The alluring power of young adult fantasy novels

Well, for me, reading young-adult fiction provided a sanctuary from the helter-skelter misery of my youth. I read Twilight and was able to be in the most 'perfect' relationship. I didn't have to think about my horrible girlfriend. I didn't have to think about my family life. I didn't have to think, period. I could identify with the characters because, hey, I was like that too.*

Now that I look back on the books, I find them horrible. Most I read, if not all, are poorly written. The characters I once lived vicariously through have become glaring caution signs instructing me what not to do when writing.*

I think young-adult fiction is so popular because, through reading, we can find friends and crushes, happiness and sadness, worlds where we can be whomever we want, worlds where we aren't as weird as everyone else thinks. Teenagers, being emotional land mines, need a place to run more often than adults and even children.*

Plus, the marketing directors are more kind to those types of books. Their authors' writing is usually more simplistic, allowing those who read less to process the story's information efficiently.