Where are the standalone books?

Well Natalie I think you have many people that would agree with you.  

Growing up you only ever had to read one book to get the whole story.  This was probably because young kids wouldn't have the patience to sit down and read more than one book about the same topic, but nowadays it seems that the only books that are appealing to teenagers are a part of a series.  This is probably because on the holidays when you have nothing to do you have plenty of time to read.  However, adults always seem to have books that are standalone stories because once again they don't have the time to collect and read multiple books on the same story.

I suppose that authors write captivating stories to allow the vivid mind of a teenager to run wild conjuring up all the possible scenarios that could happen in the next story.  By hooking their audience authors are able to keep targeting the same audience for as long as they like until they either get bored or have run out of ideas.  Teenagers gossip and if they have a favourite book/series they will tell everyone, this means more and more people will go and buy the book, thus becoming a good way of advertising without spending money.  

I believe that the first book of a series is the most important.  If you have a boring opening to the series you are less likely to gain a 'following' therefore people will be tentative to buy any more of your books. If you have a wonderful series and a bad ending you may leave some readers feeling angry because the ending was so soft compared to the strength of the rest of the series.  

It is for these reasons that I along with Natalie feel that finding books to read as a teenager is very difficult.  It is frustrating to not be able to just read one book instead of a series.  Even though there would be many standalone books targeted at teenagers out there they are hard to find.  This is why I wish that there were more standalone books.  

Quote:

Eccleshare, J 2012, Why are there so few standalone books?, The Guardian, accessed 22 May 2012, <http://www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site/2012/mar/05/book-doctor-rowling-pullman-cs-lewis-hunger-games?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487>.