From: Rebecca O'Connell <anatidaeling>
Date: Sun, 18 May 2003 20:04:55 -0400

Is there a difference between the YA books written for middle school students and those created for high schoolers?

I don't think there is.

As a librarian, I couldn't (and probably wouldn't) stop a twelve-year-old from taking out, for example, _Boys Lie_ even though it is a disturbing story about a violent crime. So even though I might see it as a book for older readers, it may go home with a sixth-grader.

As a writer, I don't write with an age group in mind. The characters, plot, and theme have much more with how the story develops than my imagined future readers.

We don't get to choose who reads the books. What we can do is give kids access (in our classrooms and libraries and on our pages) to a wide variety of well-written, thought-provoking stories.

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Received on Sun 18 May 2003 07:04:55 PM CDT