Students are to post reactions (minimum 350 words) to the assigned reading linked below. Students are encouraged (but not required) to additionally respond to other student reactions.
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Middle Grade: A Conversation w. Editor Molly O'Neill: "As
you know, I have a marketing background, which means that whether or
not I intend it, one of the first things my brain starts thinking about
for a book is its readership: who is a book FOR? What kind of reader is
it going to reach, and how? Maybe instead of asking “What is middle
grade?” it’s easier to think about “Who is the middle grade reader, and
what is he/she looking for in a book?” I think that a middle grade
reader is often (and note, I’m speaking BROADLY, here) reading for one
of two reasons: to understand, or to escape. Middle grade readers who
read to understand look for stories that help them piece together the
truths that seem to be opening up all around them, about the world and
their place in it, and the connections between themselves and their
family, their community, their friends, etc. Or they’re reading to
understand about a different time/ place and what it was/would be like
to be a kid then. Or they’re reading to just understand how stuff works,
period—from the everyday mundane stuff to big concepts like justice and
honesty and friendship and happiness and love. Click heading to read the rest of the interview.
"A Definition of YA" by Brooklyn Arden: "So I've been thinking off and on about a practical definition of YA literature -- something I could look at to help me decide whether a manuscript is an adult novel or a middle-grade novel or, indeed, a YA. Such delineations don't matter to me as a reader -- a good book is a good book -- but they do matter to me as an editor and publisher, because I want every book I publish to find the audience that is right for it, and sometimes, despite a child or teenage protagonist, a manuscript is meant for an adult audience
An SFWA Introduction to Middle Grade & Young Adult: "For writers who are interested in writing middle grade or young adult fantasy or science fiction, the first step is puzzling out what exactly those categories mean. Science fiction and fantasy, after all, has a long tradition of featuring young protagonists — including such classics as Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey, Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings, and Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey — even if those novels weren’t originally published as middle grade or young adult books." Click heading to read the rest of the article.
"Middle Grade and YA: Where to Draw the Line?" by Judith Rosen: "Since Harry Potter first hit these shores in 1998, there’s been confusion over where best to shelve it: put it where most kids look for it, in middle grade (ages 8–12), or where the later, darker novels belong, in young adult (ages 12–up)? But J.K. Rowling’s books aren’t the only ones that fall into a gray area, especially as more kids aspire to “read up” because of popular films like Divergent and The Hunger Games. At the same time, adults have begun reading down, not just YA but also reaching for middle-grade books like Wonder and Out of My Mind, because they don’t want to miss out, either." Click heading to read the rest of the article.
16 comments:
I liked O’Neill’s explanation of the demographic that is middle grade readers. It acknowledges that the reasons why middle children of that age read could be caused by a number of different reasons, but they generally either want to learn about the world around them or want to escape from it. That’s why they don’t want to read about homework, or piano lessons, or anything with stakes that they’re too familiar with.
I believe that’s part of the reason why fantasy and science-fiction are so popular in the Middle Grade and Young Adult genres, in addition to what Malinda Lo mentioned on her website, of course. I also found it a fun coincidence that Klein and O’Neill were mentioned as well.
I found it interesting that Klein broke the qualities of a YA story into one sentence that was broken into five different parts. As I read her blog, I found myself agreeing with Klein. The experience and growth of a protagonist should be influenced by the world they find themself in. Obviously, the protagonist of a Young Adult book is typically a young adult, most often a teenager. They should be dynamic, going through scenes created by cause and effect, while staying close to a young adult’s viewpoint. However, many of these points could also apply to Middle Grade stories.
I like that Rosen used Harry Potter as an example of a “gray area”, since it’s one of those stories that matures with the readers. To explain what I mean, the first three books were what you would expect a Middle Grade story to be like, even if it explored themes like neglect and abuse. But book four begins with magical Nazis attacking a sporting event and ends with Cedric dying in front of Harry. The last three books have Harry fight in a war against the revived Voldemort. Needless to say, the stakes are a lot higher from the first three books. It’s because of examples like this in the literary world that I find myself agreeing with Rosen; the lines between Middle Grade and Young Adult are becoming increasingly meaningless, especially considering that all of the bullshit kids in the Middle Grade level have to deal allows them to handle more complex topics (at least in my opinion).
