Young Adult Fiction

[ravenus]

But does not the term adult mean grown-up? Young adult sounds like an oxymoron to me.

[Teresa Edgerton]

It's a term used by publishers and booksellers so that people will know where to shelf the books in bookstores and libraries, ravenus. It's defined pretty loosely, these days, particularly by people like us who are neither publishers nor booksellers, and particularly since a lot of sf/fantasy books that were not published as YA when they first came out are being repackaged and sold that way.

So, loosely speaking, it means books written for young teenagers and bright pre-teens. Since kids typically like to read about characters a few years older than themselves (exploring the next stage in their life as it were) the theory would be that older teens have passed on to more adult fare, and wouldn't be caught dead anywhere near the children's section anyway. (Once we are old enough to pass ourselves off as parents or teachers, those of us with a taste for these books venture boldly forth in search of them again.) The protagonists in YA fiction are young and the books are usually (but not always) shorter than books written for adult readers (therefore the plotting less complex) but the writing and the literary quality can be quite high, because aimed at the teachers and librarians who form a large part of the market.

[Alia]

Originally Posted by rune

There seems to be two types of young adult fantasy fiction. Children and Teens.

The children books are for very young adults and I think a few of the books in this thread for into that bracket.

Teens on the other hand are more mature young adult books, Lian Hearn's Otori series falls under that label. It's a more mature story for very young children, but doesnt go into the detail that an adult book would

I know that Teen and Children books are kept in two different places in the book store. Tamora Pierce, Madeleine L'engie and Robin McKinley are all in the teen sections while Gail Carson Levine and Susan Cooper where found in the children's section. (I have to make a note though that on Cooper's book it says Teen Fantasy, but I did bought it in the children's section)

I'm sorry about that, it was the first thought that jumped into my head.

Besides the difference in where you buy them in the store there is also how they are written. Gail and Susan's books are very simple reading. There isn't much thought process to figuring things out. They aren't too envolved with emotion, nor do they make situations to scary or complex for the young reader. The books are also smaller too in size. I would think that Lemony Snicket's Series fall under this category. Very simple despite all the orphans face.

Also, in a children's book they use small easy words and explain things several times. In Lemony Snicket's books when he uses a 'big' word he also tells the reader what it means it's his trade mark in all of his books. As a reader grows so does the complexity of their stories. The situations and emotions get more involved. In a Teen book the words become more challenging along with situations, but you won't find the content in them that are in adult books.
I read children and teen books with my kids. Since my kids are into thier own little projects lately I have more time to read adult books. I feel that I'm always behind in my reading.

[ravenus]

Thanks for the explanation
When I was in school the most I read in fiction other than comics was Hardy Boys...and then all those Stephen King and assorted other horror books from the local paperback library :evil:

[GOLLUM]

GODAMMIT I've started a monster here, didn't know there were so many mental giants lurking around these boards HE HE..

NO seriously everyone, I'm glad I started this thread, it's been a real education, especially the current discussion on YA classification!

Certainly an education for an old timer like me.

Have a great day Y'all!!

[Alia]

What language, Gollum! And in the youth section!
Just teasing.

Hey I wanted to thank you for reading those stories for me. I think you nailed my problems right on! I appreciate you taking the time! And by the way, I called you 'The Master', I don't remember calling you 'a genius', or was that implied.

Also, I'm a bit of a math whiz (I actually went to college to become an accountant) and I was figuring out your age. If you started reading at age 5 and have been reading Scifi for 25 years, then your what? 30? Granted this is assuming that you started reading Scifi at age 5, and it is possible. So that means your younger than me! So watch the old timer jokes!

[Teresa Edgerton]

Well I, for one, am hardly a mental giant. I've just been interested in these things for a long time. (If we're discussing age ...) I worked briefly in a library, mostly in the children's section (by choice), and years later even more briefly in a bookstore. In between, I raised four children, volunteered in the grade school library, and took up writing. It would be strange if I hadn't picked up some information about these things along the way.

I'm planning to clean up my little hobbit-hole of a home office one of these days, at which time I'll probably unearth some more books that I forgot to mention.

