I'm curious about what people define as YA. I get heaps of fan mail from readers between 14 and 20, so clearly they're not just reading the designated genre.

As a young adult I was reading everything I could lay my hands on, from Catch 22 to The Odyssey. I went through a genius stage, you see - I thought if my father caught me reading Homer, he'd think I was a genius. Turns out he thought high intelligence was wasted in women. Said there was no point in giving them a tertiary education, too because all they were going to do was waste it by staying home after they got married and having babies. Seriously. But that's another story:)

Anyway, I digress. What defines Young Adult Literature?

Is it the point of view, the subject matter, or something else?

I'm really curious to know what people think

These days I suspect its the amount of adult content in the book. By which I mean stuff about sex and emotional interactions that they're not supposed to know about but have been over exposed to on television already.

So these days I expect YA is in the eye of the editor/publisher.

Ah, Jenny, my Dad had exactly the same thoughts. But then, he was born in 1890, so I guess he had a good excuse. In the end he really didn't know what to make of his two daughters with a university education! I know he wanted to censor my anthropology books though...lol.

Anyway, a YA definition is something that puzzles me too. Pullman's deeply philosophical stuff is marketed as YA, for example. I suspect that the only definition that covers every YA book is that one of the main protagonists is reasonably young and unmarried. Probably the plot will contain some elements that have to do with growing up, or not being old enough, or not understanding adults or not being understood by adults.

Apart from that, it can be about just about anything, including sex. Even gay sex nowadays. Guess how that one goes down in school libraries in the US of A...

I suspect there are probably still some other taboos as well. Too much way-out sex, perhaps, or promiscuity or violence that doesn't get somehow 'punished' in the end, for example.

YA is the most adult storyline the publisher thinks the parent/teacher associations will accept as suitable for those readers in their care of that age group

I disagree with Phill, there are many YA books (especially the non-genre/mainstream ones) with sex in them. It's hardly surprising given what's on TV and in movies and what's in the more literary books often studied at school.

One of the distinguishing features of YA is probably the teenage protagonists and often elements of coming of age or growing up and, like Glenda said, not being old enough.

Sharyn, you are a cynic...you're also probably right, but a cynic nonetheless! Neil Gaiman had a blog discussion a few months ago about books in high school libraries and censorship. Worth a read!

Stuff marketed as YA fantasy bothers me a little. It all seems very cliched and "orphan discovers he/she is powerful wizard/king" type plotting.

Not that I think that sort of plot can't be done well. (JK Rowling, anyone?)

I just think it attracts so many imitators, that's all we wind up seeing on the shelves.

I'm no expert, however. I don't go looking for YA stuff to read. Actually, I barely get time to read anything. But the stuff I have read that's been marketed as YA (and I am only talking a very narrow fantasy slice of the market here) seems very same old, same old...

Generally i think the thing that makes a book YA is the preachy nature of the story. Usually, as you yourself pointed out, the plot itself is not only shallow, but relatively archetypal. The point of the book, therefore, is not in the story, but rather in making the reader identify with the main character, and learn as that character learns.

I'm not sure if i explained that at all well.

Having had a YA novel published I have walked that fine line between making a story interesting enough for a kid to keep reading it, and keeping it simple enough that it wasn't going to attract the wrath of the educators. I think YA is supposed to be the link between reading about 8 year olds, and reading about 30 year olds, and there are a lot of rules regarding language and the like. I think the story at this url demonstrates that line very neatly: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/third_
page/story.html?id=dfda003b-872f-4aa8-9ec9-002e402b2715

I think YA is focused on what would generally interest kids in whatever age limit that is set for that age group. I didn't read a lot of YA, when I was in the YA age group, because what's the point? Like people said, the subject matter in some of these YA books are worse that adult literature. Here in America, they have this YA series called the Gossip Girls. I picked one up and read one chapter. It was so crude and vulgar, with 15-year-olds having sex and all kinds of other stuff. I guess that's appealing these days for young adults. So, why don't they just read adult books? Most adult literature that I've read have more taste than most YA books.

When I was growing up in the 60's about all there was to read (in my house at least) were The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew and The Happy Hollisters (love that series BTW). Books were something I received only at Christmas and only those of my mother's choice (Dad hated shopping then). Then, around the age of 16, I suddenly found there were actually things called bookstores (yeah, yeah, I led a VERY sheltered youth). That's when I discovered fantasy and sci-fi. My bookshelves have never been the same. Now adays I actually frequent the YA section, and though I now mostly read only fantasy or historical fiction, there are still some good (non-sexual) life preparing books for young teens to read. Tamora Pierce's stories in particular show morals, decision making, use of imagination and how cruel the adult world can be sometimes. On the flipside, I tend to agree with Sara. Had my husband and myself ever been blessed with children (and then grandchildren) of our own we would have definately been wary of what they read until they were of an age to fully understand the rights and wrongs contained therein. Innocence, once lost, can never be regained. IMHO, Children today loose their innocence MUCH too early.

The YA classification depends on the age of the protagonist.

To quote Mitch Hedberg, "Every book is a children's book if the kid can read."