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Middle Grade: A Conversation w. Editor Molly O'Neill: "
I found the thought that one should read other current works in order to understand the current literary world -thus allowing oneself to use/break the mold effectively- to be a very simple but interesting one.
The idea that ‘quiet’ stories can carry just as much weight as other more bombastic stories is a thought I very much agree with, as virtually any narrative or plotline can be made enticing with the right prose and buildup and even if they’re small in scale that doesn’t mean they can’t carry a significant impact (though this does require a great deal of effort and skill). This goes for YA and MG, it’s all about execution and ensuring that the reader is able to comprehend the situation at hand.
I think the main difference between YA and MG stories truly lies in the maturity of its messages to the reader.
"A Definition of YA" by Brooklyn Arden:
Terms reaction:
1) I don’t think ‘growth’ and use of ‘emotional’ or ‘intellectual’ experiences is inherently unique to YA, as I feel it’s possible for any media for any age to discuss these matters in their own way. However in terms of the average literature given for any age group, I do think that these more introspective and mature ways of viewing oneself and the world around them is critical to YA stories, and even MG stories to a good extent.
2) I wholeheartedly disagree with the notion that YA novels ‘require’ a teenage protagonist. The traits of the main character have little to do with the overall quality, content, and maturity of a given narrative, they are simply tools to be used by the author to convey whatever complex or simple message they hope to share. I’ve read novels that follow children and adults alike which tackle ideas in a way that it makes them the proper maturity for Young Adults, and this is because they’ve utilized the characters and their traits in such a way that the topics covered are fitting for the YA label without the use of teenagers.
3) I feel the point of characters having choices is very generic and can be applied to any story.
4) Same issue, very generic criteria and can be applied to virtually any story.
5) I don’t think it’s explained very well in the original discussion, but I would agree that creating a mature exploration of the character’s perspective is something that is more unique to MG, YA, and Adult novels.
An SFWA Introduction to Middle Grade & Young Adult:
Yoskowitz -while I disagree with her saying that (pre) teen characters are central to MG/YA stories- provides an interesting thought that the situations which unfold define who a story is for, as due to the subjectiveness of this criteria there is a lot of room left over for other ages/groups to become an audience for the narrative (which Ranger also claims). I think Rutter understands this idea very well, as she too cites the specific content and the complexities of them as key defining feature of YA/MG novels. Whitman I felt gets a lot right and a lot wrong on this matter, as once again she cites the audience and character ages as strict criteria which I disagree with, but also touches on the matters of edgy subjects and graphic/mature material which separates YA apart from MG which I very much agree with.
"Middle Grade and YA: Where to Draw the Line?" by Judith Rosen:
I think the idea of taking away the hard line between MG and YA novels and instead embracing more of a gradient between the two -like some stores have been doing- acts as a good way to introduce new stories to potential readers. If you group stories by age but then make it clear how complex or engaging the subject material is, it can make it easier for an audience to explore higher/lower level stories that suit their tastes, either way making reading a better experience for everyone without the strict line between MG and YA.
As someone who dove into the young adult section frequently as a middle schooler and high schooler I appreciated the take of making “loud” stories. The use of “quiet stories don’t hold intrigue like a story where something is always happening. As a kid it is hard to get invested in a story where the plot isn’t super straight forward. No matter the intricacy there has to be some level of start and visible end.
A big aspect of young adult novels is the relatability to the characters. This means that a lot of the time the character has to be of similar age so that the experience is shared. This is a very good view especially for something like a series like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson when the character is the same age as the reader. The advantage to this is that their problems are relatable and easy to understand for someone of the same age. With a series you get to actually grow up with this character meaning that they are going through the same changes that you are as a teen reading a book about other teens no matter what kind of situation or powers whatever they are always gonna have similar problems.
Rosen talks about the distinction between what is a young adult and what is middle grade. Honestly it is really accurate. The main thing that seems to be a major difference is how we see scenes. With something that is MG we see a diary of a wimpy kid which is actually drawn out while something like the hunger games is drawn out using words rather than literal pictures.
