As of recently I've noticed YA and even NA being harshly criticized for the characters acting to young.
t's a real thing. I've been writing YA for many years and spent twenty years working with children ages 11 to 19. I have a fairly good grasp on how teens act and even think. Recently, I've seen reviews on YA books harshly criticizing how the characters act. They act too young, are too impulsive, make horrible decisions or don't make decisions at all, are to whiny, angsty. You list goes on but you get the picture. I would love to ask these people when was the last time they spent time with a teen or young adult between the ages of 11 and 21.
Teenagers and even college age students are all of the things I listed that readers are complaining about. Young adults have limited knowledge of the world and experiences to draw on. As an author that's one of the things I love about writing YA and even NA. They see the world from a naive set of eyes. Even a street savvy teen has limited experiences although different from a more sheltered teen. They know the world in which they live and that world grows exponentially larger as they experience life.
As an author I won't be changing my formula. One thing that should be present in a good YA series is protagonist growth. The reader should experience that with the character, and they should develop together.
The more research I did and the further into the rabbit I went I'm finding adults love YA. That's no secret to me. The majority of readers of my books are adults not teens. It's been that way for as long as I've been writing YA. What's changing is either an adult's perception of what a teenager is in today's world, or they simply want young people with adult thinking. Young people don't think like adults no matter which generation. It's called growing pains.
If you love YA think about why you love it. If you love growing with the character than it’s a good category for you. If you love the fast pace, slew of supernatural stuff and exploration of that through a young set of eyes than its your category but if you think the characters act too young please look in the adult section not young adult for your books.
YA or even NA characters acting too young is an oxymoron. THEY ARE YOUNG! They should act young. My head was left spinning. Think about the character. Are they a sheltered young adult between ages 11 to 25 or a character who had to grow up quickly. Usually there are clues in the story such as my mom is an alcoholic and I never knew my father or dad works two jobs to support us after my mom died of cancer. Whereas you have more sheltered characters who have two parents who go to their footfall and volleyball games, who they can talk with about nearly anything or maybe are focused on getting into a good college regardless of life circumstances.
The point is the author generally gives clues to the characters upbringing and how that has influenced them. Remember young people have limited experiences which impact their life and decision making process. As a reader don't glide over those cues. They are important in the development of the character.
My latest series Realm Walker centers around Terra. She in impulsive, rebellious and acts out from time to time. She just lost her father, never knew her mother as she died when Terra was an infant. At 17 she has to go live with an aunt and subsequently is thrown into a world filled with realms she never knew existed and subspecies she thought only existed in fairy tales such as lycans, fae, elves, trolls, vampires, dragon shifters and those who reap souls called harvesters. Her mind is blown. She is resistant to her new reality and wants nothing more than to return to the human realm and her friends to finish her senior year. Have you ever relocated a 17 year old away from their life long friends in their senior year? How did it work for you? How did it work for them?
NA is a new category for me. Once Upon Academy was my first dive into NA and romance. In my first set of OUA books I chose Grenna and Mandevar. Grenna is a hardworking academic from an average middle class family in the US. She wanted nothing more than to get into a good college. Mandevar is a science geek from an upper middle-class family in Persia. Neither of them is street savvy and both have limited understanding of the world. That was done purposely as I was getting my feet wet in two new categories at once.
My OUA volume 3 story is far spicier because of who the characters are. I'm also far more comfortable with both categories an as author. I have four more romances both YA and NA that will be coming out withing the next couple years.
Getting back to Realm Walker. All four books in the series have been written and will be published one every 6 months for the next couple years. The first book is slower paced as there's a ton of world building that I didn't want to dump on readers so it’s woven into the story. Throughout the series Terra grows, changes and learns. She becomes far more comfortable with the new world she's been thrown into.
Terra's series is the intro into the greater Realm Walker universe. I have five stories written in at least
rough draft form that are not necessarily related to Terra and plans for an entire series that parallels Terra's. The character will be a bit younger, and it will be as much of a romance as it is an exploration of the character falling into an learning the greater world is so much larger than she ever imagined as things like vampires, werewolves, hunters, hybrids and warlocks become a true reality to her. Her story will have no connection to Terra. There may even be a post story to Terra's series that introduces a new character and series.
The point in my rambling is that YA and NA authors shouldn't be forced to put adults in teen bodies. The categories were developed to give readers in those age groups characters they could connect with who are experiencing situations such as themselves. Adults can enjoy the categories too just as young adult readers shouldn't be stuck in YA only. It's perfectly OK to read across categories and genres but don't push out the readers the categories were designed for and don't push your life onto those characters. Except them for who they are and understand the life they are coming from.
I will continue to write YA and NA. My characters will be young and make decisions and act like young people. If you as a reader don't like how young people act don't buy YA or NA and if you do don't criticize the book because the characters act too young!
