Violence in YA : Limits?

Anything that's okay in adult is okay in YA. Anything that's over-the-top in adult is over-the-top in YA.

Yep, write it and then if there's a point where it needs toning down, that's easy enough to do.

In my opinion, if there’s a reason for it, it’s okay. Violence (especially graphic violence with gratuitous description) for its own sake can distract from the story in both YA and adult fiction, but young adults can handle violence with a purpose.

When in doubt, look at The Outsiders. You got stabbings and shootings and it's handed out to high school kids like it's candy.

As dragonkid pointed out, it's in the delivery and purpose. My own YA WiP has an attempted rape, a beating, and a grisly death. I may not describe the blood and carnage in quite the same way I would if I were writing an adult horror novel, but it's in there.

I've written quite a few battle books so they are pretty violent. They are published in the UK and are often to be found in the 9-12 sections. However, they are set in a fantasy version of the past which makes them a little more acceptable. Knife crime is quite a big issue in the UK and so any books dealing with realistic violence in a contemporary setting has to handle the issues sensitively.

Like everything else it is a matter of tone and you probably need to be aware that violent books will always be slightly problematic and may be harder to sell.

It is never just about what teens like but about the views of all the other adult professionals that stand between the author and the published book in the kid's hand.

I agree with the previous posters. Needless graphic violence is needless graphic violence in any section of the bookstore.

Everything goes in YA. Got a guy who gets half his head melted off by another dude with the power of the sun in my book. There's also a scene where a "strange" animal mutilates an entire ship's crew.