Does everyone consider Pullman's books (HDM series) to be middle grade? The themes and plot are very much adultish. For that matter, the original Harry Potter (book 1) had very violent content. Murdered parents in chapter 1 - the very beginning of the series. Forget about it becoming more dark, it started out that way. So, what is MG and what qualifies as some hybrid work that adults would read. For me, I loved the HP (Rowland) and HDM (Pullman) books, but for preteens & tweens they are pretty dark and scary.
Just what is middle grade these days? I know there is a very wide birth of what fits in that particular genre.
There is a lot of debate about what is middle grade and what is not, and the line between YA and MG is fuzzy and sort of a moving target.
But generally, in my experience, His Dark Materials and Harry Potter are both more often classified as MG. That doesn't mean some don't classify them as YA and put them in YA, but if going by majority, usually they are considered MG.
As for what is MG? IMO:
- protag/main character 14 or younger (kids generally read 1-2 years up, so main characters of 12/13 will often fall in MG, whereas main character of 14 can go either way, but some will be MG).
- immediate voice/narrative perspective of someone the age of the main character (so not an oldr voice/perspective looking back on an experience the person had when younger).
- concerning themes and problems someone 12 or younger would be concerned with from the perspective of someone that age - ie, in MG more often adventure, friendship, families, growing responsibility, starting to see the world outside of her family/school, etc.
- content appropriate to the age of the character
and reader (touchy subject, since one person's acceptable content is not another's, but that is still an issue IMO - for example, a YA book and an MG book may both deal with loss, but the perspectives will be different. But it's far less likely that an MG will deal with sexual experimentation, for example, whereas that is clear ground for YA.)
- langauge, story complexity and structure appropriate to a reader 12 and under, varying depending on age of intended audience - with a book geared toward 9-10 year olds less complex in general than one geared toward 12 year olds, again, in general.
But remember that MG includes, arguably, readers up to 12, so what a 12 year old can handle is different than what a 10 or 8 year old can handle. And it's why parents of 7-12 year olds need to know that just because it is "MG" doesn't make it appropriate for all kids under 12, or their kid in particular. By 11 I could handle pretty much anything, but if your 11 year old is fairly sheltered, maybe not all upper MG books would be appropriate.
As for what separates MG from YA?
Other than age of characters, language and complexity of the story (YA stories do tend to be more complex, with more threads and subplots than MG, but that's an in general), the subject matter and themes are key.
MG tends to be more concerned with friends and family, adventure, where as YA tends to be more concerned with coming of age, emerging sexuality and oncoming maturity.
Editors and agents tend to say it's voice and subject, with a default on the fuzzy line to wether the book deals with topics that would push it into YA (sex, drugs, suicide, etc...). But last year I was at a conference and some of the writers newer to MG/YA were shocked at what is considered MG. One of the first pages that was read the editors, agents and more experienced writers all said was clearly MG because the main character was worried about getting in trouble with his mom for something tame. The author was shocked that we thought that made it MG, rather than YA.
There's a great description of MG versus YA here (But I've had some trouble with it failing to load...):
http://www.write4kids.com/feature6.html
Here's some other AW threads that discuss the differences between MG and YA:
http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=138559
http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3614558#post3614558
Also, remember that cross-over potential or whether adults or teens will enjoy the book is not determinative of the genre. The question isn't whether it would have broad appeal or whether adults or teens would enjoy it, but whether if it is a book with an immediate MG perspective/voice/content.
~suki
