I always fall back on Marilynne Robinson’s view when issues of implausibility are brought up: it’s not a problem of likelihood but of style. However, since I haven’t read Adrian’s collection, I can’t give an opinion and only offer this as one possible criterion.

From my browsing on the blogosphere,I have found many adults who enjoy YA titles,in all genres,and appreciate the writing skill and talent of those authors who seem to be considered the red headed stepchildren of literature these days(no offense meant to red heads or step kids,I swear!)

Part of the appeal of YA to adults is that in some ways,they get more out of it than the target audience does. After all,most folks have reached the “been there,done that” stage in their maturity and can look back at that period of their lives thru fiction and recognize the reality of the emotional growth(or lack of)of the characters much more quickly.

Not to mention that the metaphors used in horror and sci-fi YA can be witty to both sets of ages;as a Buffy The Vampire Slayer fan,I reveled in the snappy dialog along with the vampire/demon/witch pathos(and was a full fledged adult at the time)and I’m sure plenty of the fanbase that grew up with BTVS was inspired to increase their knowledge of lit and pop culture just as much as any Gilmore Girls fan(which I am now a Jenny-Come-Lately admirer of)did.

To wrap this up,I find it amusing that young people have no trouble crossing over the age barriers for books but that some adults seem to feel that their fellow grown-ups either need a kid as a beard or should put their YA books in plain brown wrappers:)

…I liked your post. A lot.

Beth Fehlbaum, author
Courage in Patience, a story of hope for those who have endured abuse
http://courageinpatience.blogspot.com
Chapter 1 is online!