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.
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.
11 comments:
I read each article linked for Young Adult vs Middle Grade fiction. Of course, there’s a distinction between the two, Middle Grade gearing towards a younger, more naive and innocent audience, and young adult gearing toward an older and more mature audience, usually around the teen years and older. That is not to say that readers in the age realm of Middle Grade don’t read Young Adult fiction, and vice versa. In the article with Judith Rosen, it’s mentioned how adults have been reading down not just into Young Adult fiction, but Middle Grade fiction as well. In the SFWA article, one literary agent says that adult readership of Young Adult fiction can be as high as 40%. Despite each book trying to be marketed for a particular audience, a good book is a good book, and booksellers will market toward the readers that are willing to buy and read their novel. One thing that the Rosen article mentioned was, “there are real differences in how kids and teens view the world.” While this can be true, the experience of life is subjective. A person’s perceptions, experiences, and emotions are distinct and unique. My point of view could be fundamentally different compared to someone else’s. A kid, aged ten, for example, could have vastly different experiences compared to a fifteen year old. One child could have grown up in a stable and supportive environment, while another could have gone through hardships, dealt with loss, and may have matured quicker than most children their age. Cultural backgrounds/dynamics, socioeconomic status, and individual personality traits can also affect how a young individual interprets and interacts with the world around them. Does this mean that the line between Middle Grade and Young Adult fiction should be erased? No, definitely not. But I do think that it’s one of those lines that readers can willingly cross or blur, depending on who that reader is. The categories themselves are still a useful tool, helping to guide parents, teachers, librarians and young readers toward novels that would best be appropriate for them. A strict enforcement of that line can do a disservice to some readers. Getting the right book into the right reader’s hands is still the overall goal.
- Scarface
After reading the four articles for this week’s assignment, I’m not sure where I stand in terms of what is, and what isn’t MG/YA, and what each truly means. Based on the readings and my own personal feelings toward the conversations, I think that’s sort of the point–MG and YA are up to the discretion of the publisher/library/author/book store/agent. There are very broad definitions of each genre, and referring to them as genres might be too broad a claim as well. In the Molly O Neil interview, I like the mention of how MG is an escape for kids, often from boredom. I was heavily related to the feeling of being bored with summer, and needed something new to do, so I would turn to what I did during the school year, and read. At that time, at least in the summer, reading was always a last resort because I felt there was so much more to do; however, I have such close memories of the books I read during the summer to fill the lazy days. I also liked the interview's mention of how to make the reader care about what the writer has to say, “But if the story is constructed well, and the voice is strong, the writer can make us care very much what happens in these more everyday struggles.” In the second article, I enjoyed the discussion of the immediacy of the teenage perspective. I think it goes unnoticed when you’re reading YA books at the age they’re written for, but it’s pretty crazy how many emotions and experiences they harp on. The most interesting thing that caught my eye in these readings was how different perspectives have a major impact on perceptions of the genres. This was discussed in the third reading mostly through quotes from people in the publishing industry. It was cool to read how different jobs lead to different relationships with the book, which then decides how that person feels about the bounds of MG and YA. This is connected to an idea in the 4th reading that publishers may change the boundaries of MG and YA for financial reasons and try to sell the book to the most profitable audience, even if it isn’t necessarily written for that audience. While I don’t have definitive definitions of MG and YA, I feel more assured in how they overlap and differ.
Before going into the articles, my first stand on YA vs MG books was that YA books are usually more mature. Growing up, my parents always used this difference to determine if the book I was reading was clean enough for my age. They would cut to the (8-12) section in the libraries, because it was much easier to pick out an appropriate book without skimming through the pages. In "Middle Grade and YA: Where to Draw the Line?" by Judith Rosen, she mentions how a lot of younger readers can feel insecure when reading cleaner books out in public because it can reflect on their maturity. While that wasn’t the case for me, I can see how a lot of readers can feel that way. Reading should be a tool that expands your understanding of the world around you. A way for you to find yourself and learn something new. Only reading age specific books can definitely feel constricting. However, I also agree that the age rating of a book never matters at the end of the day. It’s the content and message that the reader receives. Some of the books that have had significant impacts on my life were books I read back in middle school that were shelved in younger classrooms. The reason why so many adults are choosing to read MG books is because of the real world lessons that they teach the reader. While simple, they take you back to an imaginary world with unique fictional characters and simple straightforward lessons. A lot of older books can feel duller and repetitive with no real motive. At the end of the day, I don't think books should be divided into “YA or MG” categories, but rather, should be divided into the contents present in it, so that the reader can decide what they think they’re ready to dive into.
