Go into any chat online about book genres, and you'll most likely find someone talking about YA (young adult) being their favorite, or how they don't care for YA fiction (some downright hate it). Being someone who primarily reads young adult fiction (and the occasional nonfiction selection), I am one of the former YA lovers. However, I wouldn't go so far as to say its my favorite genre. Why, you might ask? Because I don't believe YA is a genre at all.
Young adult and teen literature is a particular collection of books, yes. They are written differently than the adult fiction books, with younger readers and their interests in mind. And yet, I would never lump them all together in one broad group. That would be like lumping all nonfiction together, or mixing science fiction and fantasy with realistic fiction. They all have different fan bases, so why would you do that to teen books?
There are a number of genres within young adult, and that includes all the favorites of adults: science fiction and fantasy, realistic fiction, mystery, historical fiction, horror, not to mention nonfiction books like history and biography. My guess is people tend to lump it all together because 1) there are less young adult books than adult, 2) people assume the writing is simpler (and sometimes it clearly is), and 3) the characters are almost always around the age of their readership. And yet, you can find so many books within "adult" literature with simpler writing (I'm looking at you Dan Brown) or with younger characters. A few of those that spring to mind are Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, Mari Strachan's The Earth Hums in B Flat, and Billie Letts' Made in the USA.
There is a lot of crossover between YA and adult fiction, too. How many of you read those titles and thought, Well, those are young adult titles, not adult. But go into a bookstore and you'll probably find those in the adult fiction section. In fact, there are a number of books that have "adult" and "young adult" versions (Harry Potter, anyone?). And how many teens read "adult" fiction and identify with it? I'd guess probably a lot. It quickly becomes a question of semantics—you'll begin to argue that THIS is the reason this book belongs here, and that book there, and then no one can agree.
But you know what? It doesn't matter. A good story is a good story, plain and simple, no matter how a book is categorized. The great American classics The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird and The Catcher in the Rye are now often given a YA label, but that hasn't stopped adults from reading them in the past, or rereading them. Genre is a tricky thing in general—I don't think books need the age of their intended audience to complicate matters. The discussion is rich and complex enough.
The only thing stopping adults from reading books intended for younger readers is the label "YA" or "teen"—adults might avoid it like the plague for fear of being looked down upon or because they're embarrassed. (Like a guy my friend saw on the T who was supposedly reading a Stephen King book, but upon closer inspection he was reading Twilight with a disguise.) I can't tell you how many people I've given The Book Thief to who were surprised it was shelved in the teen section, or people who asked for Twilight and immediately felt the need to assure me they didn't know it was a teen book and acted all embarrassed about it. I just want to tell them, It's okay. Read whatever the heck you want.
And so, after this long and winding road of rambling on my part, this is why I don't think YA should be counted as a genre. There is too much within young adult literature, and too much crossover between it and adult, to just slap it with that label and move on.
I've had my two cents. What are yours?