Section 1 What does it mean to Call YA realism Realistic?

YA realism is a specific genre has been developing since the mid

sixties. Today it is recognized by four specific characteristics:
1. adolescent protagonists
2. narration from the adolescents point of view
3. realistic settings
4. subjects that are (formerly) considered as taboos
Reception and evaluation usually focuses on the content and the
level of realism against external reality. Criticism revolves around
two points:
1. Representativeness
2. Appropriateness
(Ross then argues criticism should take into account
intertextuality or text-to-text dynamics/dialogues and the
(implied) reader (who completes the work))
Section 2 - Young Adult Realism as a Formula of Popular
Culture
This section mainly exists of (identifies/discusses/analyzes) the
typical story patterns that are found in most YA book. According to
Ross, YA literature enfolds according to a specific formula namely,:
1. The main character is usually trying to find out what their real
identity is, who they are and who they want to become, which
is hence the major theme, however, additional themes, such
as alienation and isolation can often be observed as well.
2. Conflicts are often inner as well as outer, as it is the time
when the protagonists are experiencing their first love, having
their first sexual, alcohol and drug experience, and he or she
is, or feels, misunderstood or even betrayed by her/his
parents.
3. The protagonists are shaped by those around them in the form
of common characters:
A first lover, an adult who gives wise advice, and
parents who can't deal with the YAs (who are obstacles
and constricting.
i. These are helping the character to discover the
new parts of his/her personality and become a
mature independent person.
4. The journey from childhood to maturity is common and forms
the basic plot structure.
The protagonist escapes from home/ a conflict with
parents; meets their first love; gets help of friend; has a
few adventures (mostly illegal), reaches a happy ending.
5. The setting is the contemporary work, usually North America,
in particular the school, the home, (and the streets and/or
sports fields)

Section 3 - Some Changes in the Conventions

Young adult books of the 1950s and earlier are a good reminder
that popular formulas, since they are specific to a particular culture,
are subject to neglect when they lose their explanatory power for
the culture that reads them."
If the sense of reality of a specific culture changes then also their
fiction must change according to that.
The differences between the formulas of a list of literature written
for adolescents in the 1940s and 1950 and a list written that for
young adults in the 1960s can tell use about the collective
fantasies shared by [those] groups. (179)
List 1:
The age of the protagonist is often stated explicitly
Objects thought to be important to the group are referred to
The tone appears condescending
List 2:
Use of direct appeal through the first and second person
pronoun from speaker to read
The voice of a citizen of youth culture > in other words, the
stress on a separate culture
Main techniques to achieve a style that speaks to young adults:
show the adolescent's point of view and to use the same language
in books that apply this genre.
Other observations:
Openings immediately begin with a crisis (implicit or explicit)
Openings indicate that the deep and painful emotions will be
explored
The narrative is limited to the perspective of the adolescent
protagonist
Sometimes:
realism is being created in relation to other texts [by
overturning] existing conventions or break[ing] taboos, for
example, unresolved or ironic endings and the inclusion of
previously excluded topics.
Furthermore:
Characters now also include minority groups
The theme, while the same, is more threatening.
Sexual identity is taken further than an invitation to the prom

Section 4 Narrators and Narratees

Reading Young Adult Realism, one often finds himself living in the
story with the characters. It is because it was written to be identified
with. The role of the narrator is to draw the reader in the story, but
at the same time control the distance between them.
There is a recognizable pattern in all YA fiction.
1. The narrator is almost always in first person and are usually
reliable. Often used devices as means to justify this are:
Writing a diary
Speaking into tape
Writing an assignment for the English teacher
2. It is also important that the narrator is someone who is not an
extreme person, someone whom it is safe to identify with.
3. The narrative includes evaluative elements to make sure
that the reader realizes that the story is significant
4. The story is told retrospectively so as to be able to evaluate
and comment. This is NOT equal to a double perspective, as
the narrator is still an adolescent.
Why a reliable narrator?
So as to accommodate the reader who still needs to build reading
experience and familiarity with literary conventions. The reader
often stays with the narrator in progression in understanding of
events.
One can distinguish between three different readers:

Implied (a role created by the text)

Intended (the reader in mind of the author)
Empirical (any particular reader)

The success points out that implied and empirical often match.
Additionally, older reviewers often cannot accept the role of the
implied reader, which suggests that the text are a very specific
genre with a very specific readership. Creating such a reader, might
be its most significant function.
Section 5 Identification and Distance
Missing
The elements that make YA literature so successful, are precisely
thise least admired by many of its adult critics.