Crossover Appeal: Books that Work for Teens and Adults

This program was sponsored by the AAP Children's Library Marketing Committees.  It featured a moderator and a panel composed of four YA authors:

-Matthew Quick (Every Exquisite Thing)
-Robin Talley (Lies We Tell Ourselves)
-Marissa Meyer (Heartless)
-Paul Rudnick (It's All Your Fault)

The moderator, Tina Jordan, noted that a recent survey showed that 55% of YA readers are actually adults - and why this is the case. Although the children's book industry is a relatively new market, it has grown quickly to become worth millions of dollars worldwide, with authors such as JK Rowling and Stephenie Meyer becoming favorite authors.

It used to be shameful for adults to read books written for teenagers, never mind admitting that publicly, but nowadays it has become quite common.  Some reasons why:

-escapist appeal - distracts adults from the real world
-the books are exciting and engaging
-full of passion and drama
-discusses important themes of love, friendship and identity

This is the note on which they left us: adults are just people too, and we are entitled to read and like YA as much as anyone!