Teen Books vs. Adult Books

I know a lot of people think that one side of the spectrum is better. You may love teen books for a variety of reasons. Likewise, you may love adult books because they are different than teen books. Or, you may not like either or like both. Let's discuss the main differences between them.

Teen Books: Teen books are something that many of us start reading before we are even teenagers. Some of us continue reading them even once we have clearly outgrown those years or our lives. But if you sit down and read a 'classic' teen book and then immediately read a 'classic' adult book (for this purpose we are using adult fiction for all examples) you would notice that there is a great distinction in the tone, content, pace, and feel to the book.
Teen books tend to have a quicker pace. No matter how slow the pace moves there is always a heart racing action that is packed into every page while the author tries to pull you along. The characters are obviously younger, less diversified (in this case meaning in age groups), and the plots are sometimes very simple.
Many plots are of the same format: introduction, problem, character development, bigger problem, climax, ending.
In many cases with teen books there is so much plot development happening that it is sort of easy to see where the story is going. The author many times tries to 'hint' at what is to come, even have the characters figuring out quickly how the ending is coming about.
Also, and I'm not sure if this is a common occurrence, but I personally find that my 'reading' voice is much higher when reading teen books.
But as people grow older they find it harder to really relate to teen books. Maybe of these books involve problems that they have faced once but no longer deal with on a daily basis. When I read about someone struggling with their 'feelings' for someone or hating their parents I understand what it is like, but it also makes me realize how whiney I was. I mean, it seems like it is the worst thing that could ever happen to you when you are dealing with it but knowing what I know now I basically just say, "stop being such a little b!tch about it!"
Now this isn't to say that teen books are not worth reading. In fact, I still love teen books despite the way I make them out to sound. They are normally quick reads, with simple characters, fun settings, and always a great array of situation where young people are put into environments that put them out of their element. There aren't as serious and, let's be honest, we all need that in our lives every now and then. Teen books are also normally cheeper than adult books!

Adult Books (Specifically, Adult Fiction): Adult books are almost the complete opposite of teen books. They are normally drawn out with more plot development, characters ranging from different ages, occupation, gender, even species, and the pace is much slower.
Characters are often not aware that a problem exists until closer to the end of the story. And the end, in many cases, is a shock to the reader because more thought was put into the ending without giving it away.
There is also a greater variety of types of books you will read with story lines ranging from ending first, style changing, reverse endings, and/or large twists that make you realize that everything you read was different than you read it. This is because authors are writing in specific genres with so many books to suit so many different types of readers that they can afford to get creative to stand out a little. With teen books there is one audience, teens.
Adult books are fun to read because they have a calmer feel to them. It is easy for me to finish one book and quickly move on to the next because the endings always make me excited to see how the next book will be. Seeing each different writing style, when it doesn't involve the same sort of character, makes reading much more fun for books lovers.
Unlike teen books adult fiction tends not to have so many 'series'. Recently most of the books I have read have been single books without large cliffhangers at the end that force me to read the next book to have ANY questions answered. This isn't to say that there aren't any great series in adult fiction but when there are they don't normally force you to read on. You are given the choice to stop reading and be satisfied with the ending or continue with the characters if you enjoyed them.
All of this isn't to say that all adult fiction is easy to read. Because there are so many books and genres it is easy to get a book without knowing anything about it and just decide it isn't worth your time. That has happened to me on many occasions because sometimes you really can't trust the description *cough* A Discovery of Witches *cough*.

When choosing which type of book you wish to read you have to take into account how you feel. For a heart racing book with a simple but interesting plot (which will probably soon be made into a film which will drive fan girls crazy) you are best to go with the teen books. But if you are looking for a drawn out classic which you can read over a long period of time and get more interested in the characters (any of them, not just the main one) then maybe adult fiction is the choice to make.
Either choice you make it will be important that you do your research ahead of time. Any kind of book can have your new favourite hiding in the shelves as well as many that you would love to see burn in hellfire. Make sure you read a sample of the book before buying it because DESCRIPTIONS LIE!

Have a great day everyone and happy reading!
- K

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