old man MC for a YA story?

Hmm. I think the newest Meg Rosoff book, What I Was, has a narrator who is now an old man-- but is mostly about events that happened earlier in his life. I haven't read it yet but I loved her other books. Anywhere, it might be worth checking out... Actually, whether or not it is helpful for your thinking about your new idea, it'll almost certainly be a great read. If you beat me to it, let me know what you think!

Hey karo.

I've been thinking about your question... and the thing I keep getting hung up on is why the MC has to wait until he's old to achieve his going to the moon dreams (though you might already have a list of brilliant ideas kid MC plans and just can't get it to work?). But becoming president feels like a really roundabout way to that goal, why not a aeronautical lobbyist? haha. Or an engineer? Or is becoming president something his family wanted for him and he's just taking advantage of his position now to make something happen?

The hardest sell a YA reader might have with the story is that idea that you have to wait until you're old to do anything... which wouldn't be a popular theme for me in my younger years... Why can't the MC make things happen while he's still young to achieve his going to the moon goal? He's rich. He could be ridiculously intelligent, kid genius-like. Driven. Meet the right kind of people... I don't know.

But if you're in love with the president thing--because it no doubt leads to some interesting story possibilities--then remember that it doesn't matter if it's YA or not in the end, right? As long as it's a kick-ass story.

You should DEFINITELY read Spin by Robert Charles Wilson. Not YA, but story begins when he is teen and dealing with teen relationships and friendships and follows him when as an adult he gets involved with this really blow-your-mind space program with his childhood friend. (I don't want to give anything away, so just read it). Especially read it to see why it's not YA, but probably totally accessible to younger readers anyway. Oh, and why it's AWESOME.

xxxrae

I don't see why it COULDN'T work, but it would have to be done very carefully. After all, one of the reasons YA protagonists are usually teens is because they need to be someone readers can connect with. If your idea is not done right, your audience may have a hard time connecting with your character.

I'm reminded of the old Young Guns movies. If you've never seen them, they were basically a retelling of the Lincoln County Wars and the life of Billy the Kid, directed mostly at teens. The unique thing was that the story was narrated by one of the characters as an old man. The same technique was used in the movie Something Wicked This Way Comes. (not sure about the book, I haven't read it). In other words, while the narrator was an older version of the MC, the main focus of the story was on the MC as a child. The later years did play a small role in the Young Guns films, but it was more of an epilogue.

Of course, that only really works if you're writing from a first person perspective. It sounds like you might actually be writing in third person, and following the protagonist through much of his life. If that is the case, you could put some mind-bending stuff in there about how a person changes as they age. Kids who haven't experienced those life changes might get really sucked in.