Is it the age of the main character? I think this is part of it (it wouldn't make sense reading a YA novel where the character was in her late twenties) but it can't be all of it because we all know plenty of books with young MCs that are not classified as YA (like The Lovely Bones). But YA novels always seem to have the characters in the now, not as adults remembering and infusing it with an adult perspective.
Is it the subject matter of the book? A lot of YA novels are about characters coming of age, dealing with the loss of innocence, first love, etc.
Is it the absence of explicit sex scenes? Even if the characters have sex, it's usually not very explicit.
Is it marketing or the intended readership? I think this has a lot to do with it. I read somewhere that The Book Thief was marketed in the US as YA but in Australia as Adult. And think about certain books that could have gone either way, like The Bone Season and The Host. Why are they considered "adult"? As far as intended readership, I read recently (I think it was from 2012 so it may be even higher now) that around 55% of YA novels are being bought by adults.
So, what do you think makes a book YA?
Posted by: Pam
Great topic! I think for me it's mostly the MC's age and the subject matter. I haven't read The Lovely Bones but I've watched the movie and I can totally see why that wasn't marketed towards the YA audience.
ReplyDeleteIt definitely seems like a combination of different things. ~Pam
DeleteDefinitely the age of the main character as well as the subject matter. I always assumed The Host was YA but when the movie was coming out I heard from others that it wasn't. Very interesting. :)
ReplyDeleteI remember when I first heard about The Host, they were definitely marketing it as her first "adult" novel. But when I read it I just didn't see what the difference was (besides the fact that I absolutely loved it and thought it was way better than Twilight). I've seen it shelved in bookstores in the adult sci-fi section, but in a used bookstore it was in the YA section. ~Pam
DeleteMaybe a lot of it has to do with who the author initially writes the book for? I've seen The Book Thief in the Adult section of some libraries. Largely I think it's marketing- I would think it depends on whether an individual book would sell well to a YA audience vs. an A audience, not necessarily whether it fills some sort of YA requirements, if you know what I mean.
ReplyDeleteSara at The Page Sage
I do wonder if the author has much input about it or if it's really up to the publisher. I just don't really know how all of that works. ~Pam
DeleteThis topic is something that will be endlessly fascinating to me. In my children's literature class, we read a brief argument that ultimately what make kid's lit kid's list was that it was up to the publisher to decide. All of the above concerns - age, subject matter, sex scenes, marketing - would ultimately only come into play when the publisher decided. For instance, with regard to age - ICED is a continuation of the Fever series with a 14 year old protagonist but it is definitely not considered YA. Similar situation to the Lovely Bones example. And then there's Finnikin of the Rock, Finnikin being 19, technically "outside" of the traditional YA age range, and yet the book was marketed as YA. As for YA novels always having characters in the now, not adults remembering and infusing it with an adult perspective - have you read My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares? Opposite of that. Plus what do you do about the books that are all about rebirth so the characters remember their previous adult lives? What about Daughter of Smoke and Bone? Age plays a huge role, I think, in deciding because the public is familiar with a certain age range for YA, but it's definitely not the only deciding factor.
ReplyDeleteRE: subject matter - It's very true that children's lit books have a very stereotypical pattern because they involve the same themes. However, having a hero's journey or coming-of-age tale wouldn't indicate the age category, I think, because you can have adult books dealing with the same. I actually read another article in my children's lit class that had suggested that all books followed the same pattern in kid lit books, so the disdain towards them was unfounded.
True. I think you're right on the sex scene aspect. If it ever gets explicit, it's never anything beyond... like second base. I think most publishers have the author edit out any really explicit details, and I think that's why NA came about.
Marketing plays a huge role, but YA has such a broad readership. Sometimes I think it's a little ridiculous that we separate YA novels from adult novels - I mean, really, when the majority of YA readers are adults, does it matter that these books are "designated" for teens? The Graceling novels have a similar thing to the Book Thief situation - they're published as adult in other countries, but YA here. Maybe sometimes adult here too - I don't quite know. I've just seen a bunch of covers on Cashore's site. Sometimes I think it's just the luck of the draw.
You bring up a lot of good points. It seems like there's some sort of combination of factors and there's always a book that doesn't quite work for any one of those factors. I totally forgot about My Name is Memory. And you're right about the subject matter, there's definitely no one set pattern, but I was trying to think of something that may tie them together in some way. Since YA is so popular now, especially with adults, I wonder if more and more books are being written and marketed as YA when they might not otherwise be. ~Pam
DeleteIt's all of those things. I think that it's about characters who aren't completely jaded by the world. They're open to opportunities and situations in a way that characters who are older - and maybe it's not necessarily physical age but how old they feel? - just don't embrace.
ReplyDeleteI do think it's a combination of all of the above. Not every single one for every single book, but in general. ~Pam
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