Please, please, please, before my head explodes, will everyone please stop calling The Giver a YA book? I don’t know why this offends me so much except for the fact that The Giver is SO CLEARLY a middle grade novel. The protagonist is twelve. The word count is 43,600. It is commonly assigned to middle schoolers. All kidlit genre indicators point to the fact that it is a MIDDLE GRADE NOVEL. And yet it is listed as a young adult book here and here and even on freaking wikipedia. Do people not know the difference between YA and Middle Grade?  

Apparently not, because I also lose my mind when I see A Wrinkle in Time listed as YA. Here’s a hint: if the book won a Newberry Medal (like both The Giver and A Wrinkle in Time), then YA it is not.   

More books that are commonly listed as YA but are CLEARLY MIDDLE GRADE:

• Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret
• A Series of Unfortunate Events 
• Bridge to Terabithia
• Brown Girl Dreaming
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
• Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

Here’s a clue, people: look at the cover art. Does it LOOK like a book for teenagers? No? Then maybe it’s middle grade. 

Sorry, I don’t know why this bothers me so much, except that it does. And I’m not the only one! Elizabeth Bird from School Library Journal recently wrote about this, too. In any case, I so badly want to clarify kidlit genres to the entire Internet that I made this infographic:  

While we’re at it, let’s talk about Lord of the Flies, which appears on a lot of YA lists. It’s not YA, in my humble opinion. It was written as an adult novel for adult readers (which is why it’s so painful for all the poor high school kids struggling through it right now). It won a Nobel Prize, BTW. As far as I know they don’t give Nobel Prizes to kidlit. I could be wrong, but I think it’s an adult book with children as main characters. That happens sometimes, you know. 

The Giver is not YA and Middle Grade novels are not 'Chapter Books.' Kidlit genres explained!Click To Tweet

OK, let me stop acting like a crazy person for a minute. I do realize that some books might fit multiple categories and some books might defy categories. The boundaries between categories can be hazy, and, for example, what one person might consider an upper Middle Grade another person might consider a younger YA.  

I also realize that, for readers and writers, which kidlit genre a certain book belongs to doesn’t matter so much if we’re enjoying writing it or reading it. At the end of the day, maybe I shouldn’t be blowing a gasket because people think The Giver is YA.

Except that the categories DO matter to librarians and booksellers who need to figure out where to shelve books so that appropriate readers can find them.  And the categories matter to agents and editors who need to figure out how to sell and market books to the appropriate people.

So maybe let’s try to all get on the same page about kidlit genres, shall we? There’s a lot to learn. Like the difference between  upper Middle Grade and lower Middle Grade, or Young Adult and New Adult. Or what’s meant by YA crossover.

I know. It IS confusing.  So let’s dive in. 

 

Middle Grade:

• Reader Age: 8–12 (possibly as young as 7 or as old as 13)
• Protagonist Age: 10 – 12 (usually)
• Word Count: 25,000–45,000 words (may be longer for fantasy)
• Content: No profanity, graphic violence, or sexuality
• Themes: friends and family; the character’s immediate world and their relationship to it

When people hear Middle Grade, they often think “middle school,” but actually, Middle Grade books are often written for upper elementary school readers. By the time kids reach 7^th or 8^th grade, they have probably moved on to reading YA books.

Since kids like to read about characters who are older than they are, MG protagonists tend to be a year or two older than the age of the target reader. Middle Grade books are often full of adventure and/or wacky humor. You can often tell the difference between a Middle Grade book and a YA book by its cover — MG books are more cartoonish or simply look like they are targeting a younger audience.

Though Middle Grade books have chapters, they are not “Chapter Books.”  When it comes to kidlit genres, Chapter Books are very short (5,000 to 15,000 words), heavily illustrated books for kids ages 7 or 8 who are just beginning to read independently. The Magic Treehouse books or the Judy Moody books are examples of chapter books.

A few examples of Middle Grade Books:

• The Giver by Lois Lowry
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rawling
• Matilda by Roald Dahl
• Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
• Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson (see my post about Bridge to Terabithia)
• The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
• Wonder by R. J. Palacio
• One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
• Holes by Lois Sachar (see my post about Holes)

Though many books fall squarely in the Middle Grade category, others that read slightly younger or slightly older may be called “lower Middle Grade” or “upper Middle Grade.”

 

Lower Middle Grade: 

• Reader Age: 7–10 
• Protagonist Age: 9-10 (or maybe an animal)
• Word Count: 15,000–30,000 words 

Here is the kidlit genre where you will find your animal stories, your family-friendly read-alouds, your younger protagonists, and your shorter-length MG books. These books tend to have more illustrations than standard MG. 

