Would this work for YA?

So I don't usually write or read YA, but I have this short story... It's 10K and it's been published in a small but reputable literary periodical. It's been a few years, but I've always felt a bit sad about the fact that it has only been read by a very small audience. I'm wondering if I should try expanding it into a YA novel for two reasons:

1) The protagonist is a 14 year old boy.
2) There's no way I could inflate it to mainstream novel length, but I could expand it to 30 or 40K, which would be appropriate for YA. (Right?)
3) The writing style is very simple and straightforward.

So my question then is whether it is appropriate for the YA market. I have learned from Shady that nothing is too "edgy" for YA, but that's not really my issue. I guess my issue is how I approach it, and whether I would be "speaking" to teens. Mainly I am concerned whether teenagers would be mature enough to grasp my points, or whether they would be misunderstood. Perhaps I should just summarize the story. Here it is:

My MC is a 14 year old boy trying to survive as a freshman. This unfolds over the course of the story, but essentially his mom was really screwed up and committed suicide when he was in grade school. There was no dad in the picture, but it turns out his mom did put a name on the birth certificate. The guy doesn't know if the MC is actually his son (since the woman slept around so much), but he was still deeply in love with this woman who was so terrible to him. The MC looks so much like his mother that when the guy sees him, he has compassion and takes him in as his own. He never performs a paternity test because he doesn't want to know. Unfortunately as time goes on and the MC ages, he only looks more and more like his mother. The dad starts to wonder if his love for the woman is influencing his actions towards his son (eg he lets his son's beautiful curly hair get a bit long because it is just like hers). He is afraid of doing anything remotely inappropriate so when the MC is about 10 the dad stops touching him altogether and essentially cuts him off emotionally.

Fast forward to present day. MC still looks a bit effeminate, which makes it rough for him at school. He has no friends and he is still very young emotionally. He has intense longings for his father's affection but thinks this makes him "gay" because of what everyone else assumes about him. Then a new senior girl shows up at school. She's an army brat, hates everyone, and decides to force her "friendship" on the MC. They form a weird relationship, he ends up confiding in her, and she "helps" him by undressing in a bathroom stall. He realizes maybe he's not gay, she tells him not to assume anything about himself based on what other people say, but to find his own path. Turns out she's hiding a pregnancy and ends up running away at the end. MC is brokenhearted, turns to his dad for comfort, the relationship is slightly repaired.

Okay so that's like... the surface story. There's a lot of other stuff going on, including my MC having issues with bed wetting.

I guess the reason I'm iffy about making this YA is because it really skirts the edge of pedophelia. (I can't spell that word.) The relationship between father and son is really weird and I do stay on the safe side, but I'm afraid it might not be interpreted that way by teens. (Or their parents.)

The other thing is that I made absolutely no judgments in the story. I present the facts and what the characters are thinking and no more. So there's no moral guidelines at all. I realize this might be okay in YA but personally I feel a bit weird about it. Even my adult stories usually steer things one way or another, but this one is definitely out there. I think for that reason it's really good, but perhaps for adults?

If anything, I think the main "moral" point of the story is that our society forces young people to choose what they are way too soon. If you're an effeminate guy, suddenly you're labeled as "gay" by your peers because of their own fears about fitting in. So before you even have time to grapple with sex at all, you have to choose whether or not you're going to put yourself in this predetermined category.

Soooo yeah, I'd appreciate any advice you YA writers and readers may have.

scarletpeaches said:

I say go for it. One point I would make is, you mention 'simple' language. I couldn't say exactly what you mean by that as I've never read any of your work, but don't talk down to the reader. That'll turn teens - or, indeed, anyone - right off. Just use your own natural voice as a writer. If, however, simple language is your natural voice, then fair enough, but don't adopt a YA style of writing. Just write the book and if it turns out to be YA, or romance, or horror, or literary...so be it. That's the kind of writer you are.

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Oh, no, that's not what I meant. I have several "voices" and most of the time the one I use is very spare, simple prose. (My other one is a convoluted 18th century prose with long sentences and big words. ) In this case I just meant that it's not anything super literary and doesn't have a lot of big "adult" words that would turn off younger readers.

Anyway thanks for your advice, I appreciate it. Maybe you're correct about "just writing it."

Shady Lane said:

This is what makes a good YA book.

Way too many of them are trying to teach us something.

Go for it.

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But... but... you NEED to be taught! Teenagers are STUPID!

::Jo hightails it away from Shady::

::Jo turns on her invisible force field:: Neener neener neener!

Okay, honestly I was just kidding.

To elaborate on what I originally meant... none of my books in any way dictate moral truths to the reader. I never try to "teach" anyone anything. But of course, since I'm the author, and I'm a person, themes central to my own beliefs usually pop up. For instance, Ghosts of Ivy House presents the notion that killing really bad people might not be a "sin." I'm not bludgeoning anyone with the idea, I'm just exploring it.

But I feel like this story doesn't even go that far. And I feel weird about NOT coming down firmly against pedophaelia (which I still can't spell). Maybe I'm just worrying about nothing here.

Thanks everyone for your help. Now if you will permit me, one more question.

This story is interlaced with small bits from the dad's POV. Would that still be ok for YA or is it more appropriate for the whole thing to be from the kid's POV?

Actually for those who are curious, my ending is a bit double-sided. My MC is crying because his friend has left, and he's saying "She's gone, she's gone." The dad comes in to comfort him, but the dad knows nothing about the girl. The dad, in his own grief, assumes the boy is talking about his mother. So he comforts the MC and says "I know," but in reality, he doesn't know. They're each grieving over their separate losses. But in a sense they both get what they need.

Anyways thanks everyone for the input. This project has now been temporarily derailed as I do some more rewriting on my WIP, but I'll get around to it sooner or later.