The YA and
MG genres are probably the most misunderstood literary categories out there.
They contain almost everything you can imagine. Because of this, is it really
all that surprising that there is any confusion about them? In part 1 of know
your market, my great friend and fellow Reject Liz offered her ideas on the
subject. Here’s my rebuttal.
To put this
plain and simple, a young adult novel is a story that appeals to the teens.
Voice is a big factor, but it really just comes down to the story. Sadly this
definition is the reason that YA and MG are so freakin damn hard to write for.
What appeals to a teen one month probably won’t in the next one. So the idea
that the protagonist should be the same age is what agents and publishers fall
back on. Just because it’s a guideline that publishes lean on doesn’t make it
true.
I’ll give
you an example. Comic books are typically written to appeal to young teen boys
and some girls. Yet usually the protagonists in these graphic novels tend to be
in there 30’s. Look at the ever popular Batman and Superman comics. Yeah there
are a lot of comic lovers that are in the same age now, but that’s not how they
started.
Want more
proof. Sure. How about Lord of the Rings? There are no teens in that series,
and yet I distinctly remember reading that when I was around sixteen. You
really can’t blame a kid. I mean, how many adults do you know want to read
about talking trees?
Okay, now
let’s look at a more recent series.. It has been said that the Harry Potter
series started out MG and ended up YA, and for two reasons. One is because
Harry grew up and because the series got darker. It’s true that Harry did get
older, but darker? Has anyone forgotten that the series started with a double
murder, blood drinking of magical beasts, and a very creepy bodiless dark
wizard possessing other wizards? I’m sorry but Harry Potter was always a young
adult series. It was simply marketed as MG due to age, and I can even remember
having to go into the kiddy section of a book story just to buy Order of the
Phoenix, and that was the one every agreed was a YA novel.
Please don’t
misunderstand. I’ve read plenty of great novels where the teenager is the
protagonist. I’ve even written a few short stories that way—some great, and
others not so much. In other words, the story doesn’t need to have a teenager
in it to be a YA novel. It’s just easier.
Auzy
This series and the arguments put forward is just amazing. And I have a vested interest because my novel is facing the same tribulation. A 15 year old protagonist who's immature to begin with but grows in confidence and maturity as the novel progresses. How do you classify something which starts off as MG and then transcends to YA (story and writing wise)?
ReplyDeleteUtsav, the best advise I can give you is to find a teen beta reader. They'll let you know if it appeals to them or if it feels too old.
DeleteAuzy
Interesting rebuttal! I think you're right, people tend to forget that Voldemort was still stuck on the back of Quirrell's head in Book 1. If that isn't dark and creepy, I don't know what is.
ReplyDeleteI think MG/YA/NA is more of a continuum. You're right in saying that YA is simply a book that appeals to teens, but how do you decide what appeals to teens? What interests one may not interest another. It's a sticky question, one I'm grappling with right now. My WiP features a 14 year old protag, but I've have a few betas tell me that it's a tough age to market (no quite YA, not quite MG).
nickieanderson.blogspot.com
Nickie you've hit the nail on the head for all the confusion. How to know what appeals to teens? This is why publishers prefer to have a protagonist that's the same age. That way it's more likely to have that appeal.
DeleteAuzy
I've always felt content (not age) define the genre. All characters have a journey, but in YA the stakes are greater. Get in your 'way back' machine and open up a Babysitter's club book. These characters dealt with boyfriends, diabetes, and copycats, but the stakes were never anything that exceeded a lost friendship. Even though the characters were young teens, the books definitely targeted the MG group. Now, if the books featured life and death situations while babysitting, we can talk YA.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I disagree. Not so much that content doesn't make or break YA, but age is important. And adults do read about talking trees. (I don't, but there is plenty of adult fantasy out there). I don't think age is the ultimate factor, because a seventeen year old protag with the thought process of a 30 year old won't go far. But I do know my teen beta said if she were bored and it were laying around she'd read my adult romance, but "these people sound old." And I think there is a distinct difference in MG and YA. I don't know about Harry Potter. I've never read them. When I read MG, I feel like I'm reading a kid's book. When I read YA, I don't.
ReplyDeleteA very good arguement Beth. Having a teen beta is great in deciding if the novel is YA or not. And it would make sense that the those 'people sound old' to your beta. They were dealing with older issues and had that more mature voice, which you're right, does come with age. It is a sticky situation and as you can see, one where both Liz and I have argued about quite a lot.
DeleteIt is complicated. I think it depends on the reader. I love reading (and writing) about teens and tweens, and I'm a grandma. Teens, I think like to read about others their own age or a bit older. My opinion.
ReplyDeleteYes, HP was always dark, but referring to a double murder and actually having the protagonist experience it are two different things. We don't have Harry witness murders until book 4. Lots of close calls though.
ReplyDeleteBut I do agree that the MG/YA line is pretty fuzzy.
Another very good point Theresa. Glad you mentioned it.JK Rowly wrote this piece so superbly that it was sneaky and a lot never even noticed it. What would you have thought if Harry had expirenced the double murder at the beginning? Would it still had been MG or YA for you?
DeleteAuzy
This is an interesting argument, but I disagree. To say that YA is anything that appeals to teens is just... well, that makes the genre even more impossible to define. Teens, as you said, do like adult books sometimes but like Beth said usually they come off as adult books ("people sound old") which is not like a YA.
ReplyDeleteI do think that the protagonist in a YA series has to be someone that a YA reader can connect with, and most often that's due to the age (but not always, there are exceptions to the rules, of course) and voice. If the voice is that of an adult, then it could still appeal to a teen and they might read it but... not always. I think those are the exceptions, not the standards. The standards are young voices with MC's between the age of 13 - 21.
Graphic novels are made to appeal to teenage boys and usually do have older main characters but graphic novels and books are different in the way they go about doing things. Voice and a good plot drives books, artwork and an engaging plot is what sells graphic novels. What if Batman was written as a book instead of a comic? I don't think that it would have appealed to teens as much, because it would have been in Bruce's voice and inside his head -- the head of a thirty-something year old man.
As for the Harry Potter argument, I'm not sure what's right and what's not. I think the first one was MG, even if it did start out with murders it was just a background story and not really that dark or creepy. The second could be either. The third one, Goblet of Fire, definitely went deeper into the dark elements of the story.
I always love a good arguement, don't you? Everyone here has made some great and very valid points, both for and against. Sadly this is exactly why it's so hard to define what is YA and MG. Too many people disagree.
ReplyDeleteThanks JQ.
Auzy
I found two interesting blogs on the subject we're discussing. Take a look and tell me what you think.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tor.com/blogs/2008/11/ya-what-exactly-does-that-mean
http://literaticat.blogspot.com/2010/10/big-ol-genre-glossary.html
Auzy