When I say kids, I mean KIDS!!!
Often, people I love refer to my books as “young adult.” This is usually because the nice person in question is old enough that they remember books like A Wrinkle in Time being classified as YA. Or Dicey’s Song. Or something like that.
I remember that too! Basically, when I was a kid, anything that was older than Frog and Toad was called YA.
But a lot has changed over the last few decades. YA has changed. Nowadays, YA tends to be older, darker. There is usually kissing (EWWWWWWWW! KISSING!) in it somewhere. There is sometimes sex (SEX? What’s THAT?). Increasingly, a YA novel has at least one vampire/dark faerie/ fallen angel. YA books tend to be inward looking. I’ve blogged about this before.
Of course, there are tons of amazing YA books (and YA blogs) out there, but I don’t write them. I write MG, or Middle-grade. I write for kids. Like, KIDS! I write for girls who don’t yet shave their legs. Boys who still build forts. (I hope).
You know, KIDS! Remember them? They’re the short people with stars in their eyes. The ones in the sprinkler outside your window.
June 26th, 2010 at 6:21 pm
Looks like a fun site and a great idea! I’m definitely not a YA person myself and I’m pleased to see more attention on middle grade books.
June 27th, 2010 at 6:34 am
Thanks for the wonderful resource! I wrote a short post about it, following your lead.
June 28th, 2010 at 9:10 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Janet Geddis, Laura DeVault. Laura DeVault said: RT @AvidBookshop: <3 this post from @laurelsnyder: Middle grade books do not equal YA! http://laurelsnyder.com/2010/06/26/when-i-say … [...]
June 29th, 2010 at 5:36 am
Thanks, Richard!
And just wait– there’s more to come. Smart bunch of writers, those guys at MIXED UP!