Realistic Fiction

Realistic Fiction

Text Book Reflection

Contemporary realistic fiction or modern realistic fiction books are set in more current times and reflect how young adults see the world. With realistic fiction, every part of the story is consistent with real world situations with no elements of science fiction or fantasy. When you evaluate realistic fiction, you must look at the all the elements of the story including speech and behaviors of the characters. As you evaluate a text, look at how gender is portrayed along with cultural aspects of the story making sure no stereotypes are present. When assessing realistic fiction for students, look at the theme (or themes) of the story. Does the theme have a natural flow? Does it emerge throughout the story? The theme should never be preachy or overbearing. Finally, when looking at realistic fiction evaluate at how it relates to modern readers. More and more sensitive topics are being discussed through literature. These also need to be handled in a manner that will reach young adults, showing both compassion and understanding in dealing with such issues as sexual orientation, death, love, romance, and changing family dynamics. Librarians need to make sure that their collections contain a balance of quality literature representing the teen population and the issues that matter most to them.