Thinking about YA and Midschool

I like the fact that YA novels are comparatively short, though they are getting longer; and coming of age and finding oneself is a great theme.

Historically a lot of good and great fantasy has been written for the young, though people who like fantasy often read across age lines. I do. I don't care if Diana Wynne Jones is shelved at Children's or YA or Adult. I read all of her.

I like fairy tales, folk tales, myths, legends, adventures -- the stuff you used to get as a kid and maybe still do.

I notice that Harry Potter and Philip Pullman are shelved in Midschool, rather than YA, so that may actually be the kind of book I am really interested in. I think the Pullman trilogy is way dark -- and way adult in its thinking -- for kids, but what do I know? I think the Bartimaeus trilogy by Jonathan Stroud is adult also. Both trilogies have kids as main characters, so this makes them kid books, I guess.