Mundane secrets of the YA-YA authorhood

[prog]

Here is a troll for my kid-lit friends: What defines a young-adult (or even childrens') novel? I mean, what makes a given work of fiction YA versus, er, "grown-up"? Is it just a matter of PG-13-or-lower content with (usually) young central characters?

Comments

[magid.livejournal.com]

just a matter of PG-13-or-lower content with (usually) young central characters?

Actually, I've read YA books that have dealt with things like rape, abuse, murder, etc, so I wouldn't go by content as much as by central characters. Still, there are books that libraries classify as YA that I wouldn't, for one reason or another.