What is the difference between Young Adult and Middle Grade literature?

September 12, 2016

between-the-lines

 

 

 

is a series of posts focused on better understanding books, trends in writing, and the labels associated with these.


 

Lately, I’ve been having dialogues with my friends around the labels for books. Books are labeled by genre and they are also labeled by reading level. Often, when people identify genres for books, they say, “Oh, that’s YA.” But Young Adult and Middle Grade are not genres– they are reading levels. This is confusing when classifying literature because the lines between these reading levels are easily blurred. So, what really is the difference?

Officially, middle grade novels are intended for ages 8-12 and young adult novels are intended for ages 12-18. And from a reading level perspective, that’s easy enough. But is that all it is? Of course not. It’s not remotely that clean up. Let’s start with the title “middle grade” This is not synonymous with middle schoolers. Between these two reading levels a lot of change is happening with our readership. Authors are concerned with their readership’s life experiences, their interests, and their mind-set. Our readers care about length, content, subjects, and themes.

Let’s break this down:

mg-vs-ya

 

Other things to consider:
MG/YA readers prefer to “read up” to their protagonists. They want to read about someone older than they are; someone they can look up to and admire.

What is cool to a 10-year-old is very different than what is cool to a 16-year-old. This is the most logical and obvious way to differentiate between reading levels. A ten-year-old trusts Mr. Tummnis, where a 16-year-old doesn’t. 10-year-olds wants fantastic adventure, 16-year-olds want to better understand themselves. The coolness factor is critical to the content and engagement of the intended audience.

MG readers will always almost have a gatekeeper. Due to the age-range intended for MG literature, it’s common for a parent, librarian, or teacher to provide books. This means that all these books will have to pass their approval before it reaches the intended audience.

Both YA and MG focus on discovery. The trick is that Middle Grade literature is often about learning through observation, while Young Adult literature will experience things themselves. For example, an MG protagonist will hear their friends talking about their experiences with sex, while a YA protagonist will experience sex first-hand.

 

Obviously, there are exceptions to all rules. Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone is identified as middle grade. But at 77,000 words it far surpasses my estimated word length above. The lines blur sometimes, and that’s where the debate comes in. Because, in the end, all that matters is that the story is meaningful to the intended reader.


 

What do you think?

  • Does this fit your definitions of Middle Grade and Young Adult literature?
  • Where do you agree? Where do you disagree?
  • What are your favorite Young Adult and Middle Grade novels? Why do you classify them as such?

14 Comments

  • Jasmine September 12, 2016 at 10:19 am

    Excellent post! Really help clear a lot of things. I thought Harry Potter seems too dark for middle grade but like you say, can’t define everything in black or white. Everyone just want a good story.. hehe

    • Jackie B September 12, 2016 at 11:28 am

      Thank you, Jasmine!
      The beautiful thing about Harry Potter is that the series grows with the reader. So, HP and the Sorceror’s Stone feels a lot more like middle grade to me, but Order of the Phoenix is firmly YA. In HP&tSS, we have sequential events, reacting to things, and a fairly simple structure. Meanwhile, in HP&tOotP, Harry is trying to understand who he is, what his role is in this crazy new world, etc.
      Honestly, I think Harry Potter changed the game. That’s why we see the lines blurring more now!

  • Read Diverse Books September 12, 2016 at 11:40 pm

    This was terrific, thank you for putting it together.
    I’ve read a couple of Middle Grade books that were a little mature for my liking! But in general, there is limited sexuality in those kinds of books.
    I want to expand my reading to include more Middle Grade because I can appreciate it more as an adult than I would have as a teenager. That’s one of my many reading goals.

    • Jackie B September 13, 2016 at 2:42 pm

      Thanks, Naz!
      Really? The only sort of sexuality I’ve encountered is typically fairly basic– I’m curious what you read; if you recall, would you share titles? I’d love to expand my reading, as well.
      I’m all about reading Middle Grade books. Some of them, like the first Percy Jackson series, are just brilliant. Not many titles come to mind as far as diverse books are concerned… I’ll need to do some more research!

  • Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity September 13, 2016 at 10:31 pm

    Conversations like this are always pretty interesting, because even though there are standard definitions for YA and MG, I think a lot of time it is up to the reader to decide!

    To be honest, I mostly classify YA as having teenage protagonists (or maybe 20/21, depending on what kind of story it is), and MG is generally below that. There are exceptions, though, because sometimes a book with a 13 or 14 protagonist can definitely fit into the MG age range, and sometimes there are YA (and even adult) books with really young protagonists.

    A lot of the time, I also go by how it’s written. YA generally is more technical (and longer, like you mentioned), whereas the storytelling in MG books can be more simple in the turn of events and the “dots” that the reader has to connect.

    I haven’t read a lot of MG books since I moved out of that age range, but one I read last year was really good: The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart. It was so lovely, and didn’t feel “kiddy” at any point, which I really appreciated.

    • Jackie B September 14, 2016 at 10:00 am

      That’s so true, about the reader needing to decide. I think that’s what makes the “Gatekeeper” concept so critical for MG literature– it allows another person to decide what is appropriate for the reader, and therefore change the concept of what MG really is based on their opinions.

      I will have to check out The Honest Truth– it sounds fascinating! I appreciate MG literature reading up, for sure. Thanks for the recommendation!

  • mreadsbooks September 14, 2016 at 10:26 am

    Great post – I love your infographic! Thanks for breaking it down so beautifully! 🙂

    • Jackie B September 14, 2016 at 12:59 pm

      Thanks, M! I appreciate the feedback. 🙂

  • Resh Susan @ The Book Satchel September 14, 2016 at 10:30 pm

    Well written post. And the graphic is super cool as well. I read both middle grade and YA (not as much as I would like to, but still good enough to explore the genres) and often find them overlapping. As you have mentioned about sexuality in middle grade books is minimum. But in some books they are a tad bit over, I am rummaging my mind for examples and I cant think of any. A similar example was when I read A Court of Rose and Thorns. It was marketed as YA but seems more of New Adult.

    • Jackie B September 15, 2016 at 8:50 am

      Thanks, Resh Susan!
      I think there are definitely some blurred lines between YA and New Adult, as well. Particularly since New Adult is such a new concept for many people. I haven’t read A Court of Rose and Thorns, but I’ll certainly keep an eye out for the blurred lines there. Let me know if you come up with any others!

  • Kourtni @ Kourtni Reads February 24, 2017 at 8:02 pm

    This is a great representation of the different factors in determining whether a book is YA or MG! It definitely can be a blurry line that’s hard to differentiate between, especially since both have a lot of the same themes (like discovering your “true” self, how you fit into the world, etc).

    • Jackie B February 26, 2017 at 9:55 pm

      Thanks, Kourtni! Yes– you’re right that themes are the blurriest of the lines. Also, different authors/publishers/librarians/parents will have different opinions about what themes are appropriate for what age ranges. It’s just so complicated! Who knows if we will ever figure it all out…

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