I don’t agree with the demographics that were given for where MG stops and YA ends. They were all it stops at this time and starts at this time. I think it is more of a gradual transition. At least in my experience when I started to get into YA I didn’t just stop reading MG it took at least 2 years to make the full transition and even then you still go back and enjoy the books from when you were younger.
In Molly O’Neil’s “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Middle Grade” there is an exploration of why middle grade books are read by the young readers that I found interesting. She mentions that two main things are to understand and to escape, and that both things will be experienced by the reader most times. I always understood reading as a means of escape but never thought much of the way that children considered middle aged would use books as a way to understand themselves and the world around them, whether that be the past or the present. O’Neil also expresses the idea that the line between middle grade and YA is more so about perspective than content, which can be seen mirrored in some of other editors' beliefs in the other readings. The idea that children could read heavier content is not something that I considered okay, considering their “innocence” as Michele Barry references in “Middle Grade and YA: Where to Draw the Line?”. But the idea that this innocence may not be harmed in a sense if a child is more mature than believed for their age, then exploring more higher graded books becomes okay. Cheryl mentions in their “Theory: A Definition of YA Literature” how YA literature is often filtered through a teenage main character and the events have shape and meaning to them. The idea that middle aged children are able to explore within this realm becomes more questioning as those being characterized are older and therefore experiencing different and oftentimes more complicated things than the middle aged reader. In both “An Introduction to Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction, Part 1: Definitions” and “Middle Grade and YA: Where to Draw the Line?”, the question of readership and content is further looked upon. Editor Abigail Ranger mentions that all ages are able to enjoy the books that are middle aged and YA, which I can personally relate to as I tend to read both YA and Adult books, but she highlights how the books must speak to the kids and teens first of their respective classifications. I think that this is a really good take as literature can be enjoyed by all no matter the demographic it is aimed towards, but I do feel it’s important to make it appropriate for those intended readers. Judith Rosen mentions that as films get more popular adults tend to read down to stay within the loop and younger kids may read up to do the same, and with a world where media is growing and becoming more easily accessible by all age groups, I believe this is a good look on the way that it effects readership. I think that it’s great for everyone to be able to enjoy reading the same books and creating a community around them, but after reading all blogs, I believe it is also important to have those distinctions between what is middle grade and what is YA.
I think it's interesting how O'Neill talks about stakes in middle grade compared to YA. That line between a low stakes story and a dull story is hard to tread, and I do think some middle grade books miss the mark. Even if the stakes are in a real, relatable, world they should feel important to the reader, especially for middle grade. It's at that age where everything feels like a big deal, anyway, because you're kind of just learning how to be a person. Stakes are important in any book, even the ones about just real life or real problems.
It reminded me of a middle grade/YA book I read when I was a little older by accident called Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta. It toes that line between middle grade and YA, like how Yoskowitz talks about "the best kind of books leave room for crossover to an older or, sometimes slightly younger, audience." The story is about a family who is dealing with their mother having depression, centralized around Francesca, the daughter. I originally thought it was middle grade, but then saw some calling it YA. The stakes in this book were left high, but also very unsaid. The main character had to adjust to a lot, but it was written in a very passive tone, as if everything was just happening to her. Despite the book dealing with some darker themes, it still read like a middle grade book at times. I agree with Yoskowitz about a good book being able to appeal to both audiences at the same time, as these distinctions seems to stem from audiences, primarily.
Amanda Rutter brings up the idea of introspection (also one of my favorite middle grade books: Skulduggery Pleasant) and how it's more prominent in YA than middle grade. While I do agree with her to an extent, I think that middle grade can also be quite introspective a a middle schooler. Taking her own example of Skulduggery Pleasant, I would argue that we do spend quite a lot of time in Valkyrie's head (our protagonist) especially when she is separated from Skulduggery. We get a lot of her thoughts and how she has to, at a point, push the story along herself so it continues when she is cut out of it (my memory is murky, but something along those lines). I don't think it's so much the introspection versus extrospection that separates these two genres, and seems to be more about audience and age, and how characters react to other characters and external forces around them.