[Alia]

Kelpie, I'm sorry about the referrence to age. It was to tease Gollum with his talk about being old. He has mentioned it several times now. I love children books and I'm glad I have another child who hasn't started reading yet so I can read all his books too. Working as a librarian would be an awesome job, especially for book lovers! I choose to work at home to raise the children. I'm extremely busy and reading is a luxury around here. Youth books have been all I can squeeze into the schedule at times.
Alia

[GOLLUM]

Please chill out Y'all I was only jesting but I promise to refrain form using the "A" word in future.

UM.. not bad arithmetic mate, actually I'm just over my mid 30's, that it so say I was around when Mr Armstrong and friends landed on that shiny thing so I guess that makes me your senior HE HE..

Take care everyone and please keep smiling!!!

[Teresa Edgerton]

Yes, I've always thought that being a librarian would be a great job. Me, I was always just one of the serfs that real librarians get to order around.

I also chose to stay/work at home, until my children were mostly grown up. By cleverly refusing to make laundry, vacuuming, and dirty dishes any kind of priority, I managed to get in quite a bit of reading, though. Helping out in the school library was a good way to present myself as a concerned and involved parent and get my hands on some good books.

[rune]

I could do with getting a job at my library, the books are never in order, quite often under the wrong headings and have hardly anything in stock

[Teresa Edgerton]

I just finished reading, in the last week, The Singer of All Songs, by Kate Constable -- a new book by a new YA author. Interesting world-building, engaging characters. I liked her world so much, I would have liked a little more description, but even so there were moments when I could picture it all very clearly.

A book I should have mentioned before in this thread:

The Box of Delights, by John Masefield (lost my copy, just ordered a new one from Amazon, since it's one of those books I want to read to my grandchildren, as soon as I get some, and I intend to have a copy on hand). I read this one to my oldest daughter when she was in the hospital with an allergic reaction to a bee-sting, and always came home hungry due to descriptions of food in the book. It incorporates two of my favorite themes: magic and Christmas, and it is a thoroughly enchanting story.

[Mark Robson]

Originally Posted by ravenus

What does young adult fiction mean? How is it different from books for schoolkids? Or is this again one of those annoying PC terms?

The whole young adult thing is a marketing ploy. To the younger ones it says - 'Hey, read this and you're reading like an adult.' To the parents it says 'It's OK to read this, because it's in the young "adult" section, which is currently in vogue.'

In reality, many of the young adult fantasy books are easy reading adult fantasy in disguise. I would place my own books in this category, purely because that was the most effective way of marketing them to the widest possible audience. However, 20 years ago, if this section had been in the book shops, you might have found The Belgariad, or McCaffrey's Pern series there - they are written at a similar level to many of the books you will find in this section.

I would add to the list Katherine Langrish's 'Troll Fell' - see my review in the review section. Also, Phillip Reeve's 'Mortal Engines' 'Predators Gold' and 'Infernal Machines'.

[a|one]

I cant stand "Young Adult" fiction. I havent actually read that much (Eddings, Salvatore, Rowling(1) and some others I started but didnt finish - havent read any of it in a long while) but it feels like the dumbed down version of sf/f. Its like the antithesis of GRRM, no substance no reality no complicated concepts, just light predictable books about obvious morals. While I did go through a couple years where it was mainly what I read, I dont recall ever feeling "in to it", and once I had the vocabulary necessary for greater things I havent ever looked back. I apologize to Mark and others who write in this genre, but it just isnt for me and reading it makes me understand why so few "Young Adults" choose to read.

[Teresa Edgerton]

Well, actually, around here, there was a Young Adult section in most large chain bookstores twenty years ago, and they didn't put Eddings or McCaffery's books there. The term really had (and has) as much to do with the age level of most of the main characters as with the literary quality, vocabulary, or complexity.

I first encountered the term in libraries, about thirty-five years ago, when the drill for YA speculative fiction was generally this: in bookstores, in with the general SF and Fantasy, but in libraries, over in the kids section, either as a YA or Juvenile (or both).