The Young Adult (YA) genre.
Ha! Didn't see that one coming, did you?
But here's the thing: YA isn't YA. Seriously. YA suggests an age limit--that these are books written for, designed for, and appropriate for young adults...only.
And that's not the way of it.
Jack Martin once said that "Teen books are like adult books without all the bullshit," and truer words have not been spoken. My point is: YA is a genre, not an age suggestion, and as such YA is a misnomer.
So--what is YA if it's not an age suggestion? It's a genre. Genre, by definition is a literary style.
So, what makes YA...YA?
It's not a matter of the characters being a certain age. I'd argue that the characters being a certain age has the least to do with the style. It's not a matter of "dumbing down" language (or censoring it) for an appropriate age group--after all, we're not talking about an age group, we're talking about a style. And besides, people who think they have to dumb down for teens are typically jackholes who shouldn't be writing anyway.
But that's all the things YA isn't. Here's what YA is, as a definition of the style that is the genre:
- Fast-paced plot
- Remember the whole YA-is-adult-books-without-bullshit thing? There's a definite lack of wasted space in YA, because YA authors aren't going to blow smoke around. Let's just say Proust would not have cut it as a YA author.
- Interesting characters
- YA readers won't put up with characters that aren't interesting--and they place particular value on characters that are interesting. Consider how many "ships" you can have in YA--that's proof that even the side characters tend to be interesting (interesting enough so that people will fan fic them).
- Evocative emotions
- YA must make you feel. To paraphrase Shepherd Book talking to Captain Mal in SERENITY: I don't care what you feel as long as you feel something. It can be funny, it can be romance, it can be tragedy--but a YA book will make you become emotionally involved in some way.
- Story above tradition
- YA doesn't care about the rules. The YA genre is one of the few genres where you can have a contemporary romance beside an action-based sci fi and no one bats an eye. YA books care about telling a good story, and the rest of the rules don't have to apply. In adult books, you have someone like Nicholas Sparks, who always writes one type of book. In YA books, you have someone like Laurie Halse Anderson who can write a contemporary novel about rape and a historical fiction about the American Revolution and they can sit side-by-side on the shelf. Adult authors who genre bed are rare (Neil Gaiman, I'm looking at you), but since YA is, by definition, genre-bending, authors get to place the story over the genre tropes (since there are no genre tropes).
It used to really bother me that YA is labeled with a name that implies an age suggestion. But then I realized that writing YA was similar to when I was teaching--when I was a teacher, I was 100% happy when the principal would just leave me alone and let me do what I want. So, I don't care any more that my writing has a YA stamp on it, even if the stamp's not an accurate label--as long as I get to do what I want and write the cool books, I'm happy.
I'm going to leave this with a wiser woman's words: Robin McKinley spoke recently about this topic in her recent Q&A with Publisher's Weekly.
From your point of view, what’s the difference between writing for children and writing for adults?
This is actually a hot button for me. I don't differentiate in the way that the genre creators want differentiation to be made. I feel that I have never written children's or YA stories particularly. What I write, if you have to label it, is crossover, and I think that much of the stuff that is called children's or YA is in fact crossover and is equally valid for anyone who likes to read fantasy. Is Huckleberry Finn a YA novel? I don't think so. I understand that some form of genre labeling is necessary for people who are in a hurry or people who don't themselves like fantasy and want to give a gift to a twelve-year-old niece or nephew. But as a label to stick on a book, I'm inclined to think that it does more harm than good, because people take it too literally. ...
30 comments:
Love this post! I love the style of YA books. Too often I feel I have to work at having gratification from an adult book.
Yes. Yes. A million times yes! Next time I hear someone prattle on about YA being this or that, I'm smacking them and sending them to this post.
Huzzah! Hurrah! And thank you for this post.
"...adult books without all the bullshit" -- I think after all the YA I've read, I've kinda lost my tolerance for bullshit and now have a really hard time making it through an "adult" novel unless it's exceptionally good. YA is awesome (no matter what we label it, lol).
