A glance at the most salient features of YA fiction
“Young adult” is an age category, not a genre. This is fiction for pre-teens and teens, from about the ages of 12 to 18. The category encompasses many genres — mystery, romance, horror, sci-fi — pretty much the same genres you’d see for adult fiction, but set in the world of teens and their concerns.
The focus for you as a reviewer is on all those things you’d consider for any novel — is the story compelling, is it developed well, does it follow genre conventions — but through the lens of that age group.
It’s helpful to contrast fiction written for young adults with that written for the middle-grade reader, ages 8 to 12. The distinctions between the two categories can help to sharpen the characteristics and boundaries of each.
Summary of characteristics
For ages 12 to 18
Length: typically 50,000 to 70,000 words
POV: typically first, reflecting the deep self-reflection these novels often explore
Main characters are typically between the ages of 15 to 18, with the majority of the other characters in that age group as well
YA encompasses nearly every genre: sic-fi/dystopian, crime/mystery, thriller, horror, fantasy, romance, historical, contemporary
No real content restrictions: this category can have much the same content as fiction for adults. It’s how that content is handled that makes it YA
Profanity and graphic violence are permissible
Romance, but not eroticism
The crises faced by the characters reflect what teens are going through emotionally
Their changing relationships and feelings, the deepening awareness, are all new. The feelings can be overwhelming, unmanageable
Everything in a teen’s life feels intense, electric
Perspective can be difficult to achieve: everything that’s happening feels important, every decision the teen makes can feel monumental, like it defines forever after
The challenges faced by the characters reflect what teens (and their friends) are facing
From bullying and spiteful gossip
To vacillating and difficult friendships as they and their friends grow and change
To (perhaps) drugs, assault, family trauma, deep depression or other mental illness
The focus is introspective, reflective, analytical
Characters seek to better understand themselves and the world, reflecting on and analyzing the relationships that radiate from that nexus like spokes on a wheel
Who they are and who they are in this new world
Who their friends are and how true and strong those friendships are
What’s going on around them, what the things that happen to them in the story mean for themselves and others
How they’ll fit into the world beyond family and friends
Who they they’ll become
Who they can face life with now, who they can partner with, what feels right
Friendships and other peer relationships are fiercely held, but can be unpredictable, even explosive; such relationships may well drive some of the conflict and angst of the story
The story explores the pain, and the joy, of growing up
The story must not talk down to readers
