What sets Tween apart from YA or MG?

Angela_785 · May 5, 2008

I'd really like to have some views on this--what makes a tween novel? What factors are 'tamer' than your average YA but stronger than what MG allows? Can a tween be any genre as long as it's contemporary (romance elements, mystery angle, etc?)

I'd really like to understand this category better--thanks in advance!

Angela

Cassidy · May 8, 2008

Hi Angela,
I don't know the answer and maybe there isn't really one answer-- I actually haven't seen publishers use "tween" as a category. But since no one else is leaping in, here are my thoughts: There are some books which seem best suited to kids age 11, 12, 13-- sort of at the cusp of middle-grade and YA, usually with young teen or pre-teen MC's, say grade 7 or 8. The themes might be of interest to kids who are outgrowing MG books, but without anything that would limit it to older teen readers. I'd say these books could fall into any genre, and I'd assume that often these books would end up being marketed as either MG or YA.
Anyone else have thoughts on this?

Angela_785 · May 15, 2008

Thanks for responding, Cassidy.

I actually went over to The Write Marbles and asked them if they would cover it in their post, which they did. Here's the link in case anyone else is struggling with this genre:

http://thewritemarbles.com/blog/?p=43

sharpierae · May 16, 2008

Cool. I'm glad you got such a thorough answer! I was curious, too. Thanks for sharing it here.

Angela_785 · May 16, 2008

Yeah, they were great over there. If you ever have a question you're having issues with, I recommend asking them to cover it--it never hurts to ask!

Danalynn · May 16, 2008

Thanks for the link. That was very informative.

What sets Tween apart from YA or MG?

Angela_785

Cassidy

writing for kids and teens

Angela_785

sharpierae

the UnID

Angela_785

Danalynn

NEVER give up!!!!