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Sunday, February 10, 2013

Is there a foggy area between YA and adult fiction, ' cause that's where my novel is?

The teen genre is tricky because it's always changing. Since the 70's taboos like drugs, sex, rape, incest are not instant rejections when it comes to YA fiction. In  fact, YA fiction has gained a broader audience with adult women. Mom's are reading their daughters books.  Books like Harry Potter, Twilight, Hunger Games, City of Bones and Beautiful Creatures are series read by children and adults alike, this may have paved a way for each of these to become movies as well. But what makes a story YA?
For my book I've been asking this question since my plot came together. Who is my audience?
My answer every time to that question was people like me. I read YA and I'm thirty-four year old female. But does my story meet the criteria for a YA novel?

My protagonist isn't a teen, he's twenty-three which already breaks a YA rule.  Teen novels have teen protagonists. My protagonist has a relationship with a young girl. (statutory rape) My book takes place when the protagonists love interests is sixteen. there's suppressive feelings involved between them another love interest( another adult).

Questionable content:
there's swear words. Fuck shouldn't mean sex though, oops!
the relationship with the girl is between a sixteen year old and two twenty three year old. A love triangle. Naughty!
there's no sex but there are sexual situations. Still graphic is bad I guess.
there is hinting that the protagonist had feeling for the girl when she was just a child, but there maybe indication of sexual attraction depending on the readers perception. That I understand is a No No. I get that but again I'm vague where it maybe safe to read. Hopefully my beta readers will see that clearly. Pedophiles,hmm.
attempted rape by a boyfriend.

I've read that I may have a teen crossover, a novel that stretches over to adult fiction. I'm still not 100% on that definition. YA's boarders are so vague.

I do know that I intend make my series in ebooks and the genres are set by the author, not an agent telling you, you can' t have the word "fuck" meaning sex in a YA novel.  There's more control on my part what I think my book is. I won't have to cut away "the good stuff" just so my audience won't be offended. The thing is teens want this. Adults shopping for YA want this. I want this!


1 comment:

  1. If your book was on a sliding scale, it would lean more towards Adult Fiction but definitely towards YA. I think YA like 15-16 can read.

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