I really like reading young adult books. In part, I tell myself that I read them for research: I want to write one; I work with the audience-group; I’m interested in the genre. But this interest is driven by the more basic fact that I like them because, mostly, they are just cracking reads. Artemis Fowl, Inkheart, His Dark Materials and even Harry Potter: they’re inventive, they take on interesting themes, go to dark and exciting places but are often also quite funny, the characters are active and adventurous, the writing is by necessity unobtrusive and the pacing is generally outstanding.