PF as YA

James Wynn · 17 Apr 2009, 18:07 · from 2009-April.txt.gz

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From: crushtv at gmail.com (James Wynn)
Date: Fri, 17 Apr 2009 13:07:41 -0500
Subject: (urth) PF as YA
In-Reply-To: <456950.42606.qm at web50709.mail.re2.yahoo.com>
References: <456950.42606.qm at web50709.mail.re2.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <26C412FE8F524D5EAA3C6F523FDC86B5@eMachinePC>

>> From: James Wynn <crushtv at gmail.com>
>> Subject: Re: (urth) PF as YA
>> To: "The Urth Mailing List" <urth at lists.urth.net>
>> Date: Thursday, April 16, 2009, 12:21 PM
>> > Hmm, I thought it was obvious that PF
>> > (and, before it, The Wizard Knight) were
>> > intended as books for young adults!
>>
>> I haven't read PF, but I can pretty well guarantee that
>> WK will not end up in the library at any junior high I know
>> about. It's violent and overtly sexual. And it's
>> tone would definitely not hold the attention of any but the
>> most exceptional young teen. I'd as soon label "A
>> Voyage to Arcturus" as YA fiction as I would WK.
>
> I don't think "for young adults", quoted above, means
> junior high.  Maybe "YA", which I used, does, thought I
> thought it included high-school-age kids too.

Well, when I browse through the YA section of my local used bookstore, I see 
"Wizard of Oz", "Chronicles of Narnia", OS Card's "Ender" series, "Tom 
Sawyer", the "Harry Potter" series, Susan Cooper, and Madeleine L'engle. 
None of these could be categorized with Wizard Knight IMO.

High school libraries might include these books as well and books that 
students might be assigned in college (such as "Huckleberry Finn").  High 
school literature is a "tween" category which doesn't seem to have a 
specific shelf in the publishing industry. For example, L Ron Hubbard's 
"Battlefield Earth" is pulpy and probably especially appealing to a 14 to 17 
audience, but I can't imagine it being marketed as Young Adult.

But you're probably right in this sense: If WK had any chance of becoming a 
"Gold Book", it would happen for an exceptional older teen. But I stand my 
analogy to "A Voyage to Arcturus".

J.

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