rose_griffes | a post with no name

*runs in*
As a side note to all of the Twilight talk, I've been wondering about young-adult novels. Here is what wikipedia says: Young-adult fiction (often abbreviated as YAdult fiction, or simply YA) is fiction written for, published for, or marketed to adolescents, roughly between the ages of 13 and 20.

A poll first!
[Poll #1449513]

I'd love to know more information if anyone has it, but from all I've found so far, classifying a book as young-adult fiction seems to be largely a decision of the publishing company. Librarians would presumably play a role as well, unless there's some list that dictates where fiction books are shelved; I doubt there is. Authors may write specifically for the teen audience, but that's not always the case. (Stephenie Meyer apparently wrote for herself first, then added an adult sister to her reading audience, according to this Q&A.)

As for me, I'd say that classifying novels as young-adult does make a significant difference in the audience those novels reach. School libraries often have a much larger YA selection than 'adult' fiction. The public libraries I know best have the YA section between the children's books and the adult section. The ease of availability alone made a difference in what I read when I was a teen.

Flowers in the Attic was classified as a YA novel. I find that both fascinating and disturbing. V.C. Andrews' best-known (by me) series actually has some similarities to the Twilight series: both have first-person narratives by teenaged girls (at least at the beginning) and what I'll tactfully call it a straightforward style of prose. But prose style and the age of the protagonist both seem to me to be among the least-important reasons for classifying a book as young-adult fiction.

As frustrating as America's MPAA rating system often is, it does have more than just one rating and gives a reason/set of reasons for that rating. I'm not sure we need something like that for books. Maybe? What do you think?

*runs back out*

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I think the concerns that the books raise, as well as the relative age of the protagonist, determines YA from adult books. There can be crossover, of course, but there's a different tone to the plots of YA (not that I'm extensively read in that genre, however).

I need to go talk to a librarian; I'd love to get an insider's POV on this...

I've read a ton of YA books! I went through a phase as an adult where I read so many of them! It was cool to find a good quality book that wasn't too long. There are some good ones out there. I especially like the Newbery winners. I could just read everything on that list and be satisfied. :-)

As for me, as you know I read anything and everything as a teen. I was devouring that library. I have absolutely no regrets. I learned and discovered so much.

Was Flowers in the Attic disturbing? Heck yeah. But it didn't scare me or scar me or anything. It was an interesting book. Some YA novels have disturbing content on purpose. I think some of those novels are trying to reach teens in similar situations, make them feel less alone. Not every novel succeeds in this goal, but I'm glad for the novels on abuse or depression or suicide that reaches a teen where other means might not.

I may be the only one who feels this way, but I think a book's ability to harm or help is limited. There are so many other influences in a teen's life far more powerful than the fiction a teen reads, in my opinion.

I'm happy with how books are currently classfied. I just had an idea from your question. What if people had to be 'carded' to read adult books? That would seem so weird!

Was Flowers in the Attic disturbing? Heck yeah. But it didn't scare me or scar me or anything.

That's the first book (series) I thought of when I started making a mental list of what I wish I hadn't read. There are lots of books I cared little for, but that one I disdain.

Some YA novels have disturbing content on purpose. I think some of those novels are trying to reach teens in similar situations, make them feel less alone. Not every novel succeeds in this goal, but I'm glad for the novels on abuse or depression or suicide that reaches a teen where other means might not.

Yeah, I think some YA novelists do a great job with that. I'm so impressed with how those writers can tackle something as sensitive as suicide or abuse and make compelling, useful fiction from the topics.

I may be the only one who feels this way, but I think a book's ability to harm or help is limited. There are so many other influences in a teen's life far more powerful than the fiction a teen reads, in my opinion.

I don't think you're the only one who feels that way. It's hard, though--there's an inherent conflict between wanting children to learn and grown and wanting to protect them from unnecessary harm. No easy answers in that dilemma. How much harm can one book inflict? That probably depends a lot on the individual child/teen.

I'm happy with how books are currently classfied.
I can't decide. Frequently I agree with how books are categorized, but not always.