My god this post rules. I've been thinking about this for a while, but never could have said it this well. Thanks Beth!
Yes! Agreed! A year or so ago, I heard about a YA panel at a writing conference. Someone in the audience asked how she could change her writing style to write YA. The author's reply was that, if she had to change her voice, she shouldn't be writing YA.
I'm glad that "YA" exists because there are some incredible books out there that aren't children's books and aren't technically literary/genre fiction. I agree that the whole genre defies constraints, and that's what I love about it.
Amen and amen. I was reading one of the Percy Jackson books while on the stairclimber at the gym, and one of my husband's colleagues (a retired elementary school teacher) asked what it was. When she saw it was a "kid's" book, she wrinkled her nose in disgust then congratulated me for being a good mom who tried to read the same books as her children! I do read the books to see if they're appropriate and I like to relate to what they're reading, but when I told her how much I love it, she looked at me like I was nuts! Some people just don't get that a good story is a good story...but it's their loss!
Thanks for defining how I feel. Love that Robin McKinley quote. *Snarfing at Proust as a YA writer*
Oh, good and interesting points! It's so true that YA encompasses such a broad range of books.
This explains so much. What a brilliant post. I'm going to link to it from my blog.
I've had a feeling this stuff was true from talking to YA writers, but I've never seen it put into words. Thanks!
Thank you for this post. As a new reader to the YA genre and a writer trying to write YA, this post really helps.
Interesting thoughts on what makes YA. I agree that it doesn't have much to do with age--it's definitely more of a style.
Awesome post. YA books are amazing. Perhaps that's why so many are being released with 'adult' covers. :)
Oh, thank you, Beth, for this post. I get so tired of the oh-you-only-write-for-teens head tilt when I tell people I write YA. If anything, YA readers are a more discriminating set, in my most humble of opinions. Often, I'll finish an adult book, sit it down, and think, "I neither know nor care about that character." That sentiment is rare after reading a YA novel.
Of course, there are shiners and stinkers in any genre. I just loves me some YA as a general rule.
One of my "stick out" moments thinking about genres over the years was when the 2nd or 3rd Harry Potter came out, I saw a girl in my dorm reading it and I asked her if it was good. She said, "It's quickly becoming my favorite book." I knew she was an avid reader, so I said, "Oh, your favorite children's book?" She laid it down, looked me square in the eye and said, "My. Favorite. Book."
And I'm hard-pressed now to think of a "non-YA" book I can say that about. Heck, my all-time fav, Pride & Prejudice, is YA if you think about it.
Fantastic post! My kids and I read and love the same books. It's kind of like being able to share clothes without the awkward thoughts of whether they're age appropriate (not to mention one of said kids is a boy).
Robin McKinley's mention of Huck Finn really got me thinking. I never considered it a YA novel. Not when I read it the first time in school or the second time a couple of years ago. It was just a damn good story.
Do people ever look at you funny when you say "I'm a YA author?" Then they go, "Oh like for kids?" That's one of those times I wish we all had a "one free punch in the face" card. I do like YA, I like having those fast reads and sometimes I think adult books (Except for Jodi Piccoult because she's amazing) have a hard time grasping real teenagerdome.
In other knews I cracked the code and was so excited!
Great post!
Y'know, I feel the same way about movies. A good movie is a good movie is a good movie. (I'm giving it a Gertrude Stein spin there!)
~Tui
Beth takes off the gloves and lets it rip! Great post and so spot on.
My cross-genre heroes are Neil G. and Laurie A. They just write good stories and I don't care what age or genre they're for.
I totally agree. I wish there was a category for teens and another one for YA because there's a big difference between what's suitable for school aged kids and those in the 18 -24 yr age group. (from 16 for girls)
I wish more people understood that this is a style thing and not an age thing. Maybe it should have a different name.
Beth, don't even get me started!!!
If you think YA is bad....just exactly what in the heck is "Middle Grade"?
Ewwww.
