Just the Facts, Ma'am

I dunno . . . I think of all the reading groups, kids are more sticklers for the small details. However I think as long as you aren't trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes, it's okay, but don't assume that people won't notice if it is rather obvious (a girl gets pregnant in August and gives birth at Christmas)

What sort of class are you talking about?

I'll chime in because I'm Ritrchick's co-author on the YA in question.

It's a real-life cooking school and the location is central to the hook. It's older YA.

I'd say don't flub it if you don't have to.

You don't have to describe every session in detail or even mention it, but if people are going to recognize the class, they might be turned off if you're shortening it?

YA readers like myself are looking for just as much realism as any reader of adult books.

Well if no one is going to notice...no one is going to notice. It's.....a subjective call

Yeah, it depends on how obvious it is. If I knew the cooking school was supposed to last 9 months, and it didn't in the book without explaination, I'd be very annoyed. I've read books with similar things where timing just doesn't match up or certain details are strange and don't make sense. When I notice I really notice and that's basically what I remember about the book later. (Of course, I remember the story and characters, too, but I won't forget a timing error).

Will the length of the class affect the action or the outcome in a way that kids reading it will say, "Hey, wait--that class was only 3 months and it was supposed to be 9!"? If not, don't worry about it.

Oh, go fictional, baby. Because they you can take liberties with the structure, teachers, politics, grounds, etc., to make it work for you. And no one will mind that it's fictional. But the one reader who does know about that class and its length will be cheesed off, and they'll tell the next person the book was great, but . . . and the next person will tell the next . . .

My two cents anyway! I read YA all the time, and bad details tick me off.