Sunday, October 11, 2009

YA is a Misnomer

This is a topic that's been spinning in my head for awhile now: What is YA?

There's the obvious answer. YA is young adult literature, books intended for teens typically between the ages of 13-17 (give or take a few years). And there's the assumption that this includes the typical topics: teen love, "growing pains," and angst.

And that's as far as most people go when considering YA.

The problem? YA is a misnomer. YA literature is not books for young adults. It's not. YA books aren't book intended for a certain age (just look at the varying degrees of censorship applied to many YA books to know that).

No, YA is a genre, not an age range. And to have good YA does not mean that you have to follow a set of guidelines and write down to teens. Instead, it's about fitting the tropes of the genre, and those tropes have nothing to do with age.

Character-based Story: YA books focus on characters more than setting. This is especially true of fantasy and sf. Adult sff is much more concerned about world building--one reason for the door-stop sized thickness of the book. YA sff isn't worried about the legends behind the magic, the origins of magic, or the development of the world--unless it directly relates to the characters. YA sff is much much much more concerned with the inner workings of the character's minds, not the inner workings of the world s/he inhabits.

Fast Plot: I'm not saying adult books don't have fast plot. But--like adult thrillers, suspense, and some romance sub-genres--YA is more focused on a page-turning plot than a literary level of contemplative wording. A YA is--like those other adult genres I mentioned--likely to end a chapter with an explosion or cliffhanger much more than a subtle allusion or rhetorical philosophical question.

Relationships: This is, I suspect, where the stereotype of YA having to have a boy-girl love factor in it. That's not true. But YA does tend to focus on some type of relationship: either a love one, or a relationship between friends, or even (such as in Laurie Halse Anderson's SPEAK) a relationship with one's own self. YA lit is character based, and nearly always, that character based format is developed through some form of relationship. (Compare this, for example, to Tolkein's LORD OF THE RINGS--although often lauded by teens, this series is not YA in part because the relationships between the characters, despite the foundation of the story being in the Fellowship, is minimized in comparison to an almost exclusive focus on Frodo's internal struggle.)

Size (maybe) Matters: YA does tend to be shorter than some adult literature. But not always (see: TWILIGHT, HARRY POTTER). The point is not that the stories need to be shorter, it's that in YA, every word counts. If you have 500 pages of words that count (which TWILIGHT and HARRY POTTER certainly do), then include it. If you've only got 150 pages of words that count, then do that. You will not see fluff in much YA, because the bottom line isn't the size of the text, but the impact of the story.

Any Topic or Genre Will Do: YA isn't about fitting one role, story-wise. You can have YA romance (Sarah Dessen), historical (Markus Zusak, MT Anderson), fantasy (Kristin Cashore), science fiction (Scott Westerfield), futuristic dystopian with a mix of romance and thriller (Suzanne Collins). The point is: in YA, it doesn't matter what your subject is, as long as you've got the characters, plot, and relationship to tell a good story. And don't think you've got to limit your story to a certain "age-appropriate" plot. YA runs the gamut of "acceptable": suicide (13 REASONS WHY), rape (SPEAK), eating disorders (WINTERGIRLS), homosexuality (THE BERMUDEZ TRIANGLE), incest (V.C. Andrews), and children thrown into an arena to kill each other in a bloodbath (HUNGER GAMES).

As I hope you can see, YA is not about a certain age range. Instead, YA is more of a genre in and of itself. Like romance, historicals, and suspense, YA has certain tropes--which are not restricted by age. Unlike childrens and MG books, YA is not limited to certain topics, and (despite the crazy censors) there is no real measuring stick for what's appropriate and what's not. Instead, YA literature is much more about character-based fast plots with a focus on relationships and making every word in the story contribute to the overall story. It has nothing to do with the age of the reader, despite where it's shelved in the bookstore.

17 comments:

Rebecca L Sutton said...

Fabulous post, Beth! I completely agree with you on these points. Most of them are why I love reading and writing YA so much.

Anonymous said...

This is a great definition of something that is so often incorrectly defined. Excellent job!

Cat said...

I applaude this post! Well written! *applause*

Back in my day, it was only called "teen" and not the fancy YA it is named now. Books were about 125-150 pages and they were just that - TEEN. But now? Now YA is so diverse and rich with plot and characters that you want to know in real life. Full of issues that teens (and adults) deal with every day.

I prefer YA to most adult lit because it's deeper and thicker in story than many adult books. I will be scared by a YA thriller, though when I read a book by Iris Johannsen now I have to skip every 3rd chapter so the charaters can get it on like bunnies and it doesn't have anything to do with the story! Gah!

My name is Cat. I am 33 and I adore YA books!

Unknown said...

Rebecca--Me, too! That's exactly why I love YA as well!

Regular Rumination--Thank you :) *humble bow*

Cat--Ha! I love your "confession" at the end!! And I agree. In the past, I think YA was much more what we'd call "upper MG" today. And there does seem to be more of a focus on plot than, for example, sex.

Natalie said...

This was such a smart analysis! I'm very impressed. I love reading YA.

Tana said...

I agree, there are so many genre's within YA, the label is almost to broad.

Heather Zundel said...

Dang, I think you said this as well as it can be said. Kudos and confetti to you!

PJ Hoover said...

Ah, the MG/YA question. I feel like I'm getting a better handle on this, though every so often I see books I feel are misrepresented at the bookstore (books in the YA section that I consider MG but are being marketed as YA).
Great post!

Danyelle L. said...

Great breakdown. :) I agree with you. YA and MG are my favorite genres for the very reasons you listed above. :D

Write2ignite said...

Great Post, Beth! You really put thought and research into this. Love the comparisons and reasons behind the genre. Nicely done!

peace,
Donna

Christine Fonseca said...

Absolutey perfect post Beth...and right on the money in my opinion!!! I had been thinking about this topic a lot of late - and you managed to put into words everything that has been in my head. Well done!

suzie townsend said...

Great post!

Elana Johnson said...

I love love love this post. Thanks Beth!

Clementine said...

You nailed this one, gal. Thank you for such an expanded definition!

Unknown said...

Aw shucks! Thanks guys ;)

Michelle D. Argyle said...

Interesting! I like this list! It helps me view YA in a whole new light. I'm bookmarking this one. :)

Christina Farley said...

Great post. This category in fiction is really developing. I wouldn't be surprised to see it move up into ages 19-22, like upper YA.