Julia asked Elizabeth Wein:

The story goes from 1938-1943, with the primary action in late 1943. So that's over five years, and Maddie and Julie have to be over 20 by the end of the story. They were enlisted when they met, they'd have needed to be 18, the military wouldn't have wanted to take charge of under-age girls, they didn't boys. So why is this YA? The content isn't especially YA (not that it's R) and the characters are in their 20s.

Elizabeth Wein My agent got asked this early on after the book's publication, and I thought her answer was straightforward in its simplicity: "The author wrote it intending it as YA, I repped it as YA to three different YA publishers, they all published it as YA, and it never occurred to anyone to question it."

I've definitely noticed that it's a question that seems to puzzle adult readers more than teen readers. Teens read it, they love it or hate it, but they rarely take issue with the age of the protagonists. Readers often "read up" in terms of age, though; 12-year-olds will happily read about 15-year-olds, etc.

Clearly, the characters in Code Name Verity *resonate* with young adults, even if they are in their 20s (and few readers do the careful work with research and dates that you've done - they just assume the characters in the book are younger!). I very consciously decided *not* to have them lie about their ages to enlist because there was SO MUCH other fudging of details going on. Julie is pretty darn young throughout the book - she is 21 when it ends (the SOE didn't send women into the field under 21). During the editorial process we actually aged her down to make her more accessible, shaving 2 years off her life by changing her birth order, cutting out a year of university, and having her start university early!

That said, I think the main reason this is YA is because the characters in it are so unfinished. They don't know what they're going to be or do "when they grow up"; they are not sexually experienced; they have no permanent residence; they are, like teens, answerable to other adults or people in authority. Also, they are changed and have grown by the end of the book. I actually believe this is the main characteristic of YA literature.

I have a couple of blog posts addressing this issue if you'd like to read more:

In this one I've tried to pinpoint what MAKES a book YA:

http://writingteennovels.com/2013/01/...

Finally, this post celebrates the fact that CNV was voted No. 1 in the YALSA Teens' Top Ten list for 2013 - a list voted on by thousands of teens across the USA. And, well... if that doesn't make it YA, I don't know what does. There are a lot of positive responses from young people in the comments.

https://ewein2412.dreamwidth.org/9625...

I hope these thoughts help!

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