I Haven't a Clue - Do You?

I recently wrote reviews for the Legends of Amun Ra series and mentioned that “they weren’t exactly YA appropriate” which would have been great if they were intended for YA audiences. I was with great shock a few days later when the author thanked me for the review but said that he didn’t write YA.

Yeah, I know — OOPS.

Anyway, we got to talking because he’s an amazing writer I just didn’t care for the steam or the language and we wound up discussing how YA is even a category.

Josh said:

The American Library Association (ALA) defines “YA” as a reader between the age of 12 to 18 years old. While everyone knows that 18 is “legally” an adult, to me it’s a joke that we even lump what an 18 year old would be able to read, both mature and graphically, as the same as a 12 year old. An 18 can be given a gun and sent to another country to kill someone in a war, but a twelve year old can’t. And somehow the literary world thinks that we can just lump those huge juxtaposing maturities of ages into one broad category called “YA”. Further, YA should not be a reading level of the reader as many adults read YA books. YA truly is a reference to the characters in the book.

I’ve noticed a sad assumption also in the literary world that if you have a book that has characters between the ages of 12-18 it is automatically assumed to be a YA book. Of course, no one gives a thought to contact the writer to see if that is the intended age range of the work. Cormac McCarthy’s book The Road has a little boy in it, yet no one in their right minds would ever think that The Road is YA.

While the lawyer in me wants to argue that Legends of Amun Ra could be called YA because YA is defined as up to 18 years of age, the uncle in me realizes that YA as a general category is seriously messed up. I would never want my 12 year old nieces and nephews reading my own work based upon the preconceived notion that it is YA. While I firmly believe that it is appropriate for 16 years or above, I wrote Legends of Amun Ra (and all works under that name) as adult books.

I must say that I agree completely. This is not an easy group of books to review for & I can’t even imagine writing for them. I also know that what I knew at 16 is completely different than what my son knows at 16 and he’d be horrified at some of what I read back then.

So how can we – as reviews & as authors – help the purchasers?

I have to admit it would never occur to me to contact a writer directly and ask who is the intended reader. I guess that’s why I have YA steam ranking and then an age rating as well — because they are completely different areas too!!

What are your thoughts?

Check out Josh’s books —

The Series:

Legends of Amun Ra (This is an add on to the series giving depth to the history of the series.)

More About Josh:

Joshua Silverman was born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Orange County, California.

While attending California State University, Fullerton and studying Criminal Justice, Joshua was introduced to a creative writing class where he wrote a series of paranormal stories. As a child, he has always been an amateur historian, focusing on ancient Egypt, Greece, and Roman civilizations.

Since working in the legal environment, he has combined his passion for creative writing with his love of ancient history by penning his debut novel, The Emerald Tablet, the first of seven in the Legends of Amun Ra series.

Websites & Links: Website

Gina ~ Hott Books

** Many of the books I review are Advance Review Copies. These books are loaned to me for my review. I am in no way compensated for my time nor am I asked to give anything but my honest review. If you have further questions, please, review my FTC Disclaimer on my homepage.