After the reading, the difference between middle grade and young adult feels more based on intuition rather than significant differentiating factors. The target age is the most consistent, being eight to twelve for middle grade with the protagonist slightly older at ten to thirteen. Young adult books target those ages thirteen to eighteen with characters ages fourteen and up. Another metric is content and themes, where middle grade has a lighter tone with a focus on friendship and adventure while avoiding mature subjects. The romance here would be limited to crushes and kisses. Meanwhile, young adult can dive into more controversial and violent themes, where romance can be explicit without reaching adult content.
Another difference is the writing style and voice where middle grade works are more straightforward while often being in the third person. The protagonist is often reactive with a focus on external events, with less introspection. They also usually do not take particularly long to accommodate younger readers. Young adult books on the other hand can have more sophisticated and introspective stories, more often written in first person to give an elaborate insight into the protagonist's psyche. They also tend to take significantly longer to create intricate plots and character development. A personal example that shows both middle grade and young adult is Percy Jackson. The first book "The Lightning Thief" is much more lighthearted with the death of Percy's mother being her just vanishing and later coming back by the end of the book. Nine books later in "The House of Hades" Percy and Annabeth are lost in the underworld and drink from the River of Fire to survive, which is composed of agony and pain. It's clear there is a transition between middle grade and young adult, but when is much more debated upon due to the gradual escalation.
Many of these factors can blend to blur the lines and certain topics and themes can be debated to fall into both middle grade and young adult. Both have the goal of engaging and entertaining their audiences using their respective strengths. However, many books don't fit neatly into either category. Part of the issue is that some of these guidelines that should differentiate middle grade and young adult aren't clear. Despite these unclarities, both groups create incredible stories that have inspired generations.
If there is one thing in particular that I can take away from the readings is that the categorization process of these stories is a very complex matter. While yes, the labels of Middle Ground, Young Adult, and Adult novels could help differentiate the recommended ages for certain stories, that is not to say that it can be applied to every reader of that age category. While someone in the Middle Ground age category of reading might normally find novels that appeal to them in that section of the bookstore, there might be YA novels that have an appealing storyline for more advanced readers. The same situation could be applied to reverse, even though older readers are encouraged to look towards YA and Adult novels for entertainment (as many of the topics touched upon in these books would apply to them), every once in a while the idea of reading a book in a lower reading level could be appealing. Reading levels aren't the only factor in deciding what is best for each individual reader, but also the appropriateness of the material presented in the books. Some YA novels are very tame and have material that younger audiences could understand and retain without many consequences, but books with heavier topics, like for example, The Hunger Games, could be seen as inappropriate for those of a certain age range, considering the fact that the series details elements of death, torture, malnutrition, sexual themes, and political corruption (all of which are topics that are either too grown up or too complicated for younger audiences to understand). So, what's my opinion on how important these labels are? Very important. That's not to say I don't believe they'll become obsolete at one point, but in the direction we're going as a society with kids becoming more technologically savvy, they might get the ability to read any book they desire without any kind of parental supervision. However, at the rate we're going as a society, who knows whether children will even remain interested in reading after a certain point. But these labels are of great importance when it comes to weighing in what books would appeal more to specific audiences.
I think that the conversation between trying to differentiate middle grade from YA has potentially made the lines more confusing than what they were before reading these posts and discussions. It is obvious that age plays a big part in separating middle grade and YA readers since middle schoolers usually fall between the ages of 8 and 12 and YA occupies the teen ranges. Maybe age is not the main signifier and it is the experiences that come with said age. “So maybe the line between middle grade and YA maybe has more to do with perspective than content?” (Molly O’Niell). O’Niell brings up how the perspectives of the different book classifications might play a role in separating the two. I think that this could make sense only for readers who want to read about perspectives of those in their age group. But what about the ones who want to read from the perspective of an age group they will soon fall under?
