The Big Idea Book

The Big Idea Book: Five hundred new ideas to change the world in ways big and small | David Owen

Okay, so here's our 1st #BookThink discussion question. (I'm traveling a lot tonight so please forgive me now for not participating much.) YA. At what point are people no longer young adults? What do they become next, middle-age adults? And then at what point are middle-age adults (if that's what they could be called) no longer middle-age? And what are they next? Is there an old adults section? 🤔

readinginthedark I think that's where the "new adult" genre is coming into play now, geared toward college-age adults. When I see YA books labeled for market, it usually says 13 to 17 or 18, if not just 13+. 7y

mostlycatsandcoffee Good questions. In my library we always felt that YA depended on the book content. Some were geared toward younger audiences while some had elements better suited for late teens and early 20's. I think the beauty is that there is no real cut off for anything - it's all about the content and how each reader experiences it that makes it unique. Also, I always consider the large print mystery section the "older people" section. Haha 7y

CocoReads I agree with @readinginthedark about the new adult genre. Although, for the record, I'm in my mid 40s and still enjoy both YA and new adult. 7y

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theshrinkette From what I've seen, YA is 13-18, and 18-21ish is NA. 7y

KVanRead I recently read that A Wrinkle in Time author Madeleine L'engle was once asked how she decided what age she was writing a book for and she said she wasn't smart enough to know the difference. She just wrote what wanted to be written. I think those are often the best books the ones that appeal at any age or that you can go back to at different ages and get different things from them. 7y

mom2bugnbee I'm 44yo and some of my best conversations with my 14yo come through YA books. Typically, YA books don't have as much language & sexual content (always exceptions, of course), but other than that, I don't really know why they're classified as such anymore. 7y

Born.A.Reader I think YA is geered more toward the younger crowd, maybe high school or so, but I'm in my late 20s and still enjoy reading YA. And I think new adult (older adult??) deals with more complicated issues and plot lines than YA. But I find jumping back and forth between the two, balances out heavier books (if you will) and the lighter YA stories. 7y

Smangela I think typically YA is high school age or middle school. But lately the YA novels I've read have been deep, had meaning, and been more than just high school romance. They touch on real subjects in a way kids can related to and find accessible. I think of books like so: it's hard to read forward when you're a growing reader. you might not understand the material of a YA Novel when you're 10; but you can read backward through "levels"at any age :) 7y

katedensen I think there are variations of "young" in the Y part of YA. Also generationally speaking, there's also "emerging adulthood," a phase that is becoming longer among many populations due to socioeconomic, political, etc circumstances, both national and global. Ultimately, I think "young adult" is a misnomer for a good number of the books marketed and published under that genre. 7y

LibrarianJen There is no hard and fast rule. It depends on the maturity of the reader. YA romance may elude to sex, but does not describe it in detail. A new adult romance will describe it in detail. YA is usually about high school whereas new adult is usually about college. When to transition from middle-grade to YA and YA to new adult is more dependent on the maturity of the reader, their preferences and their parents. 7y

Wife For me, a good story is a good story. I really don't pay attention if a book is YA or not. I actually still love a good picture book. 7y

LibrarianJen I love reading YA and new-adult even though I'm 33. I'm just now slowly, reluctantly dragging myself into regular adult fiction. When I say "regular" I mean books like NYT best sellers. I've always liked literature and classics. 7y

drokka Where I live the libraries only divide age between child and general. The bookshops have a child's section then a teen section. Many popular books (especially mysteries, sci-go, and fantasy) can be found both in teens and (I guess adult) sections. YA is a term I struggle with. At an airport I was told that the distinction is based on the protagonist's age, but I've never found Flavia de Luce books in teens, yet Hunger Games was. Maybe it's themes? 7y

Wife @spicyvictorian about that large print section of the library, I've discovered that if I want a popular book asap, I place a hold on the large print version. 💥And I get it! 7y

mostlycatsandcoffee @Wife I wish that worked at my branch! 7y

teebe (1/2) There's no distinct line, it's all about marketing, and what publishers think they can market to whom. Similar to the idea of the teenager. "Teenager" is a relatively new concept, from the 1950s. It was created to market products to adolescents who increasingly had more leisure time & money. Then there were sudden societal concerns about what teenagers were doing, what was appropriate & what "teenage-hood" meant psychologically. 7y

teebe (2/2)The idea of YA and what it is has followed a similar path. Even the common misconception of YA as simpler or less eloquent has come from this idea of "teenager" because what's associated with teens has historically always been considered less. And I think it's a market category constantly evolving, because when I was in high school, YA = teen but now I find it includes college-aged kids as well. 7y