I love being a writer for children....but do you realize that there IS no children's category anymore? There are pb's, easy readers, chapterbooks, middle grade and YA. Where are the Children's Books??
Sorry, as a new middle grade author, I find myself really turned off by the term. Middle grade? Is that from Middle Earth? or Middle School?
Again....ewww.
Shelley
Great post! And I agree. I took a Lit course where the prof. said that children's lit came about mostly because back in the olden days fantasy or anything 'made up' didn't have a place in the reading world for adults, so everything fantasy, sci-fi or the like was simply dubbed for "children" no matter what the style.
As and adult I tend to prefer YA lit because there is so much less blubber to wade through.
Good post. I don't know much about YA, but would add that though a target audience is important, creating a work that can be enjoyed by a range of readers would certainly be fulfilling as a writer.
I'm lucky to have YA Beat readers - they insist on: pace, appropriate dialogue and underlying humour.
Great post!!!!! Some of my most favorite books are YA, and so many adults think I'm nuts. I had a teacher tell me she would never read the Twilight saga b/c it was for kids, when it was at the time my favorite series (and everyone elses, obviously), but mostly, I thought Meyer was (and is) an excellent writer! Period. The end. No doubt she probably ended up reading The Host b/c it was for "adults".
Thank you so much for saying what needed to be said. I've always read as much YA as other genres and never really gave it a thought. Much more interesting - farl less verbose than most "Adult" books. Less "formulatic" too.
Yes, yes, and yes. I couldn't agree more. It's not about age, it's about genre. You are wise beyond wise.
Beth, I posted a quote and a link to this post on my blog yesterday. You might be interested in the discussion http://annerallen.blogspot.com.
I also added to the (I think a bit confused) discussion on the Literary Lab blog. I explain you're not prescribing, but describing what is the only really open, alive genre in today's marketplace.
More on the economic reasons for this if you scroll down to my post on "Wimpy Kid eats George Bush's Lunch." Kidlit outsells Presidential blockbusters. Just the way it is.
I think it's risky to try to paint any genre with too broad a brush, especially to portray one as better than another. Better based upon what exactly? I firmly believe there is quality writing in all genres...and many sections in bookstores for a reason.
It it works for you, go with it. Taste in books, and writing, is like everything else in life- subject to personal preference...and just because we may not personally care for something doesn't mean it's 'bad' or badly written.
There are 'classics' you couldn't pay me to spend my limited eyesight reading- and work of unpublished writers of many genres I will strain my eyes still to see.
There's room, and audience, enough for everybody! :D
I think you're right that YA is generally misunderstood, but I don't think it's as clear-cut as you make it sound. True, there is a certain style to YA, but the reason you can have contemporary romance and action sci-fi side by side is that within YA there are different genres. When I categorize books on my blog, there are some I label simply "YA" because they're about people in that age group (or slightly above) dealing with issues specific to kids going through that time period in life. When it's paranormal romance, I'll label it "YA Paranormal Romance." Because yes, YA books are aimed at a specific age range. While it's definitely true that anyone can read and enjoy YA books, that doesn't change the fact that publishers target teenagers for YA books. The style reflects the needs and preferences of the teenage group, and though I read mostly YA books, as some of those in this discussion mentioned, even though I'm not a teenager, it's because I appreciate the freshness and innocence (and angst) of teenagers - which is what books aimed at this age group addresses.
And by the way, if you only read YA books, as some mentioned, you can't denigrate adult books. I read both, and I can appreciate both types, each for its own excellent qualities. I've also read YA books that I hate - that's more book-specific than genre- or age-specific. Blanket statements about any genre or age-specific books rub me wrong. In fact, I'm currently reading a YA book which, quite contrary to what you claim, has a lot of "bullshit" that is making it hard for me to get through the book. Some authors know how write, some don't - it's not genre- or age-specific.
Excellent post! Couldn't agree with you more on the allure of YA books. I see so much more risk-taking with YA literature. And that's why I love reading it.
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