In talking about young adult literature, I think that a lot of people are confused as to what actually constitutes a young adult novel. Just because the protagonist is a sixteen-year-old girl, that doesn’t necessarily make the book a young adult book. So, what are the elements of a young adult book?
First of all, the main character must be a teenager. If he or she is too young, it’ll fall into middle-grade fiction, too old, and it will fall into the rising category of new adult fiction. Generally, the age range of readers is between 13 and 18. That being said, most young adult audiences read about protagonists who are their age or up to around two years older. If you have a protagonist who is 14 to 18 years of age, you should fall easily into the category. Second, the protagonist should deal with teen topics. This can be a tricky area because not only do teens deal with school issues, getting their license, first dates, bullying, peer pressure and similar topics, but they also deal with adult topics like sex, pregnancy, drug and alcohol abuse or dependency, physical, emotional and mental abuse, secrets (their own, friends’, and adults’), and other heavy topics. A mixture of both is the most realistic way to approach it. Third, their maturity level should be that of a teen. It’s hard enough as an adult to make the right decisions and know the difference between right and wrong in those gray areas of life. It’s even harder for teens who are stuck somewhere between childhood and adulthood, trying to find their own way, and break away from their parents a bit more. It’s right to assume that they are going to experiment with drugs and alcohol, rebel and push boundaries, and make bad decisions along the way. Life is one big learning experience at this point, and it’s also a great time for them to question everything that they’ve been taught to believe or have just accepted as how things are up until that point their lives. Religion was a big one for me as a teen, and I had heated debates with a close friend about it, and we both learned from one another. In fact, we are still friends, and we still debate the topic from time to time. I think another big factor that plays into most young adult books is the lack of parental guidance. That doesn’t mean that all young adult characters have bad parents who neglect or ignore them (though some do), but it means that the parents aren’t ever-present. Parents have jobs, bills, worries all their own. Sometimes they are workaholics, other times they’re home but rather oblivious to what’s happening with their child. Maybe they are a bit of both. Single parents generally have more to distract them than a household where there are two parents. In any event, the parents generally don’t play a huge role in the main plot of the story, and if they do, it’s probably as a hindrance (keeping the main character from being able to sneak around, for example). The last point I want to make is that the protagonist should solve his or her own dilemma. Depending on what you write, there may be adults involved, maybe police, and friends will likely play a role in the greater scheme of things, but ultimately, the final struggle should be the main character’s alone. You can’t have Mom and Dad or the kindly, older neighbor stepping in to keep the main character from going through the hell that he or she should have to go through in order for the book to reach its climax. That defeats the entire purpose of the book being about the teen. These are the elements that I feel a young adult novel should have. Do you have any to add to the list? Feel free to comment!
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Samantha Buttrick
Author of "The Beast of Yorkshire Place" and "The Wasteland" Archives
October 2015
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