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Yearning for YA: Realistic Fiction

So here’s the update on Yearning for YA, as promised. The first genre we covered in my Young Adult Literature course was realistic fiction. 

While I’m into all types of genres now, realistic fiction is one of the main genres that pulled me into the world of reading growing up. As a kid, I particularly enjoyed Judy Blume’s Fudge series. It was the first book series I remember being fully invested in. (Jenny Nimmo followed that.) 

To this day I think Blume’s work is fantastic. While I didn’t really read anything she’d written outside of the Fudge series, I still adore every single book that I did read. 

The textbook for my class says that young adults really get roped into stories that they can relate to, which is why realistic fiction is a strong draw for young readers. A lot of resistant readers enjoy realistic fiction as well, because they find something to relate to, thus enjoying the work more. 

I remember being a resistant reader and falling in love with Blume’s work, because I could relate to the situations she presented. As her work grew on me, it didn’t matter if I could relate to every situation or not – I simply began to value her work as entertainment alone. 

I don’t really enjoy realistic fiction as much as I used to. That said, one realistic fiction book we read for the class (Hoot) was fantastic, I thought. 


What I think can really make realistic fiction impactful is using a real-world setting, but keeping the events of the story interesting and suspenseful, that way it’ll be harder for the reader to put the book down. Another realistic fiction book we read (The Crossover) wasn’t my favorite, but the events of the story created enough tension that I did find it hard to put the book down. 


I think realistic fiction is highly valued in the young adult literary world. Because, in the end, we always want to return home. 

By Amber Rizzi

I am a literature geek working toward my Bachelor's in English with a concentration in writing. I love to read, and I'm always itching to write, especially creatively. I started "The Writer's Library" about three years ago, previously working with a Blogger platform before moving over to Wordpress. While I mainly post reviews of books, occasionally I will go ahead and review works in other media forms as well, such as music and certain television shows. No matter what I'm doing on here, I love to share with anyone who is willing to listen, and I'm excited to finally be on Wordpress!