In addition, the perspective point can come into play from the writers of these types of books as well. Who are they trying to market this book to and how do they do it? “A symptom of this problem that I see very often in middle grade submissions is “writing down” to the reader. This is can take the form of trying-too-hard dialogue (“Zoinks, bud! We need to skedaddle out of here before our ‘rents come biz-ack.”)” (M.B.). Here, we get an idea that writers of middle grade purposely ‘dumbs down’ their stories. They may feel as though middle grade readers are incapable of reading something that requires more ‘brain power’ or what not. But that is the problem with looking at books with an age aesthetic. “Speaking of problems you often see, I think one of the most common ones I run across in middle grade is “low stakes”” (Molly O’Niell). Furthermore, middle grade books are not just dumbed down in its writing, but its plot as well. I think the Percy Jackson series is the perfect example of a book that can potentially cross between both middle grade and YA (though I feel it is best in middle grade). But are there people really ready to say middle schoolers can’t understand the threat of the end of the world?
What I did find interesting out of the linked readings was how Cheryl described YA novels. “And that is that a YA novel should end with hope, that there must be some thread of a ghost of a promise of a happy ending or more growth” (Cheryl). It seemed like a simple point to bring up because it would relate back to the plot structure that ‘the Hero’s Journey’ allows, but that is still something I had never noticed before. Katniss wins, Harry Potter wins, the children of the Gods (Greek and Roman) wins. Charlie from The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Hazel from The Fault in Our Stars both end their stories better from their experiences and ready to push forward. While I would assume that middle grade stories also end with hopeful endings, that would also cause more confusion in the fight over what book genre means what. If both middle grade and YA novels have to end on good notes, then is there really that much of a difference between who can read what?
I found it very interesting that most of these articles mentioned the protagonists of MG/YA novels are roughly the same age as their target audience, which makes a lot of sense to me. Having the protagonist be in the same age range as the target audience allows for the young readers to connect with the book easier. I also appreciated how the articles mentioned how most of these stories tend to happen to the protagonist and do not take up too much time in their heads. The connection between this and the age range was very illuminating, because it's true that most first-time experiences come at that age range: "YA novels require a protagonist at an adolescent stage of life, between childhood and the full rights and privileges of adulthood. I do not think this is true of children's books, particularly picture books (that is, that they must have a child main character); but I think it's true of teen books, because life between the ages of 14-18 is such a unique time, full of so much intensity and so many firsts, that only a very sheltered adult or a very advanced child could have those same sorts of experiences and changes."
I think the Brooklyn Arden website provided great guidelines for defining MG/YA books. But I think young readers can handle existential dread if it is presented to them properly. I don't think all stories need a hopeful ending. I think existential dread is one of the most important fears to conquer when you're young (I'm thinking about the time my 8 year old self scared the crap out of my cousin by telling him he was gonna die one day and go to heaven or hell). Or a book could help kids form their own meaning to their life. I think starting them young would only set them up for success. If a YA novel can have depictions of sex or violence, I think a little existential dread wouldn't hurt.
I think all the articles really made for an interesting deep dive into what makes MG and YA its own genre with its own rules. Before reading I never realized how distinct these books can be from other books meant for an older audience. Already the realization that the MG and YA protagonists are younger than other protagonists from adult novels made me think hard about how to write. There was one article mentioning how in marketing a book you keep in mind the readers and that makes so much sense. It truly is surprising how I did not really consider that beforehand in my writing.
Truthfully I do not see myself writing exclusively for younger readers but I can see how this knowledge helps me. When I was writing my piece for the workshop I had problems creating characters or plot points that did not seem graphic. It is still a problem I encountered and I am not sure if I fully fixed it by the final draft. Even then, I still could use this empathetic knowledge to create stories that gear more towards the people I believe could appreciate it more. This difference is not as close as I thought it would be and I think anybody who is thinking for being an author should think about this deeply.
Also I appreciate how these articles talk about the genre. I feel that I have definitely encountered readers who looked down on many genres including MG and YA fiction. I personally think that is unfair as younger readers should have good quality work that gets them excited and educates them in life. I think the authors who put in the effort to turn a vast art medium like writing into something approachable for younger people is commendable. I think it is a very important genre and it is great that there is a market for these books to thrive in and gain notoriety for the demographic that they want to inspire.
I still think that kids should not be the end all readers for these books. Many people want to enjoy media that takes them back to a better time and that is perfectly fine. I hope this thought becomes more accepted in the future.
