Greetings.

Just this morning I finished a book I got on my kindle called Dreaming Anastasia. I got it for free (for some reason, can't remember why. Promotion or something.) I don't read a lot of young adult fiction, for the simple reason that most of it is really, really, really bad. What is it about a young adult audience that attracts the worst writers with the most cliche ideas?
When push comes to shove I don't actually believe in writing for a specific audience that way: in my way of thinking, books are either good art or bad rubbish, with the occasional forgettable mediocrity thrown in for good measure. Winnie the Pooh is worth a read and a re-read, no matter the age of the reader, for the simple reason that it is good. I'm not saying that everyone's taste must be the same, but this is what classics are for! A classic is a book which has been preserved for posterity by a genuinely deserved popularity. Usually.
I remember reading an article in a magazine once by a person who was genuinely disgusted to find adults reading Harry Potter books. 'There are plenty of books written for adults' she asserted, smugly decrying the many people she knew of who had been seen reading a 'children's' series of books. Don't get me wrong, I haven't even READ Harry Potter! It could be Satanic propaganda, for all I know. But the argument of 'not your age group' really doesn't cut the mustard. This is another reason that gratituous sex, gore and obscenity really get my goat, especially in literature: if you want to write a classic (and, really, we should aim for the moon every time, I reckon!) don't fill it so full of filth that parents feel a need to shelter their children from it. Take a look at To Kill A Mockingbird. This truly classic novel deals with issues like racism, rape, prejudice and single parenting, but manages to do so with a full allowance of dignity and a refreshing lack of obscenity.
Sorry, where was I? Got completely caught up in a gigantic rant, there, in case you hadn't noticed. (I kid. You noticed.)
Back to Dreaming Anastasia. I didn't like this book. I didn't hate it either, if that makes things any better - which it doesn't. It was just so cliché! I mean, it was a (cliche!) OK idea: the young girl has mysterious connection to historical figure, only the girl can save said historical figure, mysterious magic and high jinks ensue! Buuut, because... well, just cuz, I guess, the entire plot turns into an awkward mutual crush romance... between an adolescent girl and a ridiculously good-looking, angsty, supernatural dude, who's cursed with immortality. Yep, you heard me. That's not familiar at all! (I haven't read Twilight either, actually, but it's surprising what popcultural osmosis can do to you.) And this ridiculously good-looking, flawless man-babe has the bluest blue eyes you ever did see. No, seriously, the blueness of his eyes is only mentioned about three hundred times.
There was no character development, bargeloads of boring exposition, random useless characters I forgot in between chapters, an unconvincingly 'ambiguous' witch, plotholes galore and an anticlimactic ending.
So... Dreaming Anastasia... not my favourite book.

Although, this ad makes it look pretty cool: