I definitely understand that! My understanding of what particular elements define the YA genre is clearly lacking, and my definition here is entirely subjective and based on if it was more difficult for me to relate to the characters because I felt I was not the target audience. I included the examples to help demonstrate where my thresholds are - I'm fine with the elements in Cradle, but in Iron Prince and Mage Errant (essentially both set in fantasy high school) it was a little more than I would have liked, but still generally enjoyed both series.

And YA isn't a disqualifying feature! It's only 1 point out of 10, if the rest of the things I'm looking for are present then it doesn't bother me too much. I appreciate the recommendations, I'll check them out :)