Saturday, April 9, 2011

Too Old for YA?

It's time someone discussed this non-rationally.

I want to know what you think. Do you prefer YA books written by people in their 20's? 30's? 40's? Do you see a trend in your favorite books? Or is it just the book you see?

I'm 46. There. I'm out.
But I'm finding the YA and middle grade genres are crackling out of my fingertips--with lightening, not because my fingers are crumbling. It's probably because of my adolescent-stuck brain or the fact that I've raised four boys and a diva and therefore have plenty of content. But the question remains, will young readers want books written by somebody's grandma, or will they give a rat's butt?

What about you? Peek at bios much? Of course YOU do. But do you suppose the young readers do? POST A COMMENT AND YOU WIN...NOTHING

6 comments:

KaceyMark@wordpress.com said...

It seems to me that no matter what I read I never picture the right face that I see on the back cover. I've gone through my old journal. If I wrote YA books then, trust me no one would want to read them :-) good books come with a great mind and I guess you can find that at any age. But personally I believe it can take a while for that mind to learn and grow before they are published.

Kimberly Krey said...

I don't think teens pay much attention. I do (pay attention)...now, but I didn't before. If the voice is right and the story interests them, they'll read it no matter who wrote it.
Stephenie Meyer - not in her teens. Or twenties. :)

L.L. Muir said...

I worry about school visits. Standing in front of sixth graders getting booed off the stage.

Maybe a little stand-up practice is going to come in handy after all. Know any good booger jokes?

Diane Darcy said...

Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games) is 47. It will always be about the story. =)

Anonymous said...

Young Adults think anyone over 20 is old, so it's a non-issue as long as you give them a good time.
We are authors - it's the print on the page that makes a difference. Madeline L'Engle was no younster when she wrote A Wrinkle in Time, nor was C.S. Lewis when he wrote The Chronicles of Narnia - and look how far their work has gone.

This market has a huge scope, and definitely not age limited. My librarian sister is forever turning me on to great YAs that are just as much fun for adults as kids. The YA has a large secondary market in literacy building.

Remember: we don't get older, we get wiser - which is easy for me to say because I'm older than you!

L.L. Muir said...

Thanks M.

Woudln't these kids shudder if they only knew who it truly was that was entertaining them?