Young Adult Literature

Characteristics of the Best Young Adult Literature-

1.     Written from the viewpoint of a teenager

2.     Fast paced

3.     Deals with emotions that are important to young adults

-         accepting changes in one’s body

-         acquiring more mature social skills- being accepted

-         achieving independence from parents and adults

-         preparing for sex and mature relationship

4.     Today’s readers expect changing styles and formats – even in fiction they expect sketches, doodles, different type fonts, e-mails, text messages inserted

A Poor Novel has-

·        A predictable plot with nothing new to entice the reader

·        Many stereotypes

·        Characters are cardboard like exaggerations of people

·        Too many characters – confuse readers

·        Nothing that stays with the reader after the book is put down

·        A preachy message

·        Dialogue that sounds forced or inappropriate to the characters