I could not agree with you more! I almost feel a little cheated by the YA garbage that's out there today because readers have associated the bad writing with a good genre, and they're hesitant to give it a chance. I think good YA fiction resonates well with adults, not just kids, and that's how you can tell what's quality.

@Andrew Knight, Exactly. The Outsiders and the Catcher in the Rye for example are typically books directed towards a younger audience (both books are used in Canadian schools for English) but they're books from the YA genre that all ages can really enjoy and appreciate. It's definitely not the genre itself that's the problem, it's the standards the writers are held to.

@Nicole Armas, I'd really like to see that standard change, and I think that's why I'm so drawn to the genre. I mean, I don't consider myself some kind of fantastic writer or anything, but I'd like to contribute. Besides, writing for young adults is awesome; they're in their formative years, and they are so empowered by words on the page. I know I was!

@Andrew Knight, For sure! I find a lot of the novels I have read so far in my time in high school has really influenced my writing and given me inspiration.

@Nicole Armas, which is great, because there really are some great YA authors out there. I'm pretty sure my work is most influenced by J.D. Salinger, John Knowles, and a little John Green. Maybe some Kurt Vonnegut

@Andrew Knight, There certainly are. Oddly enough, the authors I always liked were the writers from the Victorian era and even Shakespeare. Mind you, I don't think my writing reflects their style of writing at all (although I have tried) but I always liked how flowery their language was.

@Nicole Armas, I think that was the age of incredible language. Those writers had such command of prose it's nothing short of jaw-dropping! Shakespeare, Spencer, Both Dickens, Thoreau, Wodehouse, all of them!

@Andrew Knight, They certainly did!

Ever heard of "Five Flavors of Dumb?" It's one of those rare "OMG these characters are realistic and so are there interactions! How strange!"

The only other one like that I can think off the top of my head right now is an ebook called "Not For Me." If you're going to read Not For Me, I suggest binge reading it. At first it's not so good, but hot damn when you get 2/3 of the way in you're like "Holy whack, now that was a plot twist! Wow the main character is actually developing. Oh God Andrew why?"

Though the thing I like most about it is probably how it gave me feels even though if it was written just a little differently I would've said "This is ansty trash." The author did a good job.

@JellyKat, I haven't heard of either of those books but I'll be sure to check them out. But wow is "Not For Me" really that bad???

@Nicole Armas,
Noooooo! It's really good! It just gets a whole lot better in the last third of the book. I was praising thy ebook, it has some of the best and also realistic plot twists. Warning you will hate Lexia for awhile, better she gets better trust me : D

So good that it made me cry.

@JellyKat, "so good that it made me cry" is always an excellent review. Evoking emotion in a reader is a must for great writing!

@JellyKat, Oh okay XD

@Andrew Knight
I was frustrated the first half the book though. Lexia seemed like she could be the next suicide victim. But she went through character development and got friends like Andrew.... God dammit Andrew why!