While there is a categorical divider between what is a Middle Grade novel and what is a YA novel, the line is still vague. People read outside their age range and skill level all the time- it is very normal. We see this a lot with kids picking out books they know to be popular in the YA section, while teens may go back into reading MG to see what they missed out on. And while that line dividing what is or isn't MG/YA is there, it isn't concrete. Of course, there are tropes and stories commonly associated with both MG and YA novels that are specific to the genre, and that affects the writing choices the author makes. When you write a novel or any story, you do have to keep your audience in mind in order to relate to them/draw their focus to your story. Connecting with your audience is just as important as writing a good story because you can have a really good story and still have no one read it because the audience wasn't there for it. They didn't feel represented or felt like the problems of the story could relate to them. You have to think of your audience, and that doesn't mean simplifying your writing- it just means striking a balance between an interesting narrative and a core that connects to the intended audience. Of course that is easier said than done, as many writers aim to write from experience and that has its limits when trying to appeal to a mass audience. The events you write about cannot be too specific of an experience where only a small subset of your audience may relate to it, but the experience can't be boring either. There are many 'what to do' and 'what not to do' in writing that it can often times feel more caging than freeing, but I think the advice given has merit. If you want your works to be read, you need an audience to get started. Whether it be through regular publishing or self publishing, you'll always be writing for an audience and you have to think of them while writing even if you don't want to. I don't want to sometimes but I recognize that purposely excluding or ignoring a part of an audience isn't very beneficial. Audience fuels your work, and you benefit greatly when you write stories for them.
I read the article, “Middle Grade and YA: Where to Draw the Line?” and the part that stood out to me at the beginning of the piece discussed how it’s important to present a middle grade or YA book not just based on age, but well-suited for the kid standing in front of you. This reminded me of when I was younger because it’s at that age when kids start to develop their own taste in books. So by providing them with stories they are actually interested in reading, helps cultivate their love for reading even more. Similar to a discussion in the article, “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Middle Grade”, where they talk about the special worlds and magic, which middle grade books can provide for a kid as they help build their imagination. I also really liked the idea of two different middle grade readers: one trying to understand and one using books as escapism. People are often both kinds of readers, even as they continue to grow up and read more. The understanding is seeking relatability in characters or explanations of the world around them while escapism is diving into new worlds, magic, new adventures. Since these are such broad generalizations of the average middle grader reader, it gives authors lots of variety as to what they can write about and in turn, gives readers so much more to explore, This also can allow them to create their own taste when it comes to finding books for themselves not just an age group. The article also mentions the important ways that an author can make a story memorable and I think this is the most important thing to consider when writing books geared towards middle grade readers because a lot of my favorite books as a kid have stuck with me up to adulthood, because they have shaped my life in some way. This also connects to the idea of boundaries between middle grade and YA novels in books stores and libraries because those books I read as a tween will not have the same impact on me as they did when I was a teen. - PinkPowerRanger
Amber/Gremlin: After reading this week’s articles, I had an interesting time thinking them over, and going back in my own mind to try to answer the questions I asked myself. I have worked with kids of all ages for three and a half years as a private music instructor. In my time teaching, I saw first hand how different kids can be despite being in the same age bracket. Different kids are at different stages in their reading journeys, and wish to consume all different forms of content. I definitely empathize with the challenge of where to put what in terms of determining how to advertise certain YA/MG novels.
