April 30th, 2010 / 11:27 am
Snippets
Snippets
Nick Antosca—
Do you read YA fiction? If not, why not? Did you read it when you were younger, and then stop? On some level do you consider it “less respectable” to read or write it than to read/write literary fiction for adults? Can you define the difference? If you wrote a novel intended for adults with an adolescent protagonist and a publisher said they’d take it but only if they could market it as a YA novel, would that be cool with you?
the difference is paper stock. Not to get all semioticky, or anything.
ZZZZZIPP STILL READS TINTIN
Is that YA? Now we’re getting into comics, which is another question.
The last YA book I read was “Coraline.” I was disappointed.
Some of my fondest memories are of YA books. The one thing that turned me into a reader was Mr. Zuccarelli, my fourth and fifth grade teacher. He would read to the entire class for an hour a day, books like “Hatchet,” “The River,” and the Wayside School books.
I work for a literary agency in Chelsea. YA is what has been pulling in the large sums of money at the moment for our clients. Youngish boys and girls alike. I’d just take your manuscript, add a talking dog and have pages of text exchanges.
You may also think about a generic question, i.e. “If you had a wish what would you wish for?”
Tone it down a little. Change the crack head to a giggling sweetheart just caught up with the wrong crowd and a weird haircut.
AS IF…
I read Rule of the Bone by Russel Banks just a couple years ago and it blew my head straight off. In response, I think I’ll simply quote the late-great Hedburg:
“Any book is a children’s book if the kid can read.”
Also, if Cather in the Rye was released today, it’d have a YA sticker on it.
*Catcher
I like this.
if rule of the bone is YA, then so is Huck Finn
That book is fucking awesome. My mom gives it to every boy in her (HS english) class who says he hates to read. They all come out changed.
I’ll read anything if it’s good. I probably read more YA than a lot of people because my mom’s an english teacher and so she’s forever recommending good stuff. I also find a lot of stuff is labeled YA if it has kid protagonists, which I think is stupid but hey, if it gets kids reading, fine. I loved Feed–that was awesome a few years back. Same with Un Lun Dun. I just read When You Reach Me, which was terrific. A lot of writers do both adult and YA and do it well.
I’d have no problem having my a book labeled YA. I think the greatest honor in the world would be writing a book like my example above–the kind of book that makes kids who don’t read love reading. I’d be happy forever if I could do that.
Read Alexie’s Part Time Indian this weekend and loved it as much as I’ve loved anything in a while. It won’t stick with me for years, but man, for those three hours, I couldn’t get enough. I’d also promote my books as YA, self-help, landscaping–whatever–if it would make it sell.
ZZZZZIP, did you know Steven Spielberg is filming Tin Tin RIGHT AT THIS VERY MOMENT? As a live action movie? It sounds sweet, actually.
The Red Pony
I do read YA but I am pretty old school low brow–Sweet Valley High, Girls of Canby Hall, Babysitter’s Club (CLAUDIA KISHI REPRESENT), and that sort of thing, and of course, my beloved Little House on the Prairie Books.
your mom is one of the good guys.
Like Roxanne, I too love OSLB (Old-School, Low-Brow) YA fiction. Pretty sure I’m still trying to be Claudia Kishi with better grades. I enjoy books the same way I enjoy music: the way I want to. If it makes me want to keep turning the page, then I like it. If it makes me want to dance or turn it up louder, then I like it. That doesn’t make it good, it just makes it enjoyable. There are good YA books (Sometimes I think I’d be dead if I hadn’t The Giver and The Book Thief), and there are bad ones, but come on, you can say that for every genre of writing. I’ve toyed with the idea of writing YA. Not sure why I haven’t. Yeah.
:) I think so.
I read YA fiction voraciously as a kid, and when I worked at a Borders there was some stuff that I would end up reading the entirety of while I worked register because I would be shelving books and find something that looked unbelievable. I don’t actively seek out YA fiction, mainly because there are primarily three “sections” of books that I already actively seek out: French, ‘experimental,’ and art smut. There is obviously not much art smut that is YA because… well, that’d be like making a PG-13 porno movie, right? I mean I’ve read like 10 of the Gossip Girl books, and they’re certainly “smutty”, or whatever, but it’s not like there are lines like “and then Blair stuffed the fuck from his engorged cock into her gaping smelly asshole,” etc (yeah okay that line is not a stunning example of art smut writing but throw me a bone here). Experimental, does experimental YA fiction exist? Like, is there some balls out equivalent of, say, Kathy Acker for teenagers? Could Kathy Acker be considered a YA author? And I guess I don’t know if there is a sort of parallel “French YA” that would fit with my interests in French fiction.
i guess that’s my main point. i think YA is just a marketing label, akin to “chick lit” or “(insert minority here) lit.”
if the YA label existed for the past 200 years, some of what we know as classic and challenging literature would easily qualify–Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer, Catcher in the Rye, Lolita. Well, maybe not Lolita.
the difference is paper stock. Not to get all semioticky, or anything.
