Last week, the LA Times did a story called “Young Adult Lit Comes of Age.” Surprise, surprise. Not only is young adult / middle grade fiction doing well-
YA is one of the few bright spots in an otherwise bleak publishing market. Where adult hardcover sales were down 17.8% for the first half of 2009 versus the same period in 2008, children’s/young adult hardcovers were up 30.7%.
-but it’s gaining a whole new readership. Adults.And not just because they have kids.
The Times speculates on a few reasons for this. Blockbuster movies based on books like Twilight, Harry Potter series, Lightning Thief, etc. YA books (The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian) winning prestigious awards like the National Book Award. Or, big name authors dipping their pens in the kidlit waters.
Or, it could be just because the books are just good:
According to Skurnick, who also reviews adult fiction for publications including The Times, YA books are “more vibrant” than many adult titles, “with better plots, better characterizations, a more complete creation of a world.”
I like to think it’s the latter. That’s why I read.
