Reading this as someone with a novel with a 14yr old protagonist... I like to think it's an adult novel, or I guess YA with crossover appeal, kinds like His Dark Materials. I wrote it three times, once when I was 10, then 14, then a full novel at 18/19.
I just realized that instead of writing "You’ve written a book with a 14-year-old protagonist? Good luck with that!" I should have written "You’ve written a YA novel with a 14-year-old protagonist? Good luck with that!"
Or maybe I should have written "You've written a book and hope to be traditionally published? Good luck with that!" Ha!
You can definitely have an adult novel with a 14-year-old protagonist. It's all about tone and perspective and who the target reader is. And yeah, the His Dark Materials series... great crossover example. Technically they are categorized as Middle Grade at least on Amazon, but I read them as an adult, and I think they very much appeal to teen and adult readers. It's all so confusing. I mean, some books just don't neatly fit into one category but they have to figure out where to put them in the bookstore, you know?
Good question. I think when it was written YA wasn't even a thing. There was adult and children's, and it definitely wasn't children's. But now, you for sure could argue it's YA. It definitely has a YA voice.
Reading this as someone with a novel with a 14yr old protagonist... I like to think it's an adult novel, or I guess YA with crossover appeal, kinds like His Dark Materials. I wrote it three times, once when I was 10, then 14, then a full novel at 18/19.
I just realized that instead of writing "You’ve written a book with a 14-year-old protagonist? Good luck with that!" I should have written "You’ve written a YA novel with a 14-year-old protagonist? Good luck with that!"
Or maybe I should have written "You've written a book and hope to be traditionally published? Good luck with that!" Ha!
I will need all the luck!
You can definitely have an adult novel with a 14-year-old protagonist. It's all about tone and perspective and who the target reader is. And yeah, the His Dark Materials series... great crossover example. Technically they are categorized as Middle Grade at least on Amazon, but I read them as an adult, and I think they very much appeal to teen and adult readers. It's all so confusing. I mean, some books just don't neatly fit into one category but they have to figure out where to put them in the bookstore, you know?
The protagonist in Catcher in the Rye is 16... So YA?
Good question. I think when it was written YA wasn't even a thing. There was adult and children's, and it definitely wasn't children's. But now, you for sure could argue it's YA. It definitely has a YA voice.