YA, Why Not? (Part 2)

Day Thirty of Thirty Days of Writing

Amanda DeNatale
Aug 24, 2017 · 6 min read

Although I would love to discuss all eight novels we have read this term, I have decided to focus mostly on two novels: Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Belzhar is recommended for ages twelve and up by Kirkus Reviews, while The Catcher in the Rye has no specific age recommendation and was originally written for an adult reader (Labrise). Thus, one is classified Young Adult, while the other is classified as Literary Fiction. However, these two novels both contain seventeen-year-old narrators: Jam in Belzhar and Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye. Both of these young adult characters are suffering from depression and are institutionalized within, or by the end of, their stories. Through analysis of these two novels — one YA, one not — I intend to prove that the focus on genre as a category to measure success is misplaced, and that the quality of the writing of the novel is the real gage by which we influence readers. To do this, I will concentrate mainly on sentences and voice within these two novels.

When we talked with Meg Wolitzer about her YA novel, Belzhar, one question presented by a member of the class, Matt Caldwell, was “Was it different writing a YA novel compared to a novel whose audience was meant for adults?”. Wolitzer responded saying she didn’t feel that she changed much in her approach, but rather that the content itself lent more to one genre than the other (“Meg Wolitzer Interview.”). This is evident in the voice and writing within Belzhar. An excellent example of Wolitzer’s command of voice and language in Belzhar is evident early in the novel: “And though it would be a good time for her to tell us why we’ve each been chosen — for her to say something like ‘You may be wondering why you’re here. Well, on your standardized tests, you each showed a special aptitude for reading comprehension’ — she doesn’t even try to explain. Instead, she turns her head slightly to take each of us in; it’s as if she were studying us, trying to memorize our faces” (Wolizter 27). While this entire quote is made up of only two sentences, it is clear and precise in its language, and conveys much information about the scene we are in. This excerpt does not waver from the voice of the entire piece, even in this fragmented form. Jam’s voice comes through clear whether these sentences are in the context of the novel or not.

To convey this much information in only two sentences shows great command of language. We are able to feel what our narrator is feeling, and know why she is feeling this way without the burden of unnecessary details or clunky language. Meg Wolizter has written several novels for an adult audience, while Belzhar is her only YA novel. I believe that this is evident in the writing within Belzhar. I find it also important to note that Belzhar won five awards including Entertainment Weekly’s Best YA Book of 2014, TIME magazine Top YA of 2014, and others which all focus on being a great book for YA readers or a great YA book for all readers. I would like to deduce from this that a novel classified as YA, and therefore, Commercial Fiction, does not take away from its literary qualities. This is evident in the writing, voice, and inarguable success of Belzhar as a YA novel.

From this I will move on to The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger. Although not classified as YA, the story of this novel is told by a seventeen-year-old male narrator, and is commonly read by young adults in their high school English classes. I find the voice and sentences in this novel to be just as comparably strong and successful as Belzhar. For example, “I was getting a little too personal. I realize that. But that was one of the annoying things about Luce. When we were at Whooton, he’d make you describe the most personal stuff that happened to you, but if you started asking him questions about himself, he got sore. These intellectual guys don’t like to have an intellectual conversation with you unless they’re running the whole thing” (Salinger 147). Just as in Belzhar, these sentences excerpted from The Catcher in the Rye, are strong, clear, and tell us much about our narrator. We understand what the narrator is feeling in this situation, and how he reacted to these feelings. The voice itself also remains when these lines are removed from the novel. However, unlike Belzhar, The Catcher in the Rye is classified as Literary Fiction and therefore receives much more esteem and value in the world of fiction.

After reading both of these novels, I felt very empathetic towards both of the narrators. This same empathy was also echoed by most of my classmates in our class discussions of both Belzhar and The Catcher in the Rye. According to the study by The New School, this provocation of empathy would classify both of these novels as Literary Fiction. I would like to propose that the writing and voice of both of these pieces are what make them strong and quality reads, and that classifying either of them as simply Literary Fiction or Young Adult is hindering the amount of readers that, may or may not, choose to read either of these novels.

Young Adult literature seems to get knocked more times than not in discussions by fiction writers because it is labeled as not-literary-enough under the category of Commercial Fiction. However, YA literature is shown to be the most read genre of fiction by several literary sources. To be considered ‘literary,’ I would argue that a work of fiction should have a strong voice and a clear command of language at the sentence level. The study by The New School supports this and adds that Literary Fiction evokes more empathy than Commercial Fiction. They attribute this incitement of empathy to the idea that Literary Fiction is better written than Commercial Fiction, but where does this leave a well-written Young Adult novel?

To be taken seriously as a writer it seems that you must write Literary Fiction. To be published and widely read it seems that you must write Young Adult. Most writers seem to strongly adhere to one camp or the other. However, it seems to make more sense to ground yourself somewhere in the middle. To be both published and respected it seems that a writer should focus their efforts on completing a well written YA novel. Literary Fiction writers and supporters cannot deny that YA Literature is more widely read, and YA supporters cannot say that all published YA Literature or Commercial Fiction is well written. So you want to write YA, then why not? Through this seminar focusing on the YA genre, it has become clear that just because a novel is classified as YA, or otherwise, this does not indicate it’s literary value. In comparing Belzhar and The Catcher in the Rye in this way, it is clear that writing and voice are what make ‘literary value,’ as defined by the titans of fiction, not classification into genre.

Works Cited

G. H. “How Reading Fiction Improves Intelligence.” The Literacy Site Blog. TheLiteracySite.com, 1 Mar. 2015. Web. 03 Mar. 2016.

Labrise, Megan. “BELZHAR | Kirkus Reviews.” Kirkus Reviews. Kirkus Reviews, 29 July 2014. Web. 03 Mar. 2016.

“Meg Wolitzer Interview.” Online interview. 24 Feb. 2016.

Michel, Lincoln. “When Popular Fiction Isn’t Popular: Genre, Literary, and the Myths of Popularity.” Electric Literature. Electric Literature, 03 Dec. 2015. Web. 03 Mar. 2016.

Query Tracker, Editors. “Top 10 Genres.” QueryTracker.net. Query Tracker, 1 Feb. 2016. Web. 2 Mar. 2016.

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. LB Books ed. Boston: Little Brown, 1951. Print.

Stefaniak, Mary Helen. “Prose Seminar.” Prose Seminar. Creighton University, Omaha. 2 Mar. 2016. Blueline|Prose Seminar|Discussions. Web. 2 Mar. 2016.

Wolitzer, Meg. Belzhar. New York: Speak, 2014. Print.


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Amanda DeNatale

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Writer/Bartender/Junior Editor for F(r)iction/ MFA grad/ Hula hooper/Daydreamer/Adventurer

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