Young Adult Literature, Fantasy
Young adult lit, remember, isn't just for young adults. Sure some books get lumped into the YA category because someone somewhere thinks they should only be read by teens, but that's rarely, if ever, accurate. YA Lit is YA Lit because it has certain characteristics, many of which you can easily find in Graceling. Try this checklist on for size.
A YA Lit book typically has:
- a young adult protagonist;
- a young adult narrator or voice;
- a main character navigating the path between youth and adulthood, often struggling with issues of identity;
- universal themes—like how a person fits into her society, what it means to be male or female in a particular place and time, or conflicts and power struggles between individuals;
- a marketing strategy aimed at young adults;
- a hopeful ending.
So let's see. Protagonist: Katsa. Check. Voice: everything's from Katsa's perspective, so again, check. Katsa is definitely making the journey between youth and adult and trying to figure out who she is. And the themes? Pretty darned universal, so check and check. Now we don't know about you, but we found Graceling in the YA section of the bookstore, so check on the marketing strategy, too, and the ending? It left us feeling pretty hopeful, so that's a check as well.
As for the fantasy label, contrary to popular belief, a book doesn't have to have either dragons or wizards to qualify as fantasy. All it needs is fantastical elements that are essential to the plot—like, say, people who are born with Graces that give them crazy skills and abilities. So yeah, fantasy applies too.