YA??

Camy Tang said...

YA is typically books for 13-18 year olds with protagonists usually 15-16 years old or older. If the protagonist is younger than 15, then that's usually considered for "tweens," which is 9-12 year olds. Chronicles of Narnia is a great series!

Bookishqueen said...

I'm 18 and I love to read YA novels. Like Sapphire, I don't like YA that is just about fitting in which is why I don't usually read YA that is written with just girls in mind unless it is dystopian or something like it. I also read adult novels and started reading those when I was around 10. I just read anything that I think sounds good.

Camy Tang said...

I'm seeing a lot more dystopian and speculative YA fiction nowdays rather than just "real life" YA, at least it seems that way when I browse Barnes and Noble online. So maybe the "real life" YA isn't as popular now as it used to be.

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Ashley Garcia said...

I am 22 years old and I LOVE reading Young Adult novels. So much so, that I am considering a career as a Children's and/or Young Adult Librarian. From a very young age, I've had a passion for reading and whenever I visit my local bookstore, I am instantly drawn to the Children's and Young Adult section. I enjoy reading and learning about the books that are available for the younger audiences.

Susan F. said...

I read books from children's to adult. I've enjoyed YA books for over 40 years! Some can be kind of sappy or unrealistic though.

Camy Tang said...

Ashley--that's awesome! You should totally do that! We really need more good librarians who are passionate about books to encourage kids to read!

Susan--wow, 40 years! That's fantastic! I have to admit I hadn't picked up a YA book until last year. They just didn't really interest me until Hunger Games got popular.

Marian said...

I'm 49 and I love YA books. Especially historical fiction. You can learn so much from them.

Camy Tang said...

Marian, I've been seeing more and more historical YA novels lately. Some of them are speculative historical, but some are straight historical, too. I have to admit I like the speculative historical YA novels more than the regular historical YA novels. :)

Jamie said...

I'm 26 and I read YA novels (and review them) but also read non-fiction and adult novels. Whatever I'm feeling really.