ZZZZZIPP STILL READS TINTIN
“Blood Meridian” was YA, right? It had a young protagonist. Yeah, I’ll say it was. Yeah.
Shit yeah I do. Ask me again.
No Kathy Acker is not YA.
Who are you? I like you. Have you read the sequel to The Giver? And then the one after that? They were only OK.
I wish I loved Neil Gaiman more. Hatchet is bad ass.
I am thinking specifically of Blood and Guts in High School, which I kind of feel like is almost a subversion of the young adult novel. some of Dennis Cooper’s work I think could straddle the line in a similar way (George Miles Cycle, My Loose Thread, and God Jr. specifically).
Is that YA? Now we’re getting into comics, which is another question.
The last YA book I read was “Coraline.” I was disappointed.
Some of my fondest memories are of YA books. The one thing that turned me into a reader was Mr. Zuccarelli, my fourth and fifth grade teacher. He would read to the entire class for an hour a day, books like “Hatchet,” “The River,” and the Wayside School books.
I work for a literary agency in Chelsea. YA is what has been pulling in the large sums of money at the moment for our clients. Youngish boys and girls alike. I’d just take your manuscript, add a talking dog and have pages of text exchanges.
You may also think about a generic question, i.e. “If you had a wish what would you wish for?”
Tone it down a little. Change the crack head to a giggling sweetheart just caught up with the wrong crowd and a weird haircut.
AS IF…
I read Rule of the Bone by Russel Banks just a couple years ago and it blew my head straight off. In response, I think I’ll simply quote the late-great Hedburg:
“Any book is a children’s book if the kid can read.”
Also, if Cather in the Rye was released today, it’d have a YA sticker on it.
*Catcher
damn, good/fun design contest would be to make book covers of The Boarder Trilogy marketed to YA readers.
Yes.
I like this.
bore dso
Do you read YA fiction? not relaly
If not, why not? i dont knwo. its never on my list of things. tends to be too story driven i guess. is there anything languagey ya? is there ya poetry?
Did you read it when you were younger, and then stop? not a lot. i read beverly cleary books and the indian in the upboard. james and the giant peach. those. guess i stopped when i became a teen and started reading king.
On some level do you consider it “less respectable” to read or write it than to read/write literary fiction for adults? i dont think its not respectable to read it. read whatever you want. sheesh. dont write ya though. write what you want. if its ya its ya. who is not respecting it?
Can you define the difference? probably more like a sensibilty than something quantifiable. kids are interested in things. adults are interested in things. they intersect sometimes. move to one side of the fence. okay.
If you wrote a novel intended for adults with an adolescent protagonist and a publisher said they’d take it but only if they could market it as a YA novel, would that be cool with you? sure, if i wrote what i wanted, who cares.
if rule of the bone is YA, then so is Huck Finn
That book is fucking awesome. My mom gives it to every boy in her (HS english) class who says he hates to read. They all come out changed.
I’ll read anything if it’s good. I probably read more YA than a lot of people because my mom’s an english teacher and so she’s forever recommending good stuff. I also find a lot of stuff is labeled YA if it has kid protagonists, which I think is stupid but hey, if it gets kids reading, fine. I loved Feed–that was awesome a few years back. Same with Un Lun Dun. I just read When You Reach Me, which was terrific. A lot of writers do both adult and YA and do it well.
I’d have no problem having my a book labeled YA. I think the greatest honor in the world would be writing a book like my example above–the kind of book that makes kids who don’t read love reading. I’d be happy forever if I could do that.
Read Alexie’s Part Time Indian this weekend and loved it as much as I’ve loved anything in a while. It won’t stick with me for years, but man, for those three hours, I couldn’t get enough. I’d also promote my books as YA, self-help, landscaping–whatever–if it would make it sell.
ZZZZZIP, did you know Steven Spielberg is filming Tin Tin RIGHT AT THIS VERY MOMENT? As a live action movie? It sounds sweet, actually.
The Red Pony
I do read YA but I am pretty old school low brow–Sweet Valley High, Girls of Canby Hall, Babysitter’s Club (CLAUDIA KISHI REPRESENT), and that sort of thing, and of course, my beloved Little House on the Prairie Books.
your mom is one of the good guys.
I think you’re thinking of the wrong Hatchet. I think Brandon was refering to Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, and its sequel, The River.