The foundation of what makes a Young Adult or Middle Grade novel is their ability to integrate a world through pure description. The fact that the majority of those works tend to have a teenager as the focal point we learn the story from only adds to that simplicity, since it makes it easier to envelop the target audience in the thought process of the funneled view the author grants. What the reader can sympathize with is given an ease of understanding through its accessibility, and it makes the story all the more easier to cast a wide net. The best approaches I have seen of such being a highly thought-fixated first-person narrative, where the majority of the story is purely the protagonist’s rambling clearly muddling the coherence of the story, and a loose first-person point of view, where the perspective is purely told for a degree of relatability while the author envelops the pages with description of the world they have crafted. Both have their merits, but they are still fixated on the concept of drowning the reader in details in order to place them into their world.
I find that the key to enveloping the reader into a Young Adult or Middle Grade story is to envelop them in details, regardless of how mundane. Dystopias or school-based stories tend to utilize that trait the most, since they follow the route of directly telling the reader about the world. Whether it be through having the protagonist suddenly experience a nigh tour of the world itself, or it be literally taught in a school setting or through another character who is eager to dump exposition. It is something that only those genres are able to get away with, since the art of subtlety makes it hard to ignore those glaring leads in older target audiences. That is not to say that they are bad, it is just that the trail of breadcrumbs that Young Adults or Middle Grade stories tend to be blatant in the lead they leave the reader. The art of connecting those points properly is the refinement that defines an author.
The question of the necessity of keeping YA and Middle-grade age groups separate is an interesting question, especially how the first article brings up the question if the distinctions are growing increasingly more meaningless. Some stores don't make a distinction between the two, while others separate them into different clear sections. I think that there's still some definite differences between them. The marketing is one thing, sure, how the readers come across them: YA sales are often from word of mouth while Middle-grade is from organized, coordinated pushes from programs. Maybe economically there’s a difference between the two, and how an author will try to “market their book” to audiences and people who will buy the books, but that’s not what I’m talking about.
"Will there be a time when the distinction between middle grade and YA won’t matter? I hope not--I think there are real differences in how kids and teens view the world." What the two groups want to get out of a story is going to be much different - middle grade books feature pre-teen characters in situations of interest to 8-12 year olds, and YA novels feature protagonists in situations of interest to teen readers, as Lisa Yoskowitz said. Which is obvious when said out loud, but there's a reason why there’s two target audiences for the readers.
The difference in plot and how characters interact is also interesting. Rather than there being a difference in genre, there's a focus on describing the audience and what they want to get out of a story. In middle grade, the protagonist reacts to external situations and events, and are generally shorter. There isn’t much introspection from the protagonist. Rather than containing more explicitly graphic depictions of difficult subjects, it avoids showing them, even if it doesn't avoid talking about those things.
But in YA novels, the protagonist is more introspective, and they proactively rather than reactively participate in the story. Whitman talks about there being a "younger" and "older" YA - one where the former will be closer to MG in how it handles certain subjects but still being more mature in general, and the latter will be more willing to contain subject matter in a more direct way… I’m not sure on how sold I am on that, but I can see where she’s coming from. Wanting to read edgier stories when I finally was old enough to experience them on my own was something I actively went to go out of my way to find, but I think that’s more of how I was limited in what I could interact with at my age rather than wanting to find that subject matter for the sake of it.
In my opinion, as teenagers grow older and have to bear more responsibility in their lives, where they feel uncertain where they are in life, they need something that will help guide them, give advice, or comfort them (or all three!) so that they feel more prepared for the outside world. It’s the same for middle grade readers, but their perspective is different.
The difference is in priority. While there's a difference in content, the things that the readers want to get out of the stories are just different from each other.
Reading these articles, I got the sense that middle grade and young adult literature are hard to pin down and categorize. Many of the definitions from the different articles contradicted each other, and some excluded a significant number of books. I thought of Tolkien’s “The Hobbit,” for example, which is usually regarded as a middle grade book but isn’t written from the perspective of a young person—a “rule” that came up several times in the readings. It’s interesting that, in contrast, picture books are “allowed” to be from the perspective of animals, plants, objects, etc., and adult books can be written from the point of view of children (like “To Kill a Mockingbird”). I am curious why this freedom isn’t given to MG and YA, and I would be interested to see more books in these genres that experiment with the perspective they are written from while still keeping their young audience in mind and using language/topics that these age groups can understand/connect with.
