Tag Archive for: YA

What is a “young adult”?

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by: Joelle Charbonneau

Last night, I was fortunate to be signing THE TESTING at the fabulous Boswell Book Company in Milwaukee, WI.  I got to meet fabulous readers, talk about why I wrote The Testing and I even got to read a few pages.  (Which I’m still not used to.  Reading aloud about a camel wearing a hat is easier than reciting some of the stuff in The Testing…but I’m getting better at it.  I think.)  During the chat, a few readers had questions.  Most, I had some kind of answer for.  But there was one that stopped me cold.

A wonderful gentleman raised his hand and asked, “What is a young adult?”

Um….good question.  I wish I had a good answer.  But I didn’t.  The conversation turned into the age appropriateness of the novel – which according to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is 12 and up.  But while I think that was mostly what he was looking for, I realized while I was driving home that it didn’t answer his question.  At least, it didn’t answer it for me.

What is a young adult?

According to the definition on Wikipedia – a young adult is a person in the stages of early adulthood.  That is the period that precedes middle adulthood.   They seem to think that young adulthood is between the ages of 20-40.  Hurray!  According to Wikipedia I’m a young adult!

When I looked up the meaning on Dictionary.com, I found two different definitions that really intrigued me.

One was: a person in the early years of adulthood…which seems to agree with Wikipedia.

The second was: a teenager (used especially by publishers and librarians.)

Huh.

Okay, now does anyone else find it strange that young adult means something completely different in publishing than it does in the rest of the world?  No wonder I had no idea how to define it to the gentleman who raised his hand tonight.  But until he asked the question, I’d never really pondered what it means to be a young adult.

I teach teens.  I’ve taught college students.  Are all of them young adults?  Well, they all fit the publisher’s age criteria, but the more I think about it the more I realize that that age range isn’t accurate.  Not all people hit adulthood (or young adulthood) at the same time.  I have had high school students who weigh decisions carefully before making choices about their future and college students who are happy to let their parents make any decisions for them.  Some students are happy to spend most of their free time paying video games in their basement while others invest extra time in their studies or work to raise money for college tuition.  They are all teens, but are they all young adults?

I have no idea.

Which is why I am asking “adults” – what is the definition of a “young adult” to you?  And teens (if you’re out there) – what do you call yourself?  Do you consider yourself a young adult in more than your reading or do you define yourself differently? Should I be calling you young adult, a teen or something else?   I’d really like to know!

THE LIFEGUARD & Author Deborah Blumenthal

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We are so excited to have author Deborah Blumenthal stop by The Stiletto Gang! Her new YA novel, THE LIFEGUARD, was just released and we are thrilled she’s here to share some thoughts about writing and her new book! Here’s a blurb about this inspired story that author Melissa Senate calls, “Gorgeously written…” 
It’s an unsettled summer for Sirena. Back in Texas, her family’s splitting apart, but here in Rhode Island, at the cottage of her free-spirited aunt, it’s a different world. There are long days at the beach and intriguing encounters with him. Pilot. He’s the lifeguard with shamanic skills. He both saves her and makes her feel lost at sea. Sirena explores her obsession with Pilot and discovers his mysterious–almost magical–gifts.
Q: You have a hand in many facets of writing, everything from the New York Times Sunday magazine to children’s books, to your new YA novel, not to forget four books for adults. Why so many genres? Is there a common thread between them?
A: Ha, maybe I’m unfocused? No seriously, it’s just fun to write for different markets. The only two books with similar themes are FAT CHANCE, my romantic adult novel that deals with weight issues and self acceptance, and FAT CAMP, my YA novel, about a teenage girl coming to terms with the genetic hand she was dealt. But while the subjects of all the other books are different, what they have in common is my writing style which is spare and immediate.
Q: THE LIFEGUARD, just released, is your new YA novel. (Love the cover, BTW) Did you set out to write a YA story, or did the premise lend itself to the idea?
A: I knew from the start that it would be a YA novel. THE LIFEGUARD is largely about infatuation and the blurred lines between fantasy and reality, themes that tie into experiencing first love.
Q: At a glance, readers will be very drawn to the idea of this sixteen year-old girl, Sirena, and this oh-so-yummy lifeguard. But even as you read the book blurb, it’s clear that there’s a whole lot more to the story. As an author, what’s the dividing line between YA and an adult novel?

A: I don’t think there are definitive lines between YA books and those for adults. What it has to do with is recognizing that when you’re writing YA, you’re writing about people who have less history to draw on, so they experience things differently from adults. In terms of subject matter though, almost anything goes.

Q: What surprised you most while writing THE LIFEGUARD?

A:  For the most part, Pilot, the lifeguard is very close mouthed. It was as if he wanted to remain something of an enigma and refused to speak to me as a writer, so I let him have his way and I’m hoping readers will use their imaginations to flesh out his character. I may be criticized for that, but if I were writing the book now I’d still draw him that way.

Q: Time for the chicken or the egg question! What comes first for you, plot or characters?

A: Definitively the characters.

Q: Your list of published work is not only long and impressive, but, interestingly, also trends with the growth of social media. How does marketing this book differ from your first books? How has social media changed your approach?

 
A:  Years back you hoped for good reviews from literary journals as well as newspapers and magazines. That was about it. Today we have blogs – like this one – which are wonderful venues for reaching readers, and then, of course, Facebook and Twitter, so we have a much wider field and far more potential.
Q: Because you are a trifecta author: Adult, Children’s and YA, do you find it difficult to switch writing hats, so to speak?
A: Actually it’s wonderful to hop around. If you’re stalled in one area, another type of book offers you a temporary escape hatch.
Q:  Aside from your computer, what’s on your writing desk, and which item is most important?
A:  A diary, bills, (boring!), DVDs, and my favorite thing, my little turquoise plastic good luck owl, who never takes his watchful eyes off me.
Thanks, Deborah! Visit Deborah’s site or head straight to Amazon to get your copy of THE LIFEGUARD!