Another thumbs up to your mum.
[…] HTMLGIANT / YA […]
Rebekah is probably making reference to Neil Gaiman since he wrote Coraline.
Like Roxanne, I too love OSLB (Old-School, Low-Brow) YA fiction. Pretty sure I’m still trying to be Claudia Kishi with better grades. I enjoy books the same way I enjoy music: the way I want to. If it makes me want to keep turning the page, then I like it. If it makes me want to dance or turn it up louder, then I like it. That doesn’t make it good, it just makes it enjoyable. There are good YA books (Sometimes I think I’d be dead if I hadn’t The Giver and The Book Thief), and there are bad ones, but come on, you can say that for every genre of writing. I’ve toyed with the idea of writing YA. Not sure why I haven’t. Yeah.
:) I think so.
Trend I’ve noticed: pubs and bookstores marketing YA books without the “YA” tag in order to catch hold of the growing number of adults who seem to read only YA fiction. Twilight Moms, for example.
Are we encouraging the infantilization of reading tastes? Are people unwilling to read “adult” fiction because they think it will be too hard and not fun? Is YA fiction just really, really good right now?
I read YA fiction voraciously as a kid, and when I worked at a Borders there was some stuff that I would end up reading the entirety of while I worked register because I would be shelving books and find something that looked unbelievable. I don’t actively seek out YA fiction, mainly because there are primarily three “sections” of books that I already actively seek out: French, ‘experimental,’ and art smut. There is obviously not much art smut that is YA because… well, that’d be like making a PG-13 porno movie, right? I mean I’ve read like 10 of the Gossip Girl books, and they’re certainly “smutty”, or whatever, but it’s not like there are lines like “and then Blair stuffed the fuck from his engorged cock into her gaping smelly asshole,” etc (yeah okay that line is not a stunning example of art smut writing but throw me a bone here). Experimental, does experimental YA fiction exist? Like, is there some balls out equivalent of, say, Kathy Acker for teenagers? Could Kathy Acker be considered a YA author? And I guess I don’t know if there is a sort of parallel “French YA” that would fit with my interests in French fiction.
Yeah, I think Blood & Guts definitely counts. It’s just kind of pornographic YA.
i guess that’s my main point. i think YA is just a marketing label, akin to “chick lit” or “(insert minority here) lit.”
if the YA label existed for the past 200 years, some of what we know as classic and challenging literature would easily qualify–Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer, Catcher in the Rye, Lolita. Well, maybe not Lolita.
I didn’t like it that much either… nor did I like The Graveyard Book.
Awesome
Is it fantastical YA fiction or gossip girl “high school social” stuff, or both?
The Hunger Games. Battle Royale. Same thing. One’s YA and one’s a hardcore bloodbath for adults?
“Blood Meridian” was YA, right? It had a young protagonist. Yeah, I’ll say it was. Yeah.
Shit yeah I do. Ask me again.
No Kathy Acker is not YA.
Who are you? I like you. Have you read the sequel to The Giver? And then the one after that? They were only OK.
I wish I loved Neil Gaiman more. Hatchet is bad ass.
I am thinking specifically of Blood and Guts in High School, which I kind of feel like is almost a subversion of the young adult novel. some of Dennis Cooper’s work I think could straddle the line in a similar way (George Miles Cycle, My Loose Thread, and God Jr. specifically).
damn, good/fun design contest would be to make book covers of The Boarder Trilogy marketed to YA readers.
Yes.
Madeliene L’Engle (best known for Wrinkle In Time)
bore dso
Do you read YA fiction? not relaly
If not, why not? i dont knwo. its never on my list of things. tends to be too story driven i guess. is there anything languagey ya? is there ya poetry?
Did you read it when you were younger, and then stop? not a lot. i read beverly cleary books and the indian in the upboard. james and the giant peach. those. guess i stopped when i became a teen and started reading king.
On some level do you consider it “less respectable” to read or write it than to read/write literary fiction for adults? i dont think its not respectable to read it. read whatever you want. sheesh. dont write ya though. write what you want. if its ya its ya. who is not respecting it?
Can you define the difference? probably more like a sensibilty than something quantifiable. kids are interested in things. adults are interested in things. they intersect sometimes. move to one side of the fence. okay.
If you wrote a novel intended for adults with an adolescent protagonist and a publisher said they’d take it but only if they could market it as a YA novel, would that be cool with you? sure, if i wrote what i wanted, who cares.
I think you’re thinking of the wrong Hatchet. I think Brandon was refering to Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, and its sequel, The River.
Another thumbs up to your mum.
