Mistborn - is this YA.....? It's totally YA.

Do you thinks it's YA?

  • No

    Votes: 4 44.4%
  • It's totally YA

    Votes: 5 55.6%

  • Total voters
    9

Tree

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[Spoilers, very minimal]

So, I will admit I m sorta new to Sanderson- I just started reading his works last year so I cannot speak to his work extensivley. I have read all available Stormlight Archive and the first Mistborn trilogy. Also, yeah... Sanderson is a good storyteller and you were all on to something. I read Mistborn first and have had this nagging question since I got into Stormlight, is Mistborn YA?

Hear me out. It is a coming of age story, our protagonist both falls in love and learns of- and how to use her powers. She then goes on to uses both her new guy and her new powers to defeat the "big bad". Have I missed anything? Mistborn is totally YA. How is it not YA? Why is is shelved with the grownup books? I'm not really a YA reader so this is messing with me a little, but then I haven't been reading Fantasy at all for the last 15+ years.

Thoughts? Discuss? Vote.

Now, wait a minute. How old are half the protagonists from Stormlight... 🤔
 

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I just finished Mistborn (the whole first trilogy, anyway), and it kinda...seems like it's in the middle, I guess? It was also written before the whole YA trend took off in a big way, if I remember my book trends.

What really sets it apart from other YA series is the developed magic system and world building, in my opinion.
 

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I agree that Era 1 is a sort of middle between being YA but not there fully while Era 2 is definitely not YA
 

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I mean, I'll put it like this: if it was written by a female author it would definitely be shelved YA :look: I agree Era 2 isn't, though.
 

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Doesn't he have a series that he specifically wrote to be YA too?
 

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The first book can be called YA, I don't think the rest of them can be. Maybe the rest of Era 1, maybe that is why I don't really like the last two books of Era 1.

His YA books are probably Steelheart (Reckoners series) and most definitely the Alcatraz vs the Evil Librarians series. If you ever need a good laugh, I highly recommend the latter one :D
 

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According to the publisher, Era 1 is either YA or adult depending on which cover you bought... :shifty2:

No, seriously. I work in book data. There are subject codes we use industry-wide, and the fiction codes are separated out by audience: adult, young adult, and juvenile. Era 1 was originally under adult codes, but there's at least one more recent edition of the full trilogy with YA codes. So even the publisher agrees that it's YA, at least sort of. When they're marketing it that way.
 

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Don't forget The Rithmatist! That one is also YA.

When I worked at B&N his Alcatraz series was actually in the kids department which would make it more YR.
 

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I could see Alcatraz being in the kids department, but I wouldn't read those to very young children. Then again, I read the Animorphs series when I was a child, so who knows 🤷‍♀️
 

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Kids department was up to about 12-13 and separated by age levels still further, picture books had a section, begin to read, starting chapter books, and "regular" chapter books, etc. So I guess it does make some sense. Seeing as how I was always above my reading level I can't really speak for what to/not to read to kids. :laugh:
 

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Okay, so first, I'm not crazy and this does give me further interest in the second series - era? Cool.
 

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Second, I hit "post reply" too soon, so maybe that negates my first point. :look:

Finally:
I'll put it like this: if it was written by a female author it would definitely be shelved YA
This says a LOT and I can 100% see what you mean!
According to the publisher, Era 1 is either YA or adult depending on which cover you bought... :shifty2:
So, now I want to look up all the cover art. But, the rest of your thoughts on the issue are interesting. How does reclassifying Era 1 as YA, sort of, impact how they classify Era 2? Does it limit their actually putting it in YA? Does Era 2 end up with some light-YA (sort of) tag? Does it end up being a whatever the publisher feels like classification de jure with each new reprint?
 

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Okay, so first, I'm not crazy and this does give me further interest in the second series - era? Cool.
I personally like Era 2 more than I did era 1. I loved the the characters in Era 1 but I didn't find the story nearly as gripping as I do in the second and enjoy the characters introduced in Era 2 a whole lot more. It has a lot more humor in it which I enjoy
 

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I personally like Era 2 more than I did era 1. I loved the the characters in Era 1 but I didn't find the story nearly as gripping as I do in the second and enjoy the characters introduced in Era 2 a whole lot more. It has a lot more humor in it which I enjoy
*goes to Audible to spend my last credit for the month*


Sneaking Out Betty Cooper GIF by Lili Reinhart
 

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So, now I want to look up all the cover art. But, the rest of your thoughts on the issue are interesting. How does reclassifying Era 1 as YA, sort of, impact how they classify Era 2? Does it limit their actually putting it in YA? Does Era 2 end up with some light-YA (sort of) tag? Does it end up being a whatever the publisher feels like classification de jure with each new reprint?
So, from what I can remember, when the first era came out, the YA genre wasn't as...uh...huge as it currently is, and the same types of tropes were not at play. There wasn't even a YA section at my Barnes & Noble yet. :cheeseeni:

The cover art that Ignis and I have is the original Tor cover art from when it first came out. The cover art that I see on Audible is this. Much more YA.
 

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*goes to Audible to spend my last credit for the month*


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My work here is done. :laugh: I don't dislike Era 1 at all but I did find it kind of dull at certain points whereas era 2 moves along pretty quickly and even when the stakes are high it still maintains a lightness to it. The Lost Metal has definitely kicked Warbreaker out of the top ranking for my favorite book in the Cosmere so far
 

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My work here is done. :laugh: I don't dislike Era 1 at all but I did find it kind of dull at certain points whereas era 2 moves along pretty quickly and even when the stakes are high it still maintains a lightness to it. The Lost Metal has definitely kicked Warbreaker out of the top ranking for my favorite book in the Cosmere so far
Yeah, but I loved Era 1. If Era 2 is even better.......
 

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I actually haven't finished Lost Metal yet :look: It's in my Kindle, and I am about 2/3 trough it I think... I really need to get on that.
Also, those covers are horrible :(
 

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I like the other covers. They definitely have a different feel, but I like them separately.
 
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