I recently read an interesting essay by Margo Rabb in the New York Times Book Review about how novels come to be categorized as Young Adult or Adult, “I’m Y.A., and I’m O.K.” July 20, 2008. (Use Find Journals link to search for New York Times Book Review). The essay talks about who decides at the publishing house whether a book is for children or adults. Margo Rabb, the author of of the Y.A. novel, Cures for Heartbreak, proposes that many Y.A. novels are given that designation by the marketing department of the publisher even though the writer may have intended that the novel be for an adult audience. I have recently been reading Y.A. novels by a writer mentioned in this essay, Stephenie Meyer, writer of the popular Twilight series. My daughter who is 16 tells me many of her friends are obsessed with these books, and I am also aware that many of my library colleagues (not teenagers) have been reading them also. Margo Rabb also mentions that writers of adult novels often consider Y.A. literature to be light weight. What do you think?
