YA should first and foremost always be written for young adults. That doesn’t mean, however, that adults shouldn’t also read YA—even when they’ve crossed into an age where they would never get into a time machine that went back to being a teenager (IYKYK).
Part of being a teenager is navigating a changing body and world while being expected to act like an adult, as you’re treated like a child and have yet to fully develop your prefrontal cortex. It’s a lot, and every adult has been through their own unique version of it. The latter makes it especially baffling that so many adults look down on teenagers, and YA books, though maybe at least some of that is due in part to wanting to distance themselves from who they once were as teens.
But it’s not distance that adults need, but rather an embracing of their past messy selves. The safety of reading books allows space to explore a changing world, different from their own coming-of-age years, with complicated family dynamics, friendships, difficult topics, and much more. Many adults can benefit from the care that goes into writing important themes in YA and also the reminder...
English (US)