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young adult novels
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It doesn't have to be, but it's much easier to get something published if it is about teens. If you don't have a bunch of published material out there already it's a steep climb to get there, why make it any harder for yourself?
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Teens want to read about teens. Very rarely will they want to read about adults.
Some people go as far as discouraging adult characters as anything other than powerless secondaries (hence why there's so many dead parents).
Some people go as far as discouraging adult characters as anything other than powerless secondaries (hence why there's so many dead parents).
At the extreme end of this, I had an older beta (who is a mother) comment that I "vilified" my adults. She had a good point, but it was interesting that none of my other betas objected to it. Most people are used to it I think.
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nth-ing what everyone's saying. however, there are exceptions like The Book Thief, which is about a 9-year-old girl. there's a distinct lack of teen characters in the novel, but it's categorized as YA. yeah, kinda confuses me too. maybe it would have been MG, if it had less dark content?
so while I think non-teen characters can be MCs in YA, there still needs to be some kind of teen appeal. is this where voice comes in? Death definitely didn't have a teen voice in The Book Thief. themes? there wasn't a search for identity or other coming-of-age tropes either.
so while I think non-teen characters can be MCs in YA, there still needs to be some kind of teen appeal. is this where voice comes in? Death definitely didn't have a teen voice in The Book Thief. themes? there wasn't a search for identity or other coming-of-age tropes either.
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I with everyone who's posted above me. Though I highly recommend having your novel be about teens, it isn't completely necessary. But if it isn't about teens, there needs to be something that still draws teens to the book.
If you do end up writing the novel and making it not about teens, you should also me aware that writing it that way will probably make it harder to get an agent/sell it.
Tangerinetrees-I think it's considered a YA because of the content and topic.
If you do end up writing the novel and making it not about teens, you should also me aware that writing it that way will probably make it harder to get an agent/sell it.
Tangerinetrees-I think it's considered a YA because of the content and topic.
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Most are about teens and/or have a teen MC, but not all. Most importantly, the problems and obstacles and their solutions must be relevant to teens, which is why so many YA stories have teen MCs. Exceptions, including the ones noted above exist, of course. Also, the further afield you go in terms of speculative fiction, the more likely you'll find non-teen characters. There, it's the storyline that appeals to this age group and their fantasies of experiencing things totally out of the realm of their own lives.
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Not to be the voice of dissent here (because all the YA I personally write IS about teens), but you can technically have a character who is 19, 20, 21, even 22 and have your novel be categorized as young adult. I know this because I'm seeing it on the 2012 list. I was actually just going through some titles today and found a few that have post-high school MCs as old as their early 20s. One of them is even set in college.
It's RARE, but publishers are still calling these novels YA. Not all YA MC's are in high school, just out of high school, or even teenagers.
I have yet to see an agent agree with this (publicly), though. Most will tell you 18 is the cap, and if your MC is out of high school it shouldn't be any later than the summer after graduation.
Personally, I agree with the agents' viewpoint on this one. Because after you graduate high school your life choices are vastly different than before.
It's RARE, but publishers are still calling these novels YA. Not all YA MC's are in high school, just out of high school, or even teenagers.
I have yet to see an agent agree with this (publicly), though. Most will tell you 18 is the cap, and if your MC is out of high school it shouldn't be any later than the summer after graduation.
Personally, I agree with the agents' viewpoint on this one. Because after you graduate high school your life choices are vastly different than before.
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Liosse de Velishaf
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Well, I guess you could say that, since once you're out of high school, you can't go back. But most of the stuff you do after highschool could almost as easily be done as a teen of highschool age, such as going to college, getting a job, living on your own, etc.
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Yup. My college experience is more like high school than my high school experience.
I'd have to go with an almost always yes. I have read good books about MC's older than teenage, and although it's harder to be published, it's cerainly possible.
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It doesn't have to be about teens. But it has to be about teen problems, which are generally seen more often in teenage characcters.
Not sure you're actually dissenting with what's been said, Lydia. There is certainly a blending (or blurring) of age groups. The age range you're talking about has been variably referenced as YA, new adult and adult. Again, if the problems interest teens (and the "issues" will change from generation to generation and with changes in technology, globilization, ecology, etc), then the MC's age matters less. Kids of all ages have tended to prefer reading about people slightly older than themselves, to 19, 20, 21 y/o MCs would appeal to "teens" in much the same way 13, 14, 15 y/o MC might appeal to "tweens" and so on.
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I pretty much agree with what's already been said. The MC can be a bit younger than teenage or a bit older, but the issues, choices, and themes of a YA novel should be relatable to teens.
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