Young Adult vs. Middle Grade Books

Summer is fast approaching and as a librarian, I have found that many parents and even some kids are confused and misunderstand the difference between young adult books and books for those students in middle grades.  Once I read past the middle grade novels in my public library in my hometown, I basically moved straight to adult books because there were not as many young adult books available that appealed to me.  Many school libraries prevent students from reading certain books until they’ve reached a certain grade.  I know in our library it can be a little confusing because our children’s department stretches to 8th grade, but we also have a separate are for young adult books so we have some books in both places.  Some parents only want they children to read from a reading list for their grade level, well summer is a time for kids to read books they want to read and hopefully get a break from the required reading they see all school year.  Here’s a quick way to understand the difference between middle grade and young adult literature.

Middle Grade Novels

These books are written for an audience of 8 – 12 year olds with characters, settings, and plots that this age group can connect with.  Often there is less of a focus on a character’s feelings and internal struggle and more so on their relationships with other characters and a more plot-driven focus.  Most likely these books although may not shy away from tough issues, will avoid graphic descriptions.  Middle grade novels are often shorter than young adult, although J.K. Rowling started pushing longer books with a simpler sentence structure and vocabulary.

Young Adult Novels

Young adult novels are usually geared toward a 12+ audience, but again, it really depends on each individual reader.  Characters in young adult novels are often coming-of-age with much of the focus on the main character and their individual growth or struggle.  Young adult novels are often considered “edgy” due to their subject matter and often involve romantic story lines as well.

Overall, each child should choose books that interest them and they can understand and comprehend.  Young adult novels are a great way for older children to experience and better understand about tough subjects and can be a great way to opening a door for discussion with parents.  Picture books to young adult, publishers have been choosing some great books in the past few years and my mantra is that there’s a book for everyone out there…. you just have to find it!