BookThingo Protagonists aged around 16-21, who are dealing with having make adult-type decisions. I'm familiar with new adult because it's a distinct subgenre in romance, but in Australia, we don't really use NA as a category. Our YA books span a broader range of character ages and genres than in the US imo. 7y

callunakeep I am 46 years old. I am a young adult. I am a young adult not because of the number of years I have lived, and not despite the number of years I have lived. I am a young adult because I still keep my life full of wonder, magic, belief in the impossible, participation in the improbable, and joy in every little moment. I intend to be a young adult until I die at a ripe old age! 🤓 😜 (edited) 7y

rustoryhuf The public library in my town has a "Teen" section. Back when I was in a public library children's room, 1978-1991...showing my age here...we did not make the distinction of YA. The books were classified as J for Junior. Perhaps YA will fall of favor for something more descriptive. Who really knows? 7y

silverlocusts I'm 32 and a half and I still feel like a young adult most days. I read a fair amount of YA lit, and I think it's a very diverse genre that can sometimes push more boundaries than literature aimed more to an older audience. Especially in genre fiction, which is my specialty. There's a lot more stories about women, poc, lbgtq, etc in spec fic YA than non-YA, though adult spec fic is evolving rapidly too. 7y

Peddler410 When I was in library school (late '90s) YA was considered high school to 25. Not sure where that number came from but there you have it. I'm in my mid-40s and don't consider myself young adult but I also don't think of myself as middle aged (when does that happen!?). I work in a middle school library and I adore YA literature. Honestly, I think age is all about how you feel based on your activity level. (edited) 7y

Tanner I'm 46, and I don't feel old or middle-aged. Mind you, I don't feel like a teenager either. When I was younger, I read both YA and adult books. If a book sounded interesting, I'd read it, regardless of the age category, because I hated limitations being put on my reading. I still hate that, but I don't read much YA now, and I have no idea what New Adult is like. I should expand my horizons more. 7y

Shemac77 I'm 40 and I'll be YA until I'm on my death bed :) 7y

Hooked_on_books I think there are 2 answers to this, book-related and not. Book wise, I feel like YA is intended for teenagers. This doesn't mean older adults can't enjoy them. Non book wise, I see it as a combination of mental and physical state. Some people are elderly much sooner than others and some never become elderly no matter how long they live. 7y

[DELETED] 614065233 Socially, I think of young adults as 23 and under. That's a separate question from book target audience, though. YA books use vocabulary, themes, and styles which are meant to appeal to teens. Having said that, I have known readers of all ages to enjoy them. 7y

Foxyfictionista I've always had a problem with the YA label. I think that it's good if it gets young people to read more but I believe that people should read WHATEVER THEY WANT. I don't like how we as a society feel the need to categorise and pigeon-hole people. I've read a lot of articles where people shame older people for reading it. Specifically, older women. 7y

Foxyfictionista So I also see it as a feminist/agist issue because it's just one more way people are telling us oldies what to do. We're already told how we should dress our age and how we should act in a mature manner and now we are told what we should be reading. I enjoy stories of all types with all sorts of characters from young to old and obviously other people do too. It also gives us a way to connect with younger generations. Let's all just read books. 7y

Jess_Read_This @Peddler410 I have wondered what age brackets are considered professionally in YA books. Thanks for sharing your knowledge from library school! 7y

Jess_Read_This I'm loving this discussion! I'm 33 and enjoy quite a few YA series/books. I think in my mind I figured most are geared for high schoolers to the mid twenties age brackets. Nothing to substantiate my opinion, just what I assumed. I find that though I may have enjoyed a YA book, I'm hesitant to recommend it to someone until I know they are like minded in the genre. Which is such a shame.. 7y

LauraBeth I don't think it as a genre but more of a marketing tactic since the strategy involves getting "mature" adult women in addition to teens and young adults to read these books. If a category isn't marketed to men at all - does that make it a genre? ? 7y

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