What Constitutes YA Fiction?

timewaster

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The book I'm currently planning is an alternate history that does deal with some of the themes you've listed, but I've come to the conclusion that it is probably best suited to the YA market. It simply comes down to a vague feeling the story is giving off to me. I guess you could say tone or voice. The MC is a teen, and there's madness, corruption, and political intrigue, but at the core, it is an adventure story. The heroic, pulpy kind of adventure that I adored when I was younger. I want to write this story for readers with a highly developed sense of wonder. :D


My most recent book 'Shadow Web' is alt history and included terrorism, sexism, class conflict, a bit of torture and has a vaguely romantic sub plot. It's published as YA mainly because it is written from the POV of a sixteen year old girl and because I am seen as a YA writer.
 

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Am I writing YA??

Is my WIP YA? Book details.

1) The narrator is an 11 year old Puerto Rican girl
2) The story is told as an internal monologue
3) In short, the girl is sent to live with her aunt while her parents are trying to sort out their problems.

What makes a book YA?
 

Shady Lane

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Can't tell for sure, but in all likelihood your protagonist is too young.

My main qualifiers for YA:

1. Protagonist between the ages of 13 and 21.
2. Coming-of-age elements.
 

bethany

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I was going to say MG, too.

Check out some good MG books- Sharon Creech's Walk Two Moons is a good example, as is Christopher Paul Curtis' Watsons Go To Birmingham, (both of these are award winners and available at any library) to get some great examples of pacing and voice.
 

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Maybe clarification is needed. Are books such as Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird considered YA?
 

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Thanks. When I started the book, I figured my audience would be those who enjoy Catcher, Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, Flowers for Algernon, etc. You know, books that were required reading when I was in HS, but at the same time appeals to adults.

I didn't realize that the protogonist has to be a certain age for the book to be considered YA.

I thought because I read Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, and Flowers for Algernon in HS that each of those books fell under the umbrella of YA. What genre would those books fall under?
 

bethany

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I guess Flowers For Algernon is as close to YA with an adult protag that you could really ever get because of the coming of age elements as Charlie matures...

Of Mice and Men shares nothing with YA except the length-short.

To Kill a Mockingbird is just a classic. You'd find it under literature in the bookstore.

None of these books, even Catcher, would you find in the YA section at the book store. You'd find them under literature or classics, and you'd find a big thriving YA section full of...other things.

Question- do you want to write something that teens read because they're forced to, or something that they read because they're interested in it?

ETA- and I say that kindly, in that you may well have enjoyed those books. I did. But when I went into teaching kids, I went into teaching all of them, not just the ones who would be future literature majors like me. Even kids who like to read often don't like to read THOSE books.
 
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Shady Lane

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Bethany makes a definite point.

**tries not to vomit everywhere at the mention of Of Mice and Men**
 

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Catcher won't be found in YA, but many people, including myself, consider it to be one of the first YA novels. Or at least that with a YA narrator.
 

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can I mention here that I'm related to Harper Lee? The first part of the novel when it goes into her family history is infact true, and it is also mine. Finch is also a family name.
 

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Bethany,

When I started writing the book, I had an adult audience in mind (contemporary / adult lit). Then someone suggested that I am writing YA because the protag is young. Which is the reason why I asked what makes a book YA.

The book is a coming of age story, so it meets one requirement. But I see an adult gravitating towards the book, not a teen.

So maybe I just answered my own question??
 

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a book can have a teen protag and not be YA. It's the writing style, language, and as easy as who it is marketed to that makes the difference.
 

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Bethany makes a definite point.

**tries not to vomit everywhere at the mention of Of Mice and Men**

hahahaha Shady! That was the reaction I had with Catcher. I spent the entire book wanting to beat the hell out of Holden. hahaha On the other hand, I think I remember enjoying Of Mice and Men when I was in high school.

I was actually going to recommend Walk Two Moon also. It's contemporary realism. I think its going to be one of those books that sticks around and turns into a classic. :)
 

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can I mention here that I'm related to Harper Lee? The first part of the novel when it goes into her family history is infact true, and it is also mine. Finch is also a family name.

Have you met her?
 

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I dislike Catcher, too. But I'm willing to recognize the affect it had on society at the time.
 

Shady Lane

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Bethany,

When I started writing the book, I had an adult audience in mind (contemporary / adult lit). Then someone suggested that I am writing YA because the protag is young. Which is the reason why I asked what makes a book YA.

The book is a coming of age story, so it meets one requirement. But I see an adult gravitating towards the book, not a teen.

So maybe I just answered my own question??

I think you did. :)



Dreamer, I am not by any stretch of the imagination a Catcher fan, but OMG OF MICE AND MEN. I basically slit my wrists with the spine of that book.

I'm obviously a Great Gatsby fan, though. **points to avatar**
 

bethany

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Bethany,

When I started writing the book, I had an adult audience in mind (contemporary / adult lit). Then someone suggested that I am writing YA because the protag is young. Which is the reason why I asked what makes a book YA.

The book is a coming of age story, so it meets one requirement. But I see an adult gravitating towards the book, not a teen.

So maybe I just answered my own question??

Well, YA is a thriving age bracket, more so that, say literary fiction- which is much harder to break into. People will steer you there with best intentions, but if it isn't what you want to write, what you want the story to be....

MG is a GREAT age bracket too, with a built in audience. I love MG, but so far have never written more than a few pages of one. And a book can be MG or YA and have great literary merit. They're just different- usually heavier on dialogue with less description...

good luck!
 

bethany

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and I'd say for the sake of arguent that Catcher, (a book I love) is no more YA that Huck Finn. Both have teen protags and were written for adults. Though the attitude and voice were...different for that time period.

I'd call the Outsiders the first great and true YA book.
 

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Wuthering Heights is probably my most hated book. Let's over look the cockney english she used that made it impossible to understand that guy. Who finds an abusive, evil man to be romantic? I mean, wtf???
 

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I dislike Catcher, too. But I'm willing to recognize the affect it had on society at the time.

Agreed.

I have a similar problem thing with Tolkien (Lord of the Rings trilogy for those of you that might not know). I love the story, but I can't stand his writing style. Yet, as a fantasy writer, I recognize that he paved the road... so he still gets me respect.
 

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a book can have a teen protag and not be YA. It's the writing style, language, and as easy as who it is marketed to that makes the difference.

Then maybe it's a good idea to make the MC thirteen and change things around a bit (I'm still in the beginning stages) in case the agent or publisher wants to market the book as YA.