Another interesting point in the readings was the idea that middle grade books should not have low stakes (from “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Middle Grade: A Conversation with Editor Molly O'Neill”). O’Neill suggests that writing about the average and ordinary in middle grade can come across as dull. I like that this point was followed up by clarifying that everyday experiences can become creative/interesting or seem to have high stakes through a unique narrator/voice and style. This is something I really agree with and think is sometimes underestimated by adults, who don’t always have an accurate idea of what is interesting to children. For instance, one of my favorite middle grade books as a child was “The Thing About Luck” by Cynthia Kadohata—after I finished the book, I remember reading a review of it online that claimed it was a very good book but would probably be boring for children because it wasn’t really “about” anything. Although it was definitely much more character driven than plot driven, this didn’t bother me even as a child because the characters seemed so vivid and human, and I loved getting to know them through their emotional journeys. I think children have more complexity and intelligence than people sometimes give them credit for. Because of this, I’m not sure if I agree with Brooklyn Arden’s suggestion in "A Definition of YA" that “a YA novel should end with hope, that there must be some thread of a ghost of a promise of a happy ending or more growth.” It seems a bit unnecessarily limiting, as if young readers can’t handle sad/dark endings.
I think it will continue to become harder and harder to define Middle Grade vs Young Adult Writing. As the publisher weekly article said, kids like to read up and adults like to read down. The definitions are becoming more vague due to the interests of the audience. To me there are two parts that define reading level. First is the topic of the story and second is the diction. Very adult topics can be explained in simple words and very complex words can be used to explain simple topics. Not only is it becoming harder to define I also think it is becoming less important to define the two categories. At this point people should read what they want to. If it isn't to hard for them or isn't too mind numbing than why would it matter. Also literature and stories are something that grow up with people. For example how Harry Potter started in a middle grade topic it ended with darker themes. This would push it towards Young Adult territory. From an audience perspective this makes a lot of sense. The kids who read the first book are going to be young adults when they read the last. In reality to the MG or YA way of looking at books don't matter to readers they matter to the people who are trying to market to the readers. Convincing kids parents to buy them books or convincing adults to buy the books for themselves. But, now with technology kids have so much more access to the world, so in turn it becomes harder to define what should and should not be in a kids book. They are growing up faster and in order to keep up with them the books need to grow up faster as well. Middle grade and Young Adult are not these stagnant categories because the world itself is not stagnant. There are new lessons to be learned and new stories that need to be told. When it comes down to the basics these are just dying marketing strategies that are not going to work forever.
I like the awareness O'Neil has when writing about middle grade fiction. Children that age are capable of learning a lot and consuming complex media, however in the end they are trying to learn more about the world in their current young age and are at times looking to these external stories to teach them or go new places that they haven't learned yet, To me that also relates to how consuming younger targeted media when you are outside the target audience for it. Adventure time, regular show, or something like Gravity Falls are great stories that don't take themselves any less seriously for being targeted at children, however its important to acknowledge that that is the audience they have in mind at the start. Meaning that of course the stories aren't any worse for that, but whether it be a rating limit or an aspect of the storytelling, there are aspects of storytelling that these stories won't touch because that's not their purpose. It's sort of the same understanding as what I came away with when reading the difference between Middle grade and YA, middle grade can always be something to enjoy, but just acknowledge what that rating means for its story.
Stories like Percy Jackson can still be appreciated and held in high regard, however it just should be kept in mind that the book's rating means that the author's intent when writing is limited in some regards because of the audience he had in mind when writing it is largely still a demographic with a lot more to learn about the world. It's not that younger audiences don't consume thought provoking media, it's that their media has a lot more to go through versus older audiences that do know more about the world that opens up the avenue to have what they know be deconstructed in order to create that deeper discussion
- Doinkus
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