Wild Things: YA Grown-Up discussion

Is she a YA author? I just read My Sister's Keeper and most of it would be fine for my 13 yo dd; not too crazy about a couple of the sex scenes, though. Am I too old fashioned?

I haven't read anything by her yet, so I don't know if that book could be considered YA or not. I think of her as someone who writes adult fiction, but that doesn't mean that her books cannot cross the line into YA. :)

OK, I didn't think she was, but some authors do write for both YA & A (Neil Gaiman being one). Just thought I'd check with all you experts! Thanks!

I recently acquired "Mercy" by JP, and I really doubt that it is appropriate for YA, as it has to deal with euthanasia of the terminally ill. I am looking forward to reading it, but it has gotten rather mixed reviews on GR.

Becky, Mercy is in no way a YA appropriate book. I hope you enjoy it more than I did.

Yeah, I didn't think so. Yours was actually one of the "mixed" reviews I saw. I didn't really read any reviews, as I don't like to spoil anything or start the book with a biased opinion, but I did see that you rated it only 1 star.

It sounds interesting though, and if it's bad, well, then I can only go up from there! ;)

Not sure if I could call her YA but if you have mature readers who can handle hard subject matter. The Pact is revelant to teenagers but it was hard to read and not sure if many teenagers could/would like the subject matter. Great book to discuss those. I also read one I think Plain truth about the Amish,

JP tends to take stories "ripped from the headlines" and write a powerful emotional story with characters who you feel for, and makes you think about these issues

I don't consider Jodi Picoult a YA author, but I know many teens (girls mostly) do like and read her books. I've read Nineteen Minutes, The Pact, and My Sister's Keeper, and all of those have teens as the main characters, which appeals to that age group. Also, Nineteen Minutes and The Pact deal with the teen issues of a school shooting and suicide. I thought all three books were excellent, very thought provoking.

I don't consider her a YA author, but if the child is mature enough she could be ok. I read The Pact and Nineteen Minutes which deal with teenagers. My sister's friend who is 17 is read My Sister's Keeper right now.

She should not be classified as YA, definitely not. But that doesn't mean young adults can't read her. I see the classification as a guideline of appropriateness, and she definitely has mature themes in all of her books. That said, I think older teens could probably read her without a problem; I actually think Nineteen Minutes should be read by high schoolers and am glad it's on certain summer reading lists.

There is always a blurred line between age groups, starting with grades 3 and up. Some kids are ready for more advanced reading and subject matter before others. Having said that, there is often a pretty clear line between young adult and teen fiction, but even then, there can be a big difference in what younger teens and older teens are mature enough for. I am really anti-censorship, so I don't like discouraging anyone from reading what they want, but there are some areas in the sexual content that are just less appropriate for younger teens. For example, I recommend the Twilight series to most all young adults/teens, but the Sookie Stackhouse vampire series (on which the HBO series True Blood is based), I only recommend to older teens, as the sexual content can get quite heavy. The Picoult books have themes that in their maturity just don't even appeal to the younger readers. However, I don't think a younger teen should be barred from reading Picoult if they so desire. I never told my kids that they couldn't read something, but I can remember waiting a bit when my daughter was a teen before recommending certain books, not that she waited for my recommendations. My son, who is 22 now, has read stuff (for a long time) I don't think I'm old enough for at 55. LOL!

I think how age appropriate a lot of books are depends on how the child interacts with them. I think a lot of books become far more age appropriate if a parent sits down with them and has a dialogue about it. If I had a 13 year old daughter who read Twilight, I would want to talk to her about Edward and Bella's relationship, as an example.

Liz wrote: "I think how age appropriate a lot of books are depends on how the child interacts with them. I think a lot of books become far more age appropriate if a parent sits down with them and has a dialog..."

Thank you! Finally an adult who cares about what their children are reading. I am all for allowing YA and children to read what interests them, but I want to slap the moms that come into the bookstore and purchase "Twilight" series for their 3rd and 4th grade children and have no idea what the story is about. Thank you for taking the time to talk to a student.

Brenda wrote: "Liz wrote: "I think how age appropriate a lot of books are depends on how the child interacts with them. I think a lot of books become far more age appropriate if a parent sits down with them and ..."

I totally agree. If you're going to let your child read a book for teens or adults, you should know what they're about and maybe talk to them about it after or before they read it.

Thanks Brenda. I don't actually have kids, but when I do, I want to instill my love of literature in them.

I'm doing a Jodi Picoult month right now and I don't really think her books are for YA. My Sister's Keeper was a wonderful book about teenagers and their family (but my fave pov was from the dad). And another good book that some ya's might like is Nineteen Minutes (it has to do with high school shootings), but I'm not done with it yet. I'll post more thoughts on her books at the end of the month.

Kathy wrote: "There is always a blurred line between age groups, starting with grades 3 and up. Some kids are ready for more advanced reading and subject matter before others. Having said that, there is often ..."
Hi, I'm fourteen, turning fifteen very soon. I have a reading level of 12.9 and have no problem understanding adult complexities, but are the sex scenes too explicit for me? I am interested in the vampire theme, so that was what drawn me in.