Musings
Have just finished Anthony Eaton’s Into White Silence. Terrific read. Clever writing. On the short list for Older Readers in the 2009 CBCA Awards, and it’s not hard to see why.
But the novel (it combines fact and fiction but is in no way ‘faction’) raises a question. What is it that defines this book as YA? Sure, Eaton has written YA novels before, and very good ones too. Sure, the publishers have entered this title in the CBCA Awards in this category so there’s no problem that it’s made the short list. It was entered, it’s good, it’s shortlisted.
But again there’s that question. What makes this a YA title rather than an adult one? Young adults will certainly enjoy it – it’a page turner. But so will a reader of any age who enjoys a historical mystery, a thriller, a journal, anything about Antarctica.
Unlike another award-winning Antarctic title, Geraldine McCaughrean’s The White Darkness, Eaton’s novel has no youthful protagonist. The narration is cleverly shared by Eaton speaking as himself and the 1921/22 journal of William Downes, aged 25.
So is a protagonist in the YA age group really necessary in a YA novel? We know that there are plenty of novels with young protagonists that are not intended for the YA audience. Especially lately. And we know that some titles are published in the YA market in one country, adult in another. The Book Thief springs to mind.
A quick search shows that this question is being asked more and more. There’s plenty if you look, but try here, here, here, here (and going back a bit), here for starters. The boundaries are becoming blurred and it looks as if we can expect more ‘crossover’ titles hitting the shelves. Surely no bad thing? Isn’t it all about the writing?
May 27th, 2009 at 6:22 pm
I agree that the dividing line between adult and young adult or adolescent is now very thin. A case in point is Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan. Its a terrific book but I can’t see it being read, understood or enjoyed by most teenage readers. There are always exceptions but this struck me as a very adult book. The fact that is uses fairy tales does not make it automatically suitable for young people.
May 29th, 2009 at 8:26 am
Thanks, Mia, for your comment. There is nothing in the content of IWS that would ‘trouble’ a YA reader (there is some violence) but my query is about the nature of YA and what marks this particular title as being a YA title, as the subject matter and age of the protagonists do not fit any YA ‘convention’ – there is no coming of age, there is no hopeful ending (but nor is it bleak because we know Downes’s fate almost from the beginning, just not how or why). As I said, it’s a good read that would suit anybody and on this occasion, plonking a YA label on it seems quite arbitrary.
June 6th, 2009 at 9:50 am
[...] so long ago, we were musing about what defines a YA novel in the context of Anthony Eaton’s fine novel Into White [...]
June 25th, 2009 at 7:16 am
[...] this? It’s where we pondered on the nature of YA in the context of Into White [...]