Hi all,
Grateful if anyone could let me know, if for YA middle-grade there's a character for 6 years old with the rest between 10 - 12 years. Would this be an issue?
Any comments are very much appreciated.
Many thanks.
Kind regards,
Melinda
Hi all,
Grateful if anyone could let me know, if for YA middle-grade there's a character for 6 years old with the rest between 10 - 12 years. Would this be an issue?
Any comments are very much appreciated.
Many thanks.
Kind regards,
Melinda
Hi,
Many thanks. I feel much better to continue with my writing. Yes, this YA is a bit confusing with the target audience age. My target audience age group 8 - 12 years.
Kind regards,
Melinda
Personally, I find the term "young adult" to be paradoxically condescending to 10-to-12-year-olds. YA should mean those making the transition from childhood to adulthood. Books that deal with sexual awakening, the taking on of adult responsibilities (e.g. getting a first job because one of the parents has died), and other aspects of this transition can - and are - classed as YA. Growing up is not necessarily YA... or where do we draw the line? Should a book about a 4-year-old growing up to start their first day of school be labelled YA?
But to answer your question: if your target reading audience is YA, there is no reason why you shouldn't include a 6yo in the cast list. There are MANY YA books where the main characters have younger siblings that either get on their nerves or delight them... or both. Sometimes the transition to adulthood involves taking on responsibilities for younger siblings.
One of the most famous YA books of all time - and certainly one of the greatest - although the term YA wasn't used when it was published - contains the following 2 passages dealing with a YA and his 10yo (in my book, not YA) sister:
"You don't like anything that's happening."
It made me even more depressed when she said that.
"Yes I do. Yes I do. Sure I do. Don't say that. Why the hell do you say that?"
"Because you don't. You don't like any schools. You don't like a million things. You don't."
"I do! That's where you're wrong—that's exactly where you're wrong!
Why the hell do you have to say that?" I said. Boy, she was depressing me.
***********************
"Wait a second—take the rest of your dough, too." I started giving her the rest of the dough she'd lent me."
"You keep it. Keep it for me," she said. Then she said right afterward—"Please."
That's depressing, when somebody says "please" to you. I mean if it's Phoebe or somebody. That depressed the hell out of me. But I put the dough back in my pocket.
***********************
We may have mixed feelings about Holden.
But you gotta love that Phoebe!