Distinguishing characteristics at a glance
“Young adult” and “middle grade” are age categories, not genres.
Young adult fiction is fiction for preteens and teens, from about the ages of 12 to 18. The category encompasses many genres: mystery, romance, horror, sci-fi, pretty much the same genres you’d see for adult fiction. This fiction is typically in the form of novels.
Middle-grade fiction, by contrast, is fiction for kids ages 8 to 12. The category encompasses most of the usual genres: mystery/detective, action and adventure, thriller, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, historical. If romance, the story is limited to the budding interest typical of the older kids in this age group, often closer to being a friendship, with a first kiss the extent of the relationship.
When writing a YA novel, you’d focus on all those things that hold for any novel — a compelling story, developed well, that follows (and sometimes plays with) genre conventions — as well as on whether it’s a story shaped for this market, with a story and focus that will draw in and engage teens.
When writing a MG novel, likewise, with that special consideration of age. Is this a story and focus that will draw in and engage this age group? And, as they’re young, is the story and its development appropriate for the age group?
With these two age categories, it’s helpful to compare one with the other.
YA FICTION
For ages 12 to 18
Length: typically 50,000 to 70,000 words
POV: typically first, reflecting the deep self-reflection these novels often explore
Main characters are typically between the ages of 15 to 18, with the majority of the other characters in that age group as well
YA encompasses nearly every genre: sic-fi/dystopian, crime/mystery, thriller, horror, fantasy, romance, historical, contemporary
No real content restrictions: this category can have much the same content as fiction for adults. It’s how that content is handled that makes it YA
Profanity and graphic violence are permissible
Romance, but not eroticism
The crises faced by the characters reflect what teens are going through emotionally
Their changing relationships and feelings, the deepening awareness, are all new. The feelings can be overwhelming, unmanageable
Everything in a teen’s life feels intense, electric
Perspective can be difficult to achieve: everything that’s happening feels important, every decision the teen makes can feel monumental, like it defines forever after
The challenges faced by the characters reflect what teens (and their friends) are facing
From bullying and spiteful gossip
To vacillating and difficult friendships as they and their friends grow and change
To (perhaps) drugs, assault, family trauma, deep depression or other mental illness
The focus is introspective, reflective, analytical
Characters seek to better understand themselves and the world, reflecting on and analyzing the relationships that radiate from that nexus like spokes on a wheel
Who they are and who they are in this new world
Who their friends are and how true and strong those friendships are
What’s going on around them, what the things that happen to them in the story mean for themselves and others
How they’ll fit into the world beyond family and friends
Who they they’ll become
Who they can face life with now, who they can partner with, what feels right
Friendships and other peer relationships are fiercely held, but can be unpredictable, even explosive; such relationships may well drive some of the conflict and angst of the story
The story explores the pain, and the joy, of growing up
The story must not talk down to readers
MG FICTION
For ages 8 to 12
Young middle-grade fiction: 8–10
Late middle-grade fiction: 11–13
Word count
Young/early/lower middle grade: 15,000–25,000
Middle grade: 25,000–45,000
Late/upper middle grade: 45,000–65,000
Middle-grade fantasy: 65,000–85,000
POV: typically third person
Main characters are typically between the ages of 9 and 13 (depending on whether this is young or late middle grade) with the majority of the other characters in that age range as well
Nearly any genre can be tailored to this age: mystery/detective, action and adventure, thriller, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, historical. Romance only for late middle grade, with a light treatment, possibly a first kiss
Strong content restrictions:
No profanity or graphic violence
Romance is limited to crushes and first kisses
Stories can be dark or scary, but the treatment must be age-appropriate
Early middle grade
Themes: friendship, family, humor
Lighthearted stories
Tougher themes handled with care: it’s all about interpretation, perspective, tone
Juvenile humor often helps pull readers in
Late middle grade
Themes: more definition of self apart from family; first crush and budding romance; belonging and fitting in
Stories that begin to look at the new world opening up for these readers: contemporary middle-grade fiction is becoming more complex, taking on darker, more serious, and more complicated themes — but the books typically do so in a well-rounded, approachable way
Where there’s humor, it will typically be more nuanced and sophisticated
Tone: can be ironic, but ought never to become cynical; somber, but not bleak
Middle-grade voice: difficult to define, easy to recognize (if you’re a middle-grade librarian or editor, you know it)
Doesn’t talk down to readers, but engages them where they are in this moment in their lives
Isn’t too mature
Isn’t too flat
Should have some compelling quality that keeps readers reading
In contrast to YA, the middle-grade characters’ world is smaller: home, neighborhood, school; friends and family
The challenges these characters face come from within their immediate world of friends and family, and they tend not to face those challenges alone
In contrast to YA, stories tend to be more external than internal, more focused on what the characters perceive: the main characters do not engage much in self-reflection, but must address real-life situations
Any internal conflicts there are reflect what the readers in this age group are grappling with: navigating the deepening terrain of friendship and potentially shifting loyalties, addressing the small acts of injustice in their lives, sticking up for friends, dealing with bullies
The story must not talk down to readers