Adult book -- teen protagonist?

The_Ink_Goddess

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Hey everyone.

Sorry if this is a bit garbled. Still trying to figure out the best way to express this.

I'm writing a "domestic suspense" mystery told from two teen POVs. It's a big, sprawling mystery, and it will probably be very dark. I've always written YA but I knew immediately the protagonist would be maximum of 19 (more like 16). However, almost everyone else would be adults, and there would be very few school scenes (for plot reasons, not an artistic choice).

Still, I thought, "whoop! This is YA!" However, whenever I try to write it, it comes out...different. The protagonist is still in her teens, but the voice is older and more retrospective. Also, while the adult characters are not POV characters, there's even an argument to be made that they are the main characters.

Tried comps to try and clear this up. All adult. Not saying there is nothing like this in YA - there have certainly been a fair few awesome YA mysteries - but tonally AND plot-wise, nothing fits like adult. Yet...it has a teen protagonist. How much of an issue is this? Am I being short-sighted, or would it be better to stop sitting on the fence and pick a side? My instinct says it's a "crossover" novel due to its kind of hybrid shape. Is it better to pick a side, though, than label it "for everyone and no-one"?
 

frimble3

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My first thought is the 'Flavia De Luce' mysteries, starting with 'Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie', by Alan Bradley (first time novelist, although he had done other writing). She's the 10 year old MC/detective, and the books have always been adult fiction.
 

delb0y

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Not a pure mystery / suspense novel, but I've not long finished A Boy's Life. Very much an adult novel and - if you read the reviews - many people's favourite novel. It's told from the perspective of a young teenager. So, yes, can be done, and no it's not an issue.

Derek
 

MaeZe

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Given her voice is "older" what makes her age 16-19? (Nineteen is OK as not YA, isn't it?)

Just going by my own reading taste, if a protagonist is described as 17 but reads as an older young woman, it bugs me, even when I really like the book.

I don't understand if the voice is older, why make the character younger? And if the character needs to be younger for the story, work on the voice.
 

Clovitide

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I'm with MaeZe on the voice deal. If the MC is supposed to be 16 but sounds 30, and there's no reason for that, then I get a little suspicious. But if you craft the character out so them sounding thirty in a sixteen year old's body is normal, then go ahead. You can do that, as long as you stay consistent. Age thing is whatever. I would maybe shoot for an older MC, though, like later teens, 18,19, maybe 17. 16 seems young still.
 

BLMN

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Is To Kill a Mockingbird Y/A? It's been read by more adults than teens and I believe that's the watershed.
My protagonist is also 16, set firmly in an adult novel. This was confirmed by a reputable agent who read the full, so it can be done.