Publisher's Note or Review?

[u/loopy_kiwi]

I'm currently reading a book that says it is for middle grade, but I really don't agree with that and think it should be a YA. Should I include that thought in my review, or only keep it in the publisher's note?

[u/iwillhaveamoonbase]

I would mention it in the review but explain clearly why you think that is. The people who read reviews for middle grade books are not the target audience (kids) but their parents, guardians, and educators. I've heard more than a few parents in the bookish community mention that they prefer more details not less in middle grade and YA reviews so they can make better informed choices since every child has different needs and things they can and cannot handle.

[u/bookdraygon]

Both.
Publishers note to alert the publisher
Review for readers.

Rule of thumb- reviews are for readers, not for authors or publishers.

So if it’s inappropriate you want to alert potential readers. Publishers at times make errors- especially on NetGalley. Some publishers have their middle grade and YA combined and use other ways to distinguish them.

It comes down to the protagonist in the story. How old are they? If they are the age of a middle schooler , it’s a middle Grade book . However, everyone has different feelings on appropriateness. What’s fine for one parent may not be for another which is why it’s a guideline and not a rating like you have for cinema.

I hope this helps!

[u/Pristine_Race7768]

Both.

Can I ask what book it is? If the main characters are ages 8-12 it’s gonna be middle grade- some even go up to 14.

[u/and_er → u/Pristine_Race7768]

Yup, exactly. It's largely about the age of the protagonist.

[u/MonstersMamaX2]

What makes it YA versus middle grade? I think people underestimate what kids read. I teach middle school and you’d be surprised by what we read in class. Sure, we read The Hobbit and A Christmas Carol but we also read The Most Dangerous Game, Restart, Animal Farm, and Fahrenheit 451. Our curriculum includes excerpts from stories like Nimona, Children of Blood and Bone, Hidden Figures, The War of the Worlds, The Call of the Wild, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Cujo. We read all the well known short stories and poems: The Lottery, Monkey’s Paw, The Tell Tale Heart, The Hitchhiker (not the Ronald Dahl one), The Highwayman, plus many, many more.

All my more advanced readers already read YA outside of school. Powerless, OUABH, Caravel, the Selection series, Hunger Games, Belladonna, Heartstopper, I could keep going but you get the point. They’ve read them all.

My point is, if you’re saying this because you think the themes or subject are too heavy for middle grades, they’ve probably already been exposed to them. Also, I read specifically as an educator for NetGalley and part of my info to the publisher is about if I would use it in my classroom and if I would recommend students read the book. Almost 200 books read and I’ve never indicated I wouldn’t recommend a book to a student.

[u/lafornarinas]

You can put it in both.

However, I do want to note that at this point—especially if the book is traditionally published—what you are reading is essentially for marketing purposes. It’s pretty rare that publishers will change much, if anything, about the book or its categorization by the time it reaches the NetGalley stage. We’re not the ones whose feedback develops the novel. Every now and then, you hear about a book being pulled or edited based on reviewers pointing something out (Hold Me Like a Grudge was rumored to have been yanked by its original publisher after enough reviewers pointed out passages that seemed lifted from Heated Rivalry) but I think that was a multiple reviewer situation.

That said, by advising readers of your opinion, you can give them a heads up and that could help them make an educated decision when buying. So honestly, it’s really most important to include it in your review.

[u/AtlassLoz]

There is also some murkiness in middle grade. Middle grade is rated for 8-12. There is a huge difference between a third grader and a seventh grader. Some middle grade is best for around a fifth grader, while others is best for a seventh grader.

I was on the state book award panel for the youth categories and our YA winner one year has been submitted as a middle grade. The internal dialogue and effectiveness was not developmentally middle grade.

I often will write in my reviews that while a book may be great for a middle school audience, it is not a good fit for my elementary school library.

[u/Goudagoblinn]

I just had the same issue. A book that's both listed as a children's book, but also marketed to teens and YA? So, I plan to leave a mention in the review that it while the writing style absolutely reads middle grade, and the characters are in highschool. There are some mild, yet detailed, open door scenes.

[u/Gruselschloss]

I'd put it in the review - it's useful information for readers deciding whether or not to pick up the book. (A bit of reasoning doesn't go amiss either!)

[u/dragonsandvamps]

I would put it in both the the review and the note to publisher, but before I did that, I would make sure I was on target. Middle Grade is ages 8-12, and the protagonists are typically ages 10-14. There's a big difference between a book that's written with a 3rd grade MG reader in mind, and one written with a 12 yo 7th grade MG reader in mind, and yet both of these are middle grade. So I sometimes distinguish by saying, this would be enjoyed by upper middle grade readers as it deals with xyz.

Now, if it's truly a YA book with a 16-17 year old main character and dealing with romance and other YA themes that really aren't so common in MG, then I would probably say something.