Dear Sue..
Lots of authors struggle with this. And frankly, so do editors, agents, and booksellers. An agent or editor might even ask you to age your character up or down to avoid the question. These days, YA fiction seems dominated by books with 17- to 19-year-old characters. Some in the industry lament that trend, wondering if it’s happening because so many YA consumers are actually adults. Young teens want to see themselves in books, too! Your book offers them that chance. If we go by age, your book would be YA… yet the “Upper MG” label lets content be a decisive factor. Take a look at the character journey. Even if their external journey is as big as saving the world, a middle-grade protagonist’s internal journey is about identity and relationships within one’s immediate social group. It tends to be more inward-focused, working out personal identity within the context of that small circle. In contrast, YA tends to look more outward as characters try to establish themselves as independent individuals in a bigger world. Friends and family still matter, but the YA protagonist’s worldview is clearly expanding. Parsing out these differences can help you decide if your story is “Upper Middle Grade” or “Lower Young Adult.”
Happy writing!
The Editor
The Editor, Deborah Halverson, has been editing books for over 25 years and specializes in Middle Grade/Young Adult fiction and nonfiction, New Adult fiction, and picture books. For her editorial guidance in making your manuscript ready for submission to agents and publishers or for self-publishing, click Editorial services. Learn more in her books: Writing Young Adult Fiction for Dummies and Writing New Adult Fiction.
I’ve been seeing quite a few MG books with a 13-year-old main characters. One agent told me with a manuscript that had a 13yo not to call it upper middle grade. That it was just solidly middle grade.
Yes, always a good question. BTW, my protagonist aged up to 16 based on another editor’s input. But I like your distinction, Deborah.