YA is in the Style as well as the Substance

"The Chip" is intended for a 'young adult' audience, that not-perfectly-clear group between childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. The novel was, in fact, chosen recently for a list of "Must Read Books for Young Readers". [You can read more about that here.]

The differences between an adult novel and a YA novel are hard to pin down, but they lie mainly in subject, theme, and, most prominently, style.

We've written elsewhere on this blog about the way "The Chip" presents simple but exciting questions and challenges all young people have to deal with!

"Luis had a key to the house and let himself in when he and Claudia arrived, announcing their presence loudly. 'We come bearing flan!' he called out.

'In the kitchen!' Jeff shouted back. He and Stanley were playing cards at the table. Stanley had wanted to appear as normal as possible. He looked up from his crummy poker hand and saw a girl more beautiful than he'd remembered.

Claudia was twenty now, like him. ... Stanley wondered what she would possibly make of him."

~ "The Chip" pp. 203-204

Lots of people have had a crush on someone they've known since they were young children. We all seek acceptance and a sense that we belong with the people around us. The reader can identify!

Sentence structure is required to be balanced in complexity. Commas, creating a break or series of breaks, are used sparingly. When they are used it is when they can follow the natural cadence of the language and the natural flow of thoughts.

"Stanley waited for the softest patch of land and then hurtled his body as far as he could away from the train, so as not to end up under the tracks. He stood up and brushed himself off, completely unharmed. And then he headed home, hoping to any and every higher power he'd ever heard of that he still had one."

~ "The Chip" p. 151

The way these sentences are written makes them clear and fun to read. The reader can follow the thought-process of the main character and the direction of the story.

Vocabulary is balanced in its range. Complicated words are used sparingly. When they are used it is in a context allowing the reader to use their own understanding to define them.

"Are you talking about turning my son into a robot?

No, it's just a neuroprosthesis. If Stanley lost an arm you'd get him a prosthetic limb. The chip is a prosthetic for his brain, that's all."

~ "The Chip" pp. 83-84

The words "prosthetic" and "neuroprosthesis" are used in these sentences in a way that anybody can make a good informed guess as to their related meaning.

Another element of good YA writing is clear dramatic conflict. I think "The Chip" has that covered!

So what age-group is YA writing for? How is it different from other kinds of writing? Perhaps, in the end, those questions aren't very important ones. YA writing should be writing that young people understand and care about. That is what "The Chip" strives to achieve!

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You can see an example of YA writing for yourself and read George Jack's "The Chip" by purchasing it HERE.

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And you can read more about YA in general on Wikipedia or at any of these other fine websites and blogs:
Wikipedia.org/Young-adult-literature
YAreads
iceyBooks
and
I Like These Books (written by a teen!)