Something that I do believe should be “enforced” if you will, is the separation of books for “older” and “younger” children. I am by no means an expert on literature for minors, but I found myself thinking back to my own literature when I was growing up. I don’t know if this is still popular, but I remember reading books about things like sex and drugs in middle and high school, in books that were targeted to my age group. I’m not a prude. I don’t believe I was any worse off for reading that content at that age. However, there is a clear difference between Harry Potter and Go Ask Alice, books I both read when I was twelve in the cafeteria next to a cold pizza.
After perusing these articles, I don’t particularly have any answers on how to go about marketing these things any more than the people asking the questions. People spend thousands of dollars on marketing degrees and still have to go through a lot of trial and error to be successful in what they’re selling. I think the discussion is definitely worth having. As generations move through the YA age demographic, the norms of content will surely shift as well. I think it will be interesting to monitor how it changes over time.
After reading these four articles, I think my understanding of the differences between young adult and middle grade fiction has become a lot stronger. The difference that stood out most to me was pointed out by, I believe, the first article linked on the website. This is the distinction that in terms of character arc, middle grade novels are more externally driven, whereas YA novels are more internally driven. Both genres have an external character arc, the central conflict and actions of the character, and an internal character arc, the emotional and mental development of the character parallel to the external arc. But the readings point out that middle grade focuses much more heavily on the external, whereas YA prioritizes the internal. This makes sense when thinking about the psyches, interests, and desires of tweens versus teens. I looked back to my own reading history and saw that this aligned. For example, my favorite book in middle school was Percy Jackson, a series where each book is a quest adventure and Percy’s internal arc is in reaction to the external plot points. But in high school it changed to Oscar Wilde’s psychological thriller The Picture of Dorian Gray. This book is much more a character study than anything else, and functions opposite to Percy Jackson: the internal development of Dorian is the driving factor for external plot points.
This distinction also made me reflect on and reevaluate my own writing. The story I’ve been working on for this class is my first ever attempt at non-adult fiction, and only my second ever attempt at fiction all together. I never really decided whether it would be YA or middle grade, I just wrote and hoped it would become clear as the story came together. Until reading these articles, I was confident that my story was middle grade fiction. I determined this from the simplistic writing style I used and quest-oriented plot I created. But I realize now that while the characters do go on an external journey, my writing is focused much more on the internal workings of the characters. The adventure plot is just a tool to carry the heart of my writing, which is really a character study. Also, the characters are a 15-year-old boy and girl, which is much more YA. I wasn’t going to have them fall in love because I thought that was inappropriate for middle grade, but now that I know I’m writing YA fiction I might have to make that happen!
I’ve never thought much about who I’m writing for. Basically, I just try to write what I’m interested in as a reader, and even though I’m only a few years out of the YA age range, I generally read adult work — Ruth Reichl, Kurt Vonnegut, Helen Fielding — for a lot of my adolescence. I look back fondly on the stories I read when I was younger, but I mostly don't think of myself as writing for a young audience. Most of my stories explore something somehow bizarre, horrific, or disturbing, though I wouldn't place them in the horror category, but they’re definitely not geared toward a middle-grade audience. YA is an interesting label, though. As some of the readings pointed out, it can be difficult to draw the line. I was interested in the discussion about how YA is usually about a young person's place in the world, while adult fiction is about the world itself, even if it's filtered through the eyes of a child or teenage character. I guess I’ve usually thought that for a story to have compelling philosophical stakes, it should say something about the world, but you can absolutely do that without making it a “story about the world.” To be honest, I’m taking the class because Alex is my homie and on WebReg it was just called “Fiction Workshop,” so I didn't realize it was particularly geared toward the MG/YA genres, but it has given me a lot to think about with regard to my writing and where it should be categorized. Hopefully my work can be enjoyed by readers of many ages (certainly not middle grade, but maybe YA?), but I also feel like finding a story I can tell is more important than trying to make that story fit into a particular category. I want to incorporate all the things I love about my favorite books and stories from childhood into my writing but at the same time use my writing to explore themes that may be more appropriate for older YA or adult audiences. As a writer you should always challenge yourself, and maybe my challenge is to try writing the stories I want to tell without going too far in mature and adult themes.
