Comments on: YA and Romance: A Requirement? http://cathschaffstump.com/archives/2010/02/03/ya-and-romance-a-requirement/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ya-and-romance-a-requirement All Right Already! I'm Hip! Fri, 23 Jul 2010 20:52:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Heather S. Ingemar http://cathschaffstump.com/archives/2010/02/03/ya-and-romance-a-requirement/comment-page-1/#comment-1163 Heather S. Ingemar Thu, 04 Feb 2010 03:31:17 +0000 http://cathschaffstump.com/?p=2412#comment-1163 I don't think you have to have romance to make it a YA book. I order for the YAs at my day-job (librarian), and there are plenty of awesome, brilliant books about friendship, rivalry, and triumph over one's circumstances that don't contain romance. When I order books, I look at the age of the protag (over 14?) and the darkness of the text. If it's dealing with pretty mild things, it might end up in the kid's section. If it's dealing with a lot of darker themes -- violence, drugs, death, foul language, etc -- but still reads for the 14+ crowd, it ends up in YA. Food for thought. :) I don't think you have to have romance to make it a YA book. I order for the YAs at my day-job (librarian), and there are plenty of awesome, brilliant books about friendship, rivalry, and triumph over one's circumstances that don't contain romance.

When I order books, I look at the age of the protag (over 14?) and the darkness of the text. If it's dealing with pretty mild things, it might end up in the kid's section. If it's dealing with a lot of darker themes -- violence, drugs, death, foul language, etc -- but still reads for the 14+ crowd, it ends up in YA.

Food for thought. :)

]]> By: Lisa Morton http://cathschaffstump.com/archives/2010/02/03/ya-and-romance-a-requirement/comment-page-1/#comment-1162 Lisa Morton Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:29:20 +0000 http://cathschaffstump.com/?p=2412#comment-1162 I'm struggling a bit with this, too. I've got what I thought was a YA novel in the drawer waiting for a rewrite, and one of the things I've realized is that it reads a lot younger than I'd intended. I think part of that is the lack of a romantic subplot - I adamantly kept my two main characters as 'just good friends' because a romance between them didn't seem to fit the story. Now I'm trying to decide whether to figure out how to age it up (probably in part by adding romance) or call it an upper middle grade, and rewrite with that in mind, instead. So all that's to say, I don't know the answer either. If you figure one out, let me know! I'm struggling a bit with this, too. I've got what I thought was a YA novel in the drawer waiting for a rewrite, and one of the things I've realized is that it reads a lot younger than I'd intended. I think part of that is the lack of a romantic subplot - I adamantly kept my two main characters as 'just good friends' because a romance between them didn't seem to fit the story.

Now I'm trying to decide whether to figure out how to age it up (probably in part by adding romance) or call it an upper middle grade, and rewrite with that in mind, instead.

So all that's to say, I don't know the answer either. If you figure one out, let me know!

]]> By: Tessa Gratton http://cathschaffstump.com/archives/2010/02/03/ya-and-romance-a-requirement/comment-page-1/#comment-1161 Tessa Gratton Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:00:31 +0000 http://cathschaffstump.com/?p=2412#comment-1161 I went through a phase from about 13-15 years old where if a book didn't have at least a little romance, I WOULD NOT READ IT. I don't thin you HAVE to have it in a YA, but also, romance is one of the #1 things on teenage minds (especially girls, maybe?). So ignoring it is kind of like ignoring the fact that they have to go to school or something. Unless you have reasons in the story for it not to be there (totally different culture, maybe, or it's an Action Driven book that takes place over two days?). Tessa I went through a phase from about 13-15 years old where if a book didn't have at least a little romance, I WOULD NOT READ IT.

I don't thin you HAVE to have it in a YA, but also, romance is one of the #1 things on teenage minds (especially girls, maybe?). So ignoring it is kind of like ignoring the fact that they have to go to school or something. Unless you have reasons in the story for it not to be there (totally different culture, maybe, or it's an Action Driven book that takes place over two days?).

Tessa

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