I just had an idea from your question. What if people had to be 'carded' to read adult books? That would seem so weird!

I'd say it's unlikely, but who knows? It's not what I want, though.

There are so many other influences in a teen's life far more powerful than the fiction a teen reads, in my opinion.
Depends on the person. I can say for me that fiction was and is one of the biggest influences in my life. Particular works changed my thinking or brought me breakthroughs of understanding or emotion. But I was a VERY bookish child and a highly sensitive one. Books had enormous power over me--whether for good or bad. Perhaps that was partly because my outside world was not particularly rich or diverse in influences. So for me, books were totally up there in forming my personality and ideas. I think I'm at the abnormally-influenced end of the specturm though.

I think classifying books is a publishing decision, yes, and often a marketing one. I doubt librarians would have much say in it because the Dewey Decimal cataloguing system does not build in classification of this sort. However, you will find that placement and categorisation in bookshops influences this sort of thing... even if it's as simple as more mature books being put on a higher shelf and so on.

Recently I read 'The Knife of Never Letting Go' (YA) and I would say it and its sequel are most definitely books I would not be letting an adolescent read until they were quite mature. Children develop so differently though, I don't really feel blanket age guidelines work--that's why I'm fine with leaving it up to a parent, or a parent and child to negotiate together.

There wasn't such a big body of YA fiction when I was a teen and the books I read that scarred me were adult works. I skipped things like Flowers in the Attic and Stephen King--not my thing.

After posting this I talked to a school librarian about YA fiction. She generally uses the publishers' marketing and library publications as the guidelines on whether to place a book in the YA section or adult fiction, mostly because she doesn't have time to read everything she buys for the school. But she also said she has moved books if she feels like placement is inappropriate for whatever reason.

Children develop so differently though, I don't really feel blanket age guidelines work--that's why I'm fine with leaving it up to a parent, or a parent and child to negotiate together.

Agreed, though even for involved parents it's difficult to keep up with what a child is reading. (I was a fast, dedicated reader, and I doubt my parents knew much about most of the books I read.) Sometimes I think it would be helpful to have a short list of main themes treated in a novel, but even then it would be hard to know if it's appropriate for a particular child. Plus how the theme is addressed makes a huge difference. Incest being dealt with as a sensitive topic by a thoughtful author would be fine, at least for some young readers. Flowers in the Attic was not fine.

Going back to the post now *G* -- Thinking back, it was kind of different where I was. Our high school library didn't have a separate classifications - it was just fiction. It was already pre-'sorted'. And the "teen" section of the local library contained things like the Dark is Rising series and Diane Duane's Wizards trilogy -- things nowadays shelved in the chapter books/older children category in the bookstore, not YA. I remember Judy Blume's 'Forever' - a YA book if ever there was one - was put in the adult novels because of the sex (I read it as a teen, though).

So my POV may be somewhat skewed, but at least my impression from frequent reading back then, was that there just wasn't the quantity of books focused at "teenagers" per se - it was children's books, older children's books, and when you got out of those, you read grownup books. There are very few books in the YA section that I remember from when I was a tween/teen, which gives me the idea that there's been quite an explosion on the genre/grouping since I was a teen. Which further suggests it's completely a division created artificially, which is why no one can quite figure it out....

You know the part that shocks me the most when I look at kids books today (at least in a bookstore)? They're all hardcover and SO expensive.

I remember Judy Blume's 'Forever' - a YA book if ever there was one - was put in the adult novels because of the sex (I read it as a teen, though).

That may have been the librarian's choice. I talked with a school librarian, and if she wants to move something from YA to adult fiction, she does.

There are very few books in the YA section that I remember from when I was a tween/teen, which gives me the idea that there's been quite an explosion on the genre/grouping since I was a teen. Which further suggests it's completely a division created artificially, which is why no one can quite figure it out...

Yeah, I think so too. Maybe because there's been a realization that a YA market can attract money? That would be my guess, anyway. And how would anyone know what guidelines to put in place for what does or does not constitute YA fiction, anyway? It's an interesting question.

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