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I will give you a topic, discuss amongst yourselves
Actually, this is something I've been wondering for a while now.
Are YA books actually intended solely for young adults anymore? Because it seems like a lot of YA bestsellers are becoming more and more popular with the decidedly not-so-young adult set, and I'm wondering if authors have started keeping older audiences in mind when they set out to write books in the YA genre.
I can't say I read very much YA myself, nor do I imagine that I'll be writing it any time soon. Which is not an insult to the genre. I can see why readers outside the advertised age bracket are attracted to some of the books coming out in the genre. Many of them are better written, less cliche, and all around more exciting that some of the so-called "adult" fare.
However, I guess the genre boundaries interest me, as well as what attracts adult readers to some of the works in the genre and what factors into the minds of those who write it. How does writing a book for a younger audience change what you do, or does it?
For that matter, how does one differentiate between a book that's "YA" and a "children's book" or a "middle grade" book - and where did the term "Young Adult" originate from?
Are YA books actually intended solely for young adults anymore? Because it seems like a lot of YA bestsellers are becoming more and more popular with the decidedly not-so-young adult set, and I'm wondering if authors have started keeping older audiences in mind when they set out to write books in the YA genre.
I can't say I read very much YA myself, nor do I imagine that I'll be writing it any time soon. Which is not an insult to the genre. I can see why readers outside the advertised age bracket are attracted to some of the books coming out in the genre. Many of them are better written, less cliche, and all around more exciting that some of the so-called "adult" fare.
However, I guess the genre boundaries interest me, as well as what attracts adult readers to some of the works in the genre and what factors into the minds of those who write it. How does writing a book for a younger audience change what you do, or does it?
For that matter, how does one differentiate between a book that's "YA" and a "children's book" or a "middle grade" book - and where did the term "Young Adult" originate from?
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The more things change, the more they stay the same, huh? That does seem, to my mind, to be a pretty good description of it. Though I kind of wonder what teenage boys are reading these days, because it seems like a lot of the YA fantasy out there is either pointed at girls or made extremely girl friendly.
I didn't realize that that McKillip's books had been re-released as YA. I knew that OSC's "Ender's Game" (yes, I know, I too feel bad mentioning He Who Shall Not Be Mentioned on this LJ), was remarketed rather a while back and it always struck me as odd, because Ender's Game was held up as a stunning book for adults and had a lot of adult fans before it was remarketed.
Do you think there will be a lot of shelf shifting in the coming years?