I was under the impression(probably false) that after writing some earlier YA that Margo was classified as an Adult Fiction writer. As her novels we sold to America however publishing houses there decided to market it as YA?

Thanks for your comment, Sean. My piece is based on a number of factors: the fact that the Tender Morsels discussion was completely framed around it being YA, all of Lanagan's books are in the YA section at my local library (and only in that section), the fact her books are marketed, sold, reviewed and given awards as YA, etc etc.

I do wonder if the label 'Young Adult' is a death knell for any good book, and if the label 'Young Adult author' is a death knell for any good author.

As 2012 is the 'National Year of Reading', my department (an English department at a fairly large P-12 school) is going into overdrive to build a culture of reading in our students. Some kids are already readers, while most - particularly at the young adult level - see reading as a weakness, something nerds and freaks do. Those who are readers tend to steer clear of the young adult section. They read adult novels because they're too big for young adult books.

There are, of course, some notable exceptions. Harry Potter and Twilight spring to mind. The other day, when talking with my Year 8s about the books they had read, I was surprised to discover that even the anti-readers had generally read one or two (or more) Harry Potter books. I was relieved to discover that far fewer had read Twilight, but that's a matter of personal taste.

The thing with HP and T is that their success lies largely in their status as cultural phenomena. They transcend the lowly world of reading, and even the kids who are too cool for books realise that it's in their best interest (socially) to have read these books. While they have been lauded as lures bringing kids back to the bookshelves, it seems that they don't. They bring kids back to read a handful of books before heading back out to push grannies over at the local shopping centres. Well, maybe not that bad, but you get the picture.

Maybe we need to remove these labels from books (but perhaps attach ratings so kids aren't exposed to unacceptably lewd content) and let readers decide for themselves whether or not the books are right for them.

This is a fascinating post. I think you're right that HP and Twilight became something it was important and hip even for non-readers to know about. I'd never thought of it that way before. Depressing as that would dash the hopes of those who've told themselves such books are gateway drugs to reading for non-readers.

There was no such thing as YA when I was in high school - genre was often a gateway to adult reading - we read Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes and lots of SF. There was also a fair bit of literature that high school students were just expected to get on with - Orwell, Huxley, DH Lawrence, Dickens, Swift, Hardy.

I'm intrigued by your comment about lewd content though - I imagine a perception of a book's content as being 'too adult' could only increase its desirability. Catch-22 has often been set as a high school text and its sexual content is very dark, adult and inappropriate. I can't really see a problem with that - Catch-22 much better for kids to read than Twilight!

To be honest, it was the lewd content in Twilight I was thinking about. Presenting somewhat abusive and at the same time naive relationships as acceptable is a little problematic - and there is little in Twilight to encourage kids to question this.

I guess what I was angling for was a distinction between those books that are acceptable for pre-teens to read and those that are acceptable for the more mature to read. I read Agatha Christie in primary school, but my parents gently steered me away from more 'hard-boiled' crime fiction. I came to enjoy that much later. Likewise, I was well into my teens before I discovered Roald Dahl's more titillating short stories! I guess I see a distinction between children's literature (including children's novels) and those works of fiction that are suitable for young adults and adults. I'm just not sure that there's such a huge distinction between the latter two categories.

I checked with Margo, the YA designation stuck after her books in the early 90's. Tender Morsels was original published in Aus as adult but it doesn't seem to have effected her status.

Mind you YA is a broad spectrum from 13 - 21 in some cases. I think some parents who complain about mature content are a)have a narrower view of what YA is b) probably just ant to make "quick" "safe" choices ie don't want to have to read it themselves.