The age range for YA books is supposed to be from 13-18 years old, but that only means that is the age group the publishers/authors are targeting their books toward. Heck, I still love to read YA books and I'm 26!

mmm, well I was a bit mature for my age (and  have always read like a fiend, haha) but I read young adult books from about 10-15.  Basically when children's books are no longer entertaining, I guess.

Like Caroline said, the target audience is 13 to 18 year olds.  There is some very well written YA fiction out there.  One of my best friends is a children's librarian and I get some excellent book recommendations from her.

i AGREE. I've been enjoying some newer authors...and I'm 38!  I've been reading to give suggestions for my own girls (11 and 13).  My newest find was the Hidden Children series by Margaret petereson Haddix.  AMAZING author! We read City of Ember recently and I just found out today that it will be coming out as a movie in October!

I've read City of Ember - great book! Other than the prequel, there's also a sequel called People of Sparks. I haven't read either one, but they're definately on my wish list. Wonder how the movie will fare . . .

Another rcommendation is Traitor by Gudrun Pausewang, which was recently translated from German.

I'm 18 already, but show no sign of getting bored of YA books - there are way too many I have yet to read before I'm through.

City of Ember was really good, i've read it a couple times by now, and not only is there going to be a movie (October? Sometime this year) but another book is coming out. It's supposed to take place right after People of Sparks. I don't know when it's coming out (sometime in 2008 i guess) but i can't wait to read it!

Actually, there are no age ranges on the actual genre's of children's a ya lit.  The two genres are descriptive rather than aged.  Children's lit refers to books which encourage the child to feel more secure within their surroundings.  These books are designed to help children deal with the life which they already lead while gently showing them that there is a world beyond.  Young Adult lit describes books which help the reader to expand their world into other places, situations, and times.  They are more likely to teach that the world is not as safe, and that judgements must be made.  Rules do not always exist, and those which do always need not be followed.  Parents must decide which category they wish their child to read in, and often the two categories can overlap.  As YA lit has expanded since the sixties, the books are no longer made for a strictly 'tween and teen age range.  Many children start reading YA in as early as second grade (some of the Boxcar Children books fall into this category), and they are still entertaining enough to be read as an adult.  As far as lessons learned, YA lit is intended to destroy it's audience by making the reader more mature with every book they read.  For this reason, many children will begin to read adult novels after reading YA for several years.  Yet, many will return to YA novels occasionally since they will most effectively deal with the issues facing children.

Sorry for the long-winded response, but I love it when people ask this sort of question.

Sheena