Older Protagonist in MG?

bonitakale · Sep 15, 2011

Of course, Nancy Drew was sixteen.... But that was then; this is now. I have a book with a 16-year-old protagonist, but the more I look at it, the more I realize it's not really a YA book. It's middle grade with cars-- say, for ages 10-12.

I could change the MC's age to 12 without much trouble (ixnay on the SATs), but then I get into problems with the driving. (How do they get X to the hospital? how do they get to the scene of the fire in time? Do we want to encourage kids to run into a burning house?)

Also, it's a little under 32,000 words, so, pretty short.

Any thoughts?

zander · Sep 15, 2011

I had a similar problem with a 15-year old protagonist. My agent told me not to worry about it, but as soon we tried to sell it, every single one of the publishers came back with "change the protag to 13". I had them driving a car at one point too.

So I'd suggest you save yourself the headache and change the age now. 32,000 is pretty short too. Way too short for YA. Definitely more in the MG range.

TLPhillps · Sep 15, 2011

I agree with changing the protag age if your going for MG - to answer your question about how to get them from point a to point b I'd suggest a hailing a cab, riding their bikes, rollerblading, catching a bus - as for do we want to encourage kids to run into burning buildings - ummm IMO no, not at that age - but it is fiction so hopefully they don't try to emulate the actual actions of the characters as much as they take away the reasons why the characters acted the way they did.

Amarie · Sep 15, 2011

My latest MC is 14, and that's probably pushing the MG level. Also, in my first book, I did have 12-year-olds driving a jeep and a truck around, but it was an emergency!!! (and the dream of many kids) so it really depends on the plot as to what's allowable to use to get them places.

MsJudy · Sep 15, 2011

MG with 16-year-old protags do exist, but mostly in fantasy. The Shifter and Blue Fire by Janice Hardy, Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, I could come up with others if I thought about it for a while. But for a short, realistic contemporary--probably not.

If I were you, I would add a character. Give your MC an older brother/sister/cousin/neighbor and give them a way to bribe/convince/persuade that kid to drive Elmo to the hospital.

Smish · Sep 15, 2011

Agreeing with the others.

And those questions you pose (transportation issues, etc) can lead to some awesome MG scenes. Kids are creative.

Kitty Pryde · Sep 15, 2011

Maybe a bicycle with a Burley trailer on the back? That would involve a lot of hard work for your characters! I did read a MG with a 15 yr old protagonist who got to drive on a wacky road trip with a stranger (umm, yeah, he was not setting a great example there) while the adult in the car was sleeping. The character was pretty immature though, like he was basically a child in a learners-permit-having-teenager body. Or maybe they do a lot of illicit street go-kart driving or something...Like The Fast and the Furious Go-Karts.

suki · Sep 15, 2011

I have a writer friend who had the same issue - the manuscript was a great story but it read more MG than YA. But for her story, she couldn't age them down, so she has been painstakingly revising to make it more YA in voice and plot.

So...if it can't be revised into MG, consider whether you could revise the plot/voice to be more marketable as YA?

~suki

Older Protagonist in MG?

bonitakale

zander

TLPhillps

Amarie

carpe libri

MsJudy

Smish

Reads more than she writes.

Kitty Pryde

i luv you giant bear statue

suki

Opinionated