A few examples of Lower Middle Grade:

• The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread by Kate DiCamillo
• Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White 
• The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
• The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
• Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume

Upper Middle Grade: 

• Reader Age: 11–14
• Protagonist Age: 12-13 (maybe 14)
• Word Count: 40,000-65,000 words 

Here is the kidlit genre where you will find contemporary stories with more mature themes and longer books with more complicated plots. Protagonists are in middle school and so is the target audience. 

A few examples of Upper Middle Grade:

• Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead 
• Doll Bones by Holly Black 
• The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin
• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle (see my post on A Wrinkle in Time)
• The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
• Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
• Find Layla by Meg Ellison
• The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

 

Young Adult:

• Reader Age: 12–19 (and beyond!)
• Protagonist Age: 16-18 (usually)
• Word Count: 55,000–90,000 words (slightly more allowed if needed for fantasy or sci-fi world-building)
• Content: Profanity, violence, romance and sexuality (except for eroticism) allowed (though not required).
• Themes: World beyond friends and family; reflection on self and the meaning of things, coming-of-age, love and emotions

Young Adult is a tricky one because though the target reader age is 12-19, there are many, many adults who read YA. Some people worry that this has pushed YA into darker, more mature themes and blurred the lines between YA and Adult. To further complicate matters, there are YA crossover books (YA books that appeal to adult readers) and plenty of adult books that feature teen protagonists and coming-of-age themes.

How can you tell if a book is YA or an adult book with a teen protagonist? The general rule of thumb is this: if the narrator is looking back on their teenage years as an adult and reflecting on them, the book is probably adult. If the narrator is currently experiencing their teenage years, the book is probably (but not necessarily) YA.

How can you tell if a novel is YA or an adult book with a teen protagonist? It has to do with perspective, content, and the intended audience. Kidlit genres explained! Click To Tweet

Adult books may also have more mature content and themes and/or more adult main characters, but at the end of the day it’s all about the perspective, voice, and intended audience. An adult perspective, voice, and style makes for an adult book. A younger perspective, voice, and style geared towards a teen reader makes for a YA book.

And then it gets even more complicated because there are Alex Award Winners. These are adult books that have special appeal for teenage readers (often due in part to a young protagonist.) However, these books definitely have mature themes, and are more appropriate for older teens.

 

 

A few examples of YA books: 

• The Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer
• One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus
• Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
• Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
• To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

A few examples of adult books with teen protagonists (NOT YA):

• Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld
• Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
• White Oleander by Janet Fitch
• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
• Golden Boy by Abigail Tarttelin

Like in Middle Grade, there are some YA books that read younger (lower YA) and some that read older (upper YA). Oh, kidlit genres! Why are you so complicated?!

 

Lower YA:

• Reader Age: 12–15 
• Protagonist Age: 14-16 (or possibly older if the themes are still appropriate for younger teens)

Here you will find your light-hearted contemporaries and PG romances. This is also where you’ll find your younger protagonists.  I’m going to be honest, there are not a lot of these younger YA books, and I think we need more!

A few examples of lower YA:

• The Secret of a Heart Note by Stacey Lee
• The Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot
• Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
• The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series by Ann Brashares

 

Upper YA: 

• Reader Age: 15 and up
• Protagonist Age: 16-20 

Here you will find books with sex, drinking, suicide, mental illness, and other mature subject matter.  Here you may also find slightly older protagonists – 19 or 20, for example. Aimed at ages 15 to 19 (and beyond).

A few examples of upper YA:

• 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher
• The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma
• Turtles All the Way Down by John Green 
• Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow
• We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

 

 

New Adult:

So… a lot of people in the publishing world don’t even like to recognize New Adult. In theory the category makes sense:  a bridge between YA and adult.  A place for protagnoists between the ages of 18 and 25. But in practice, as far as I understand it, some people find that New Adult has become synonymous with romance novels that are a little too racy to be classified as YA.

Now, I could be wrong . There’s plenty online to support NA as being a legitimate category and not just for racy romance. However, many agents don’t mention it in their list of what they’re looking for, and many of the books I’ve seen listed as New Adult I have also seen listed as YA.  Examples:  Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and Codename Verity by Elizabeth Wein.

In my opinion, if you’ve written a novel for young people with characters who are in their early twenties, you could call it New Adult, but you might have an easier time getting an agent or publisher if you call it upper YA.

 

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I guess by now it’s pretty obvious that there are some blurry lines, and while many books will fall clearly into the set kidlit genres (like The Giver, which is clearly freaking middle grade!!), there are others that are harder to classify. There are some books that could be called upper Middle Grade or lower YA. There are some books that could be called upper YA or New Adult.  There are some books that toe the line between YA and adult.

For example, I’d call the first five Harry Potter books Middle Grade, but I’d call the last two books — with their older protagonists and darker themes– YA. The books grew up with their readers.

 

 

What are your thoughts on kidlit genres? Let me know in the comments!