Rebekah is probably making reference to Neil Gaiman since he wrote Coraline.
Trend I’ve noticed: pubs and bookstores marketing YA books without the “YA” tag in order to catch hold of the growing number of adults who seem to read only YA fiction. Twilight Moms, for example.
Are we encouraging the infantilization of reading tastes? Are people unwilling to read “adult” fiction because they think it will be too hard and not fun? Is YA fiction just really, really good right now?
Yeah, I think Blood & Guts definitely counts. It’s just kind of pornographic YA.
I didn’t like it that much either… nor did I like The Graveyard Book.
Awesome
Is it fantastical YA fiction or gossip girl “high school social” stuff, or both?
The Hunger Games. Battle Royale. Same thing. One’s YA and one’s a hardcore bloodbath for adults?
*catheter
China Mieville has a YA novel, “Un Lun Dun.” And he’s always interesting. Peter Cameron has one as well. Sometimes it seems a young and/or ingenuous narrator or POV is all it takes, as niche-marketing rules.
Madeliene L’Engle (best known for Wrinkle In Time)
“Catcher” is Literary Fiction intended for adults. The same with Huck Finn. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is about a precocious nine-year old in New York, but it’s not considered YA because it’s also intended for adults.
In the YA definition, there seems to be a fine line that revolves around how the F-word is used–as a verb, rebellious expletive, obsession, etc. Like with movies…that was briefly mentioned above.
Young mature narrators act as guides for nostalgia, to help iron out awkward environments acting as a Petri dish to future complexes. So books where they are involved aren’t necessarily YA.
*catheter
Hunger Games does a nice job of getting into the head of a young girl, though. First Person, well executed. I thought, anyway.
China Mieville has a YA novel, “Un Lun Dun.” And he’s always interesting. Peter Cameron has one as well. Sometimes it seems a young and/or ingenuous narrator or POV is all it takes, as niche-marketing rules.
“Catcher” is Literary Fiction intended for adults. The same with Huck Finn. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is about a precocious nine-year old in New York, but it’s not considered YA because it’s also intended for adults.
In the YA definition, there seems to be a fine line that revolves around how the F-word is used–as a verb, rebellious expletive, obsession, etc. Like with movies…that was briefly mentioned above.
Young mature narrators act as guides for nostalgia, to help iron out awkward environments acting as a Petri dish to future complexes. So books where they are involved aren’t necessarily YA.
[…] HTMLGIANT / YA […]
Hunger Games does a nice job of getting into the head of a young girl, though. First Person, well executed. I thought, anyway.
In my opinion, “genre” is a marketing tool and nothing more anyways, so yeah I’d be cool with that.
IT IS YA, IT WAS PUBLISHED ORIGINALLY IN NEWSPAPER SUPPLEMENTS FOR CHILDREN, BUT YOU’RE RIGHT THAT IT’S DIFFERENT
ZZZZIPP DID KNOW THAT
ZZZZIPP WONDERS WHAT THAT’S GOING TO BE LIKE (MAYBE IT SHOULD BE ANIMATED).
In my opinion, “genre” is a marketing tool and nothing more anyways, so yeah I’d be cool with that.
IT IS YA, IT WAS PUBLISHED ORIGINALLY IN NEWSPAPER SUPPLEMENTS FOR CHILDREN, BUT YOU’RE RIGHT THAT IT’S DIFFERENT
ZZZZIPP DID KNOW THAT
ZZZZIPP WONDERS WHAT THAT’S GOING TO BE LIKE (MAYBE IT SHOULD BE ANIMATED).
On reason I’d avoid labeling my book YA would be because it would probably be dismissed because of the perception that YA is only Twilight or Gossip Girl.
Indeed. Neil Gaiman = Coraline. Hatchet = Gary Paulsen. Hatchet > Gary Paulsen.
Avi!
Actually I don’t like if YA fiction is presented as a YA fiction. I never liked it: as I was YA I felt a YA fiction is either pedagogical request (which is often mostly unreadable populism), or sinister “I-know-what-are-you-feeling-as-a-youngster”-work written by an not anymore young adult (which makes me depressive).
I don’t like a literature written for a target group – even if I can count myself to this group, just because of the intention, because of pretended seriousness.
As young adult I read only books, which authors trusted the reader. So if I could read the book, I read it. I read Twain, I read Swift, I read Verne, I read Daniil Kharms, I read Boccaccio (which my parents tried to hide from me till I’ll reach my puberty, but I could reach the upper book shelve before my pickle epoche).
But – and here you may disagree with me – I couldn’t read Salinger. As I get older, I tried to read him again, and every time I was fighting with myself. Sorry, Mr. Salinger.
