Heads are exploding here in District 14 (Minneapolis/St. Paul
and environs) over Minnesota Public Radio’s attempt to name the
“Best YA Novel of All Time.”
Splat!
There went another one.
The problem, as most kidlit folks see it, is that despite
having all the information available to them, the good folks at MPR failed to
educate their voting public as to what is or is not a Young Adult novel. Their
list of ten nominees contains only four (or maybe five) books that fit the
industry definition of “YA novel.”
Splat!
Aww, Steve
Brezenoff, was that you? Rest in peace, my friend.
Before my own head goes kerblooey, I’d like to weigh in on
this issue. Generally, YA novels are books about teens putting on adult shoes
for the first time. In other words, coming-of-age stories. In its broadest
sense, this would include books like Hatchet,
or Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s
Stone, or A Wrinkle in Time—all
of which appear on the MPR list. But
wait! Young Adult novels are also defined by their audience, and at this point
in the history of Naming Things, that audience is mostly kids in grades 7-10. (A lot of older teens—high school juniors and seniors— read YA too, but most of them have moved on to “old adult” literature.)
The three books named above are written for 4th, 5th,
and 6th graders, and are what we book people call “middle-grade”
novels.
Splat!
Sorry, Andrew
Karre, I’m making this sound simpler than it is. Some editors and authors
argue that to be considered YA, and novel must be about the adolescent experience. I don’t know that I would go that
far. I can’t think of a book I would call YA that is not about the adolescent experience, but I can think of several
books about the adolescent experience that I would not call YA. Stephen King’s Carrie,
for example, or Gone With The Wind, or Great Expectations. (I could argue the
other side of that, but I’m not gonna do it today.)
Anyway, in an apparent effort to appeal to the broadest possible audience, MPR chose to embrace the broadest definition of YA, and include
middle-grade books. I was disappointed (though not surprised), but mostly I was
glad they made the effort to deal with YA/MG novels as serious literature. I
give them an A for effort, and a B- for execution.
As for the list of nominees—setting aside whether or not the books are
“YA”—I think it’s a pretty good reflection of MPR audience tastes, with the
exception of the John Green novel, which came out less than a year ago. Don’t
get me wrong—Green is a remarkable writer, and The Fault in Our Stars is a fine book, and it will be read and
loved for many years to come, but the reason it’s on this best-of-all-time list
can be summed up in one word: Nerdfighters.
Splat!
Not sure who that was. Maybe Kelly
Barnhill.
Posts
8 comments:
One of YOUR books should be on that list. I nominate GODLESS.
Marianne, You are a sweetheart!
I adore you, Mr. Hautman. Forever and for always.
(Also, my brain exploded YEARS ago. I've found I've been able to muddle through without it.)
My new favorite thing is Laura Bradley Rede's suggestion that we adopt a slogan: START SEEING MIDDLE GRADE.
Oh, I do love "START SEEING MIDDLE GRADE" Why do so many 4th graders want to read The Hunger Games? Because YA books are cool and MG books are largely invisible these days. And there have been such beautiful ones this year: Counting by 7s, Doll Bones, and The Real Boy, of course :-)
Thanks for fighting the good fight, Pete! Good to hear your voice on MPR.
Isn't the best YA of all time Tom Sawyer by Mr. Mark Twain?
Hey Guy in Oregon, Tom Sawyer is a great book, and deserves a place on any top ten list of children's literature. But today it would be considered a classic example of middle-grade (for kids 9-12 years old) rather than YA (12-up). For more of a YA feel, look to Tom's more daring and grown-up friend, Huckleberry Finn.
Post a Comment