Age
When an author writes a book for the Young Adult genre, they assume the primary audience is going to be a child who is 12 years to 17 years old, regardless of the gender, race, and socioeconomic status.
The age of the audience for YA literature has expanded to include adults over the age of 17 years old, up to and even past 40 years old. Though these readers are not included in the primary audience of a marketing campaign, older adults are finding these books to be reminiscent and relatable. They read YA books and remember how it felt like to be a young adult; relating to themes centered on dealing with conflict and discovering oneself. A story about a child dealing with mental illness or finding independence is not always about the child itself, but rather about the over-arching idea of the book.
Language
The average young adult has the freedom to explore their language. They are beginning to incorporate time-period specific slang (i.e. culturally made-up words like “selfie”) into their everyday language. Children in the 12 to 17 age range also start exploring their ability to use swearwords around their peers, and how those swearwords are received by their peers.
They have a tendency toward the dramatic, exaggerating their emotions (i.e. “I almost died of embarrassment”) and aspects of the actual event while recounting the situation to their friends and family. Young adults are also very focused on themselves. They have trouble seeing situations from other points of view beside their own, which leads to a dialogue riddled with “I” statements. An example of this could be, “Sarah didn’t call me back. Did I do something to make her mad?” instead of, “Sarah forgot to call me back. I hope she’s okay”. Being able to understand the point of view of someone else comes with age and maturity.
Trials and Discoveries
The primary audience for a Young Adult book is assumed to be a child who is currently undergoing or has experienced many of the stereotypical trials and discoveries of middle school and high school. Young adults are seeking out characters they can relate to, choosing books where the protagonist is facing typical experiences and challenges that mirror the young adult’s life.
The vast amount of themes in YA literature leaves room for children to discover themselves and learn to most past challenges in a safe way. Even children who have not encountered a specific situation can use the book as a tool to better understand their peers who may be experiencing the trial or discovery.
As it relates to older adults choosing to read from the YA genre, they too were children who struggled through many of these same challenges or faced many of these same personal discoveries. Authors and publishers of Young Adult literature are aware that adults can relate to both being a child and being an adult.
When an author writes a book for the Young Adult genre, they assume the primary audience is going to be a child who is 12 years to 17 years old, regardless of the gender, race, and socioeconomic status.
The age of the audience for YA literature has expanded to include adults over the age of 17 years old, up to and even past 40 years old. Though these readers are not included in the primary audience of a marketing campaign, older adults are finding these books to be reminiscent and relatable. They read YA books and remember how it felt like to be a young adult; relating to themes centered on dealing with conflict and discovering oneself. A story about a child dealing with mental illness or finding independence is not always about the child itself, but rather about the over-arching idea of the book.
Language
The average young adult has the freedom to explore their language. They are beginning to incorporate time-period specific slang (i.e. culturally made-up words like “selfie”) into their everyday language. Children in the 12 to 17 age range also start exploring their ability to use swearwords around their peers, and how those swearwords are received by their peers.
They have a tendency toward the dramatic, exaggerating their emotions (i.e. “I almost died of embarrassment”) and aspects of the actual event while recounting the situation to their friends and family. Young adults are also very focused on themselves. They have trouble seeing situations from other points of view beside their own, which leads to a dialogue riddled with “I” statements. An example of this could be, “Sarah didn’t call me back. Did I do something to make her mad?” instead of, “Sarah forgot to call me back. I hope she’s okay”. Being able to understand the point of view of someone else comes with age and maturity.
Trials and Discoveries
The primary audience for a Young Adult book is assumed to be a child who is currently undergoing or has experienced many of the stereotypical trials and discoveries of middle school and high school. Young adults are seeking out characters they can relate to, choosing books where the protagonist is facing typical experiences and challenges that mirror the young adult’s life.
The vast amount of themes in YA literature leaves room for children to discover themselves and learn to most past challenges in a safe way. Even children who have not encountered a specific situation can use the book as a tool to better understand their peers who may be experiencing the trial or discovery.
As it relates to older adults choosing to read from the YA genre, they too were children who struggled through many of these same challenges or faced many of these same personal discoveries. Authors and publishers of Young Adult literature are aware that adults can relate to both being a child and being an adult.
"I think the reason I waited so long to read this series is because I just couldn't imagine myself enjoying reading about an eleven-year-old boy and his adventures at a school of wizardry. I thought it would be too juvenile for my taste. I was wrong, of course" - Lora from Goodreads.com