When searching Google, it’s clear that there are many different thoughts on what exactly Young Adult is. Interestingly, there are many who persist that young adult isn’t even a genre. The logic behind this is that young adult is simply a demographic; it’s a measurement of the largest audience for the book itself. This theory is supported by the fact that young adult books have different genres of their own. I’m inclined to agree personally, but there are also counter-arguments to this theory based on the fact that all genres tend to have sub-genres so what’s so different about young adult?
Whether you agree whether young adult is a genre or not, there is still a huge grey area on what actually qualifies as a young adult book. Things also get muddy due to the fact that there are large amounts of adults who also enjoy reading young adult. Some don’t even like the term young adult for fear they’ll be judged for reading a YA book. There’s certainly nothing wrong with older readers enjoying young adult books as many of them have mature themes despite featuring younger characters.
We decided it would be a good idea to list some of the things we here at Redtial enjoy about young adult books. Let us know if you agree.
Teenage protagonists
This may be obvious, but it’s something that’s not always understood. Young adult books are intended to appeal to a younger demographic, so the main character in a book should be a young adult themselves. Having teenage protagonists is always interesting to read about because we get to experience life through their eyes and take a look at how they would genuinely approach different obstacles.
Spider-Man is one of the most popular comic book superheroes because he is just a regular high school nerd who is unknowingly given powers; he then has an overwhelming about of responsibility. It’s never boring to see how a teenager would manage this unfathomable amount of responsibility (they keep making Spider-Man origin movies after all), and this is a common theme in YA fiction.
When the challenges faced in the story are relatable to a young adult
The main character(s) in the story should only be facing challenges that are easily understood by younger readers, but they don’t exactly have to be realistic challenges. Even if you’re an older reader you’ll still somewhat be able to relate as you were once young yourself, but at the core YA books should touch on themes that are prevalent to a young person, this gives the story both validation and authenticity.
Here are some common themes in young adult that are always well received:
- Self-discovery: finding one’s self
- Discovering romance: nothing is more innocent than young love
- Companionship: Friendships mean a lot to young people
- Rebellion: Adolescence is a huge part of growing up so it should not be absent in YA
These are just a few relatable themes that always go down well.
When there are subtle mature themes
There are multiple tiers of young adult fiction; there’s one aimed at younger readers (aged 12-14) which is more commonly referred to as “teen” fiction, then there’s the 12-18 age range to which young adult most commonly applies, and there’s even something known as “new adult” that’s supposed to cover books past the age of 18. To me personally, the term “new adult” is pointless because most of these books are just an excuse to write sexualised content with younger characters (18+), I prefer to just have the cut off for young demographic novels be the young adult age range and everything else that doesn’t fit within that can exist as other genres.
With that being said, I believe it’s okay for young adult books that are intended to cater to the (14-18) demographic to have slightly more mature themes. Mature themes can include death, murder, sexual tension, peer pressure and colourful language. An example of this is in the Harry Potter series; notice that the earlier books are much more child friendly and then the themes get darker with each book.
J.K Rowling had wonderful advantage here because her audience was literally growing with Harry as the wait between books was so long. Harry Potter fans will also remember the epic scene where Mrs Weasley refers to Bellatrix as a “bitch” before duelling her. Moments like this can be powerful, not simply for the fact that a swear word is being used, but because the sudden appearance of this language defines the intensity of the moment. In adult books that use swear words frequently, they eventually start to lose their sting. But in YA that is written for readers that are coming of age they can really enhance the writing if used correctly.
Mature themes can show growth in the characters, while also making younger readers more aware of situations.
There is variety under the Young Adult umbrella
As mentioned above, young adult books cover many different genres. This gives the young adult label range because there are so many different scenarios to put young protagonists in. Here’s a few popular genres for young adult:
- Fantasy
- Dystopia
- Steampunk
- Horror
- Historical
Because there are so many different themes in the young adult category it’s not difficult to find an exciting story when you’re in a reading mood.
When young adult speaks for all voices
Another great thing about YA is that authors can empower those that often don’t have voices. Teenage years can be tough, and young people are both trying to understand themselves and accept who they are. Having books that speak to these people means the world to them, even if they don’t realise it. The young adult category is more diverse than others in terms of the voices it caters to. I’ve seen YA books that include LBGT characters, people of all races and of course it’s popular to have a heroine as the main protagonist.
Experiencing the growth of characters
Young adult books often focus on long journeys, especially if it’s a series based story. The best writers have the ability to show the growth of the characters throughout the journey we take with them. Throughout the Harry Potter series we see Harry grow from a boy to a man, and the changes are apparent in the writing. He goes from being a hot head that lashes out without thinking, to a more calculating individual by the final book. Authors have the best opportunity to show character growth with YA just because young adults are always learning, thus it’s easier to show the growth than with writing a normal adult based story.
They’re easy to digest
Probably one of the most appealing things about YA books is that they’re more easily read than any other category of book. Author Chuck Wendig describes them as “shorter, punchier books”. It’s not unheard of to see large epic fantasy young adult fiction, but some of the most popular well-read YA books are around 70,000 words maximum. This encourages both young readers and adults to get through more young adult books as they’re easy to fly through and deliver on excitement.
What do you like about Young Adult fiction?
Every reader is different, so we would love to hear what others love about this exciting category.
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