The aim of the list was "to encourage young adults to read for pleasure by presenting to them lists of popular or topical titles which are widely available in paperback and which represent a broad variety of accessible themes and genres".
[2] Researchers, librarians, and educators have used the list to better understand books popular amongst young adults.
[3][4][5][6] YALSA first released the Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults list in 1988.
Working with book distributor Baker & Taylor, representatives from YALSA reviewed books available in paperback in five genres: "romance, horror, science fiction, sports, and mystery".
[1] In following years, YALSA added more genres to the list (e.g., fantasy, humor, and historical fiction).