Wait, what?
For me, the only thing that defines young adult literature as young adult literature is the fact that the main character are, indeed, young adults.
I don't care if the book is 320 pages or 754.
I don't care if it's about two teenagers falling in love or one teenager fighting to save an entire nation.
I don't care if it has one simplistic plot or if it has got more plots and characters than almost anyone can keep track of.
I don't care if the subject matter is dark and worrisome or if it's a lighthearted story.
I don't care if the writing is easy to read or if it's beautiful and elegant.
For me, the simple definition of a young adult novel is exactly that: a young adult novel. A novel with young adults.
What other definition do you need, really?
I like it :]
ReplyDeleteI think people look down on YA a lot because they just assume it's more simplistic which is definitely not always the case.
We talked about this at the Historical Novel Society conference, and that was essentially the verdict- YA protagonists is the only common denominator. Authors definitely should not try to *simplify* language or plot for the YA audience.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. I also really like the way you back up your non-examples of what makes something YA by providing pictures of covers. Nice!
ReplyDelete