Young Adult (YA) novels....strictly for the younger generation? Not at all! Just because a novel is labeled YA does not mean that an adult in their 20s, 30s or 40s would not enjoy it. Yes, I admit that YA is not everyone's cup of tea but there's actually quite a large adult following of YA novel readers. Particularly regarding series that were first released when they were in the YA age range.
As someone who reads a great deal and has for most of her life, I am not the kind of person who will judge a book based on what it has been categorized as. If there's something about it that interests me, I will give it a shot. One series that I just recently caught up with is Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children. I was initially drawn to it because I read that it featured old photographs and that they actually played a part in the storyline. But as I delved into the novel and subsequently the series, I was drawn into the story about the children and their "peculiarities". It was something I hadn't read before even in adult novels and it was so beautifully written, incorporating the photos in such a way that it still seemed like a cohesive book, not just a story with some photos attached.
Another aspect of reading (or sometimes re-reading) YA as an adult that I have found fascinating is how different your take on something can be reading something as a child vs reading it as an adult. For me, it was the Ramona Quimby series that had a big impact. I had read an article about how someone else had re-read the series and picked up on so many different things that they missed or maybe didn't care about as much when they read it before. I was intrigued so I got the first few books and started reading. It wasn't until I got to the book, Ramona and her Father that something really hit home for me. The basic premis of the book is that Ramona's dad has lost his job and now spends more time at home and with Ramona. I remember feeling so happy for Ramona as a kid because she got to spend more time with her dad. I loved spending time with my dad so I knew she would too. Through this re-read however, I connected more with Ramona's dad and his feelings of anxiety and despair while looking for a new job. Looking for a job before and even after college was such a stressful process, I don't know how I got through it. Reading this definitely made me feel like I wasn't alone in my feeling of anxiety in finding a job and that it's been the same way since before I was born which was a little comforting.
In my line of work (I run a recreation center in which I interact with children on a daily basis), it is also good that I keep up with the current YA novels because it gives me something to talk to the kids about that's more relatable to them. I don't know how many times I've talked to one of the kids about the Twilight Series, A Fault In Our Stars, Harry Potter, etc. It's also just fun to read something that's lighthearted and not so plot heavy as something like Game Of Thrones (which I am also in the process of reading so don't think I'm just a YA reader).
In short, all I'm saying is, give YA a shot! Just because you're an adult with a full time job, a house and a dog doesn't mean you can't enjoy the latest Rick Riordan novel. YA is a very large and interesting genre, there's definitely something's for everyone! Happy Reading!