The booksellers interviewed in this article seem to understand what the publishing industry sometimes loses sight of, which is labeling books as "middle grade" or "YA", not as a starting point for a conversation, but as a determination of the books contents. The best approach described in the article comes from Meghan Dietsche Goel, who emphasizes talking about the book and the reader rather than the age determination. That ideology puts the child's actual needs at the center, which is exactly where they belong. It's also worth noting that “Hard Luck”, part of the middle-grade Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, peaked at #8 on the top-selling titles of the first half of 2014, sitting just behind six YA titles taking the top spots.
That said, the article undersells the true reasons to maintain the distinction, particularly around content. Booksellers like Nicole Yasinsky have found themselves in the difficult position of understanding families where parents and children have very different ideas about what is appropriate to read, and those situations are real and common. A 10-12 year old who is a gifted reader may be “ready” for YA pieces, but not emotionally ready for its themes of sexual violence, addiction, or trauma.
An idea presented throughout these readings that I found particularly interesting is that a middle grade/YA reader is reading to either understand or to escape. This resonates greatly with the reading experience I had as a young reader. I found that in middle school, I was more drawn to fantasy and adventure books, such as Mr. Lemoncello's Library. In this era, it didn't particularly matter to me who the characters of the books were, but rather that they were enveloped in some fantastical journey that would take me away from my school library (to escape); I used reading as an outlet. At that age, I also didn't view myself under any particular lenses as I do now— there wasn't an emphasis on my gender, culture, sexuality, or any other distinctions that I can use now to make my writing more unique. I was just like all the other kids in my class, and all these kids wanted was a story that featured other kids, no matter who they were. When I entered high school and began reading more YA novels, I found myself growing out of the genre of fantasy. Growing older signified a more serous approach to life, and my book choices began to reflect that as well. I started to seek out books with protagonists that I could see myself within (to understand). The characters present in the story meant more to me than the plot itself. Looking back, it is easy to see which books I read fell more easily into the middle grade category and which ones fell into the YA category based on these labels of "to escape" and "to understand". Though being a good overall look at the differences between the two, I do believe that the distinction is limiting, as it sets up a stereotype where it is easy to perceive fantasy books as childish, even if being geared towards an older audience; this was true in my case. I resonate with Jon Besser's quote, "Instead of trying to telegraph what category that is, your goal is to appeal to that reader", as it pinpoints my issue with putting books into harsh boxes. Though it is important to protect younger readers from potentially grown content, I think this oftentimes limits readers to a point where they are stuck within boxes themselves.
After reading the assigned articles, I think there is something of a common consensus of what a middle grade and young adult story should be. At its most basic, middle grade appeals to readers ages 8-12. On the other hand, young adult stories are meant for readers from ages 12-17ish. I find it interesting that this was the baseline that was chosen for these books, seeing as literature of any kind is (or more realistically should be) available to a wide range of readers. There are some limitations to this of course; I don’t think a seven year old should pick up a book like ’Salem’s Lot by Stephen King, but a novel like The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien is one of the most celebrated pieces of children’s literature. Many adults fall in love with the storytelling of Tolkien, despite it being bedtime stories that he would tell his kids. Later in life, Tolkien came out with a more adult story in the form of The Lord of The Rings, but I would argue that this story is also fairly accessible to younger audiences. In the article “Everything you ever wanted to know about middle grade…and were willing to ask,” the example of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was used to discuss the classic children’s literature dilemma. The point the writer was trying to make is that a book like this may not have an audience because what was appealing to kids in literature more than half a century ago may not be appealing to young readers of today. While I think I understand the point that is being made, I think I have to disagree with this assessment. I think something like The Chronicles of Narnia may still have an appeal today because of things like Harry Potter. Children love weird fantasy. However, the young adult audience may not find appeal in weird fantastical stories with lion allegories for Jesus Christ. A series like The Hunger Games would be more appealing to YA audiences, given its introspective subject matter and darker storyline. There may be something out there, but I cannot think of a book like The Hunger Games that was released around the same time as The Chronicles of Narnia. For this reason I would argue that the YA category is the one that needs to be updated consistently. Because the minds of YA readers are more developed than that of MG readers, their perspectives continually shift given the period they find themselves in. Naturally, the literature they consume should shift too.
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