While this is possibly true, I think we should not discount the fact that a lot of prescribed reading (in schools) is not age appropriate literature. If I had read 1984 or 'Lord of the Flies' during my schooldays I would not have been able to appreciate it. I read a lot in that period and I loved to read (and still do) but I seldom liked reading what was prescribed as part of the curriculum - with the sole exception of 'Robin Hood'. It was an 'abridged' version and I read it so many times because I was thoroughly entertained by the story.