Middle Grade vs. Young Adult Fiction

Remember that JRW Conference I wrote about? When I was there I learned, among many other things, that there exists a genre that for some crazy, stupid reason I had never heard of before: middle-grade. 

I'm sure the more savvy book lovers have already come across this term, but for those of you who, like me, haven't heard of it before, here's a very, very basic definition: While YA books are typically made for teenagers aged 13-18, middle-grade is for kids 8-12. Pretty simple, right? But there's a lot more to the distinction between the two, and it's fascinating. And since I would probably take too long to define it, you should absolutely read this awesome, easy-read of an article that aptly defines the differences between the two genres. 

So, anyway, when I first learned what middle-grade was, I was shocked. And also a little pissed off. Why had none of my school libraries mentioned this to me before? Why wasn't there a separate section for middle-grade books in my public library? It might have been that I had just missed it and gone straight to the historical fiction shelf, but somehow I don't think that's the case. If so many books are considered a virtual "stepping stone" between children's lit and YA lit, why don't we hear more of it? 

Am I crazy? Am I the only one who hadn't heard this phrasing before? Obviously I've read tons and tons of middle-grade books-- I just didn't know I was doing it. Let me know what you think!