Recently I was talking to a friend from the sci-fi and fantasy book club I attend about how many good sci-fi books there are in the YA genre.  He didn't know many of them -- basically just the ones that were around when we were kids -- so I was encouraging him to try out a few recent YA titles.  I think most people would be amazed at the quality of YA lit.

A prime example is a book that has already become a classic: The Giver, by Lois Lowry.  (A book I was shocked to find that my friend not only had not read, but had never even heard of.  How is that even possible?)  Published in 1994, The Giver is still taught in public schools, as well as in many YA and children's literature courses in college.

There are others, of course, too many to name.  The Harry Potter books are not the only YA or children's books that are loved (or lovable) by all ages!  The Hunger Games is a recent trilogy that comes to mind.  Delirium by Lauren Oliver is another Giver-like dystopia where seeming perfection is not all it's cracked up to be.

As anyone who has read these books (or ones like them) knows, just because the book is shelved as YA or children's doesn't mean the issues are babyish or meaningless.  Quite the opposite: Many children's and YA books deal with the same issues, or even more serious issues, as adult books -- they just do it in fewer words.

If you haven't already discovered how excellent YA sci-fi can be, I encourage you to try it out.  I think you'll be pleasantly surprised!