On reason I’d avoid labeling my book YA would be because it would probably be dismissed because of the perception that YA is only Twilight or Gossip Girl.
Indeed. Neil Gaiman = Coraline. Hatchet = Gary Paulsen. Hatchet > Gary Paulsen.
Avi!
Actually I don’t like if YA fiction is presented as a YA fiction. I never liked it: as I was YA I felt a YA fiction is either pedagogical request (which is often mostly unreadable populism), or sinister “I-know-what-are-you-feeling-as-a-youngster”-work written by an not anymore young adult (which makes me depressive).
I don’t like a literature written for a target group – even if I can count myself to this group, just because of the intention, because of pretended seriousness.
As young adult I read only books, which authors trusted the reader. So if I could read the book, I read it. I read Twain, I read Swift, I read Verne, I read Daniil Kharms, I read Boccaccio (which my parents tried to hide from me till I’ll reach my puberty, but I could reach the upper book shelve before my pickle epoche).
But – and here you may disagree with me – I couldn’t read Salinger. As I get older, I tried to read him again, and every time I was fighting with myself. Sorry, Mr. Salinger.
I want to spammingly add that I don’t read books written for YA, but I appreciate books, written by YA.
And even if I dislike writing fiction for target group, I like writing non-fiction for target group (because then you can just skip all the general introduction stuff and go deep into context, familiar to the target group).
Ah, and I also like onigiri with wasabi furikake.
I’m just complicated.
I gotta say, Merzmensch, that you really have a way with words. :)
Funny, Salinger is so easy to read, for me.
As the daughter of a grade school librarian, I can not stress enough how important the influence of my mom’s love of reading, and her desire to see a kid learn to love reading, how important this influence was in my own development as a reader. Thanks, Mommy!
In her own leisure reading (as I was growing up) my mom was very “Old School, High Brow”, so, from very early on, I tended toward the same. Never read Sweet Valley High, Babysitter’s Club type stuff.
I think one of my mom’s proudest moments was when my little sister read/wrote a book report on “The Old Man and the Sea” in second grade.
Thank you Mimi. The words are so lonely in their randomness. You just have to find a way with them, to make them happy :)
“Spammingly” can come hang out at my house any time.
it’s true. i actually think hunger games is more engrossing, all things considered
Yeah, now this word had a whole family. And I’m happy about it too.
I want to spammingly add that I don’t read books written for YA, but I appreciate books, written by YA.
And even if I dislike writing fiction for target group, I like writing non-fiction for target group (because then you can just skip all the general introduction stuff and go deep into context, familiar to the target group).
Ah, and I also like onigiri with wasabi furikake.
I’m just complicated.
I gotta say, Merzmensch, that you really have a way with words. :)
Funny, Salinger is so easy to read, for me.
As the daughter of a grade school librarian, I can not stress enough how important the influence of my mom’s love of reading, and her desire to see a kid learn to love reading, how important this influence was in my own development as a reader. Thanks, Mommy!
In her own leisure reading (as I was growing up) my mom was very “Old School, High Brow”, so, from very early on, I tended toward the same. Never read Sweet Valley High, Babysitter’s Club type stuff.
I think one of my mom’s proudest moments was when my little sister read/wrote a book report on “The Old Man and the Sea” in second grade.
Thank you Mimi. The words are so lonely in their randomness. You just have to find a way with them, to make them happy :)
“Spammingly” can come hang out at my house any time.
it’s true. i actually think hunger games is more engrossing, all things considered
Yeah, now this word had a whole family. And I’m happy about it too.
My name is Ashley. I don’t know who I am other than that. I like writing and reading and stuff. That’s about it. I haven’t read the sequel or the other. I liked where the original ended. I’m comfortable being ignorant about the rest. Also, after reading the rest of these comments. I could like you too. I’m a commitment-phobe.
My name is Ashley. I don’t know who I am other than that. I like writing and reading and stuff. That’s about it. I haven’t read the sequel or the other. I liked where the original ended. I’m comfortable being ignorant about the rest. Also, after reading the rest of these comments. I could like you too. I’m a commitment-phobe.
Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Winterson walks a good line.
Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Winterson walks a good line.
That last line made me laugh. I actually did read Lolita when I was around 16, it’s been one of my favorite books ever since.
Why not Lolita? It certainly deals with issues relating to youth- wait, maybe my youth was different than most
That last line made me laugh. I actually did read Lolita when I was around 16, it’s been one of my favorite books ever since.
Why not Lolita? It certainly deals with issues relating to youth- wait, maybe my youth was different than most
[…] in the comments thread of a smart discussion over at HTMLGIANT about YA vs adult […]