Why I like YA fiction.

Around half of the fiction I read is classed as 'Young Adult' literature. Basically, this means that the protagonist is about 15-20 years of age and that the target audience is of roughly the same age span. The common misconception of this category of fiction is that it is of a lesser quality that adult fiction or that it is an easier read. In my experience, this isn't at all true.

The YA fiction I read ranges from dystopian to bildungsroman to comedy -- sometimes all three at once. It covers as wide a range as adult fiction does and some of this century's best authors write for young adults: John Green, Scott Westerfeld, and Cassandra Clare, to name just a few. This genre is entirely unlike Teen Fiction, which actually does tend to fit the stereotype and focuses mainly on high-school romance (usually with one half of the relationship being a mysteriously alluring vampire/werewolf/angel/demon) and has very little going for it in terms of plot, character development or writing quality (I'm looking at you, Stephenie Meyer). Young Adult fiction is as well written as adult fiction; the characters are just as flawed and just as real; the plots can be straightforward or riddled with intricacies but are almost unfailingly brilliant. Have I got my point across yet?

There you have the reasons why YA literature is just as good as adult literature. And here's why it's better: themes. Adult fiction lacks discovery. Young adults are living a critical period where the concept of It won't happen to me is ripped to shreds -- because it does happen to you. Everyone has experienced death in some form by the time they reach their late teens, everyone has come into contact with drugs and alcohol, everyone has been emotionally crushed in one way or another, everyone has been depressed or known someone with depression, everyone has loved and lost, and everyone has found something to believe in. Childhood is known as the age of firsts, but adolescence is the age of emotional firsts; it's when individuality and relationships have to come to terms with each other.

Death is a huge theme in Young Adult fiction -- I've yet to have encountered a YA author who hasn't written at least one tragic death. In fact, a sub-category of the YA genre has death as its central feature; I've read a dozen novels that are simply about the protagonist dying. If you're rolling your eyes right now and calling it unoriginal, then think about all the themes that come with dying young. Hope. Disappointment. Ambition. Love. What better way is there to look at humanity than through the eyes of someone who is both at the start of their life and at the end of it? Who has experienced love and loss if not the dying? Who knows what they truly want in life better than those to whom their aspirations are unattainable?

While death is one characteristic theme of YA novels, it is certainly not the only one. Family, sexuality, love, rape, friendship, drugs, discrimination, and the importance of the truth all crop up fairly often. Personally, I find that there's more depth in plots based on these themes than in adult novels, of which the most popular are crime and romance, the latter of which has always been clinging on to the edge of good literature, but which just dived head-first off a cliff with the Fifty Shades phenomenon. And you thought adults had better taste in fiction than young adults? The top-selling trilogy of the year begs to differ.

I'd like to make it clear that YA fiction is not an entirely new genre -- some of the first examples of YA fiction include (debatably) The Catcher in the Rye and To Kill A Mockingbird -- and that it is certainly not just for people of a specific age group. I've seen hundreds of positive book reviews from adults for YA novels; and, of course, the majority of the YA genre is actually written by adults.

If I've convinced you (I hope I have) that YA fiction is worth the read, then I recommend you take a look at this list of best ever Young Adult novels: http://www.npr.org/2012/08/07/157795366/your-favorites-100-best-ever-teen-novels

There are a few mainstream and terrible romances on there, but it's mostly good stuff. I've even written you a guide to my favourites!

Dystopian: The Hunger Games, Fahrenheit 451, Divergent, Uglies, Unwind.
Science Fiction: Chaos Walking, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Death: Thirteen Reasons Why, Before I Fall, If I Stay.
Comedy: The Princess Bride, 13 Little Blue Envelopes (which is sad as well as funny). 
Fantasy: The Mortal Instruments, Shiver, The Hobbit.
General: The Outsiders, The Book Thief.

Also, here is a video of my favourite author recommending a load of great books while speaking extremely quickly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4UT9iBdQDI&list=UUGaVdbSav8xWuFWTadK6loA&index=3 (By the way, he is John Green and you should DEFINITELY READ HIS BOOKS, all but one of which are on the previously linked list. The exception is Let It Snow, written with two other fabulously talented authors, which is the greatest Christmas book of all time.)  

On a side note, this is my fiftieth post! Hooray!