First, YA stands for Young Adult. It’s literature aimed at aged 12/13 to 18 (plus us weird 35 year olds, yes, seriously, no joke, we’re part of the market). Now that seems like a very weird age range, because anyone who has ever worked with a 12 year old knows they are nothing like an 18 year old or even the 13 year old. Which is why that age category is also broken up into Upper and Lower YA, with the split being somewhere around the 16 year old mark.
There are a lot of people concerned about there 12 year olds and precocious 11 years old reading something innapropriate for their age. Which is part of what makes writing and recommending YA lit so tricky.
Because KIDS READ UP.
– literally every lesson I have ever had regarding children’s literature
Whether it’s because they want to read about what the older kids are doing, they’ve matured too fast for their age, or their reading level is astronomical, the fact is that kids often read above what is percieved as their target level.
Yes, even if they struggle to do so.
With those things in mind, let’s jump into some of these questions from around the internet.
Can an 11 year old read YA?
YES! Absolutely. While sex, drugs, and rock and roll exist in the realm of YAlit there are also plenty of books that don’t have it and a simple Google search about the book’s content will help you answer that more clearly.
Not all YA books contain violence, graphic sex scenes, or depictions of drugs and many YA books are considered Lower YA/Upper Middle Grade, meant they are for kids around 12-14 years old.
What’s the difference between YA and NA?
YA, again, means Young Adult and is meant for 12-18 year olds, and NA means New Adult, it is meant for 18+. For a while, there wasn’t much difference besides the age of the characters. But there has been a bigger push to put most of the sexual content on the NA side.
Many readers and authors have expressed a toggling opinion about smutty YA/NA reads because the characters are so young, as are the readers, but with the acknoledgement that teens are having sexual relationships and reading about them might be the only way they can learn about healthy ones.
So, basically, NA books have a more adult freedom regarding their plot, while their voice and level are written more in YA.
How do you know if a book is YA or NA?
A simple Google search. Also, many publishers will list this as part of the categories on sellers’ sites, so just give a quick look at BN.com or even Amazon to see what the publisher has listed it as.
If you’re still worried, look at sites like StoryGraph, Hardcover, and Fable to see what people have rated it. You can usually get a good sense of the content from reviews.
Can YA books be spicy?
Again, YA means Young Adult (just in case you forgot), and spicy here refers to graphic sexual content.
And yes, some YA books are spicy. Some are spice-lite in that the sex is referred to or heavily implied but hidden behind metaphor or a simple fade to black.
What is the value of YA literature?
Wow.
What a loaded a question.
The value of YA literature is that teens and kids get to read something in their voice at their level that reflects the problems going on in their lives. Think back on your high school years, you probably read Of Mice and Men (I know I did at least 8 times). It’s considered adolescent literature and perfect for teens to read.
Can you tell me what teens relate to in it? Nothing. Absolutely nothing without a biiiiiiiiig streeeeetch.
And of course, you probably have some mind set that you shouldn’t have to relate to literature to appreciate it and I’ll go on a rant about that on another day, but the point is this: it’s important to see yourself in media. Whether that is literature, movies, TV, podcasts, music, etc it doesn’t matter. What matters is representation.
Why do Adults read YA?
BECAUSE.
IT’S.
FUN!
Admittedly, when I started reading YA, it was because it was fast. I’d spent many years as an English major, reading books I hated and had to force myself through, and when I came home, burnt out on Shakespeare and Marlowe, I turned to children’s lit and discovered a world of terrible puns and fast paced plots that got right to the heart of things.
Everybody reads different things for different reasons.
Just let them be.
Booked All Night 