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sheadakota

sheadakota

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OK all you YA writers, I have a 14 yr old MC, but his story is told from his adult POV- my question - Some of the narrative (I have been told ) Is too old for a 14- my argument is Yeah, BUT it is told by an adult- here is an example of what I am talking about;

. This was freedom like I had never known before in my life. I embraced it by sitting on the top porch step and watching the sunset. I listened to the silence that was anything but quiet. Toads belched heartily into the dusk looking for a little love, peep-frogs serenaded their courtship and crickets brought in the string section. The house behind me gave off a soft golden glow that beckoned those lost in the dark to come home.-

Too old for a 14 year old told by an adult POV?? Opinions welcomed:) and thanks!
 
Shady Lane

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I think the narrative is fine for YA, but if I understood you correctly, you've got an adult looking back to when he was 14? That distance might be the thing that makes it on a YA. One of the big things about YA is it has to feel like teenagers talking to teenagers about teenagers, not adults talking to teenagers about teenagers. There's nothing wrong with the technique you're using, obviously--but it may automatically qualify your MS as adult.
 
sheadakota

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Shady, you have hit on something I have questioned myself- the main bulk of the story is in the 14 year old's head, but the narritive is his adult self- and the begining and end are definitely in an adult POV- What I thought made it YA was the fact that the choices he made at 14 and the people in his life made it possible for him to even make it to adulthood- the dialogue is YA even if the narritive is like the above example- Still adult or do I have A Wierd mix of the two genres?
 
sheadakota

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Thanks Lakotagirl! I appreciate the advice!
 
Angela_785

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I think Shady's got a good point. Right off the top of my head, I can think of a few by Stephen King which are adults looking back on their youth, like Stand By Me. Most of the book is about the kids as they experience a hunt for a dead body, but it's definitely an adult book, not a YA.

I know it's an old example tho--maybe there's some YA's out there like yours? Can you think of YA examples right now where an Adult is reflecting on the past? Maybe checking out a few to see how they handled the narrative voice might help. ;)
 
eyeblink

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Isn't Meg Rosoff's What I Was told by an adult looking back on his teen years?

Another one (apparently, as I haven't read it) is The Good People, by Steve Cockayne. This has an old man looking back at his youth. It was written as an adult novel but was published as YA, unchanged I'm told.
 

Danthia

Ask youself who your reader is. If the story is something that would interest adults and they would relate more to the plot, then you probably have an adult novel with a teen protag. But if the story and plot is something teens would relate to and be interested in, you'd have a YA novel. Age of protag is not the deciding factor. If you don't know who your reader is, you have another problem to figure out first ;)
 
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