Why you're not as grown-up as you think

Adult readers have confessed to buying more fiction for young adults (YA) than the teenagers themselves.

In a trend led by Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games, over half of the books aimed by publishers at young adults aged between 12–17 years old have been snapped up by those with a few more years under their belts. Of that 55%, a further 78% revealed that the books had indeed been purchased for their own reading pleasure.

The biggest buyers are 30- and 40-year olds according to the study Understanding the Children’s Book Consumer in the Digital Age by US company Bowker Market Research. Perhaps it is no coincidence, given the teenage-friendly book jackets, that more that 40% of these grown-ups are preferring e-books over print.


“The investigation into who is reading YA books began when we noticed a disparity between the number of YA e-books being purchased and the relatively low number of kids who claim to read e-books,” revealed the vice-president of the company, Kelly Gallagher.

The study also showed these readers to be loyal to the authors they enjoy and active in recommending books to friends, making them a very desirable demographic for publishers. Age, then, is no object when it comes to reading.