I use this for every book I write. This is basically Save the Cat, but with YA book examples so you can see how the beats play out with teen protagonists. I highly recommend this for every level of writer, especially if you're wanting to try out a new genre and don't know where to start.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

This was actually really informative. I learned a lot from it and definitely want to check out Save the Cat! Writes a Novel now.

Save the Cat! Writes a Novel is one of the best writing guides I’ve ever read! I was so excited when I found out that Jessica Brody was writing a new edition for Young Adult novels.

This book details the 15 “beats” of the Save the Cat method for plotting a novel. There is extensive information on the different genres, or story types, that are found in almost every young adult novel. There are also some “beat sheets” for popular young adult novels, such as Six of Crows and The Fault in Our Stars, so you can see how the beats work in novels you already know.

Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel is a must read for young adult writers!

Thank you Ten Speed Press for providing a digital copy of this book.

Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel is a tutorial guide/workshop for writers (and would-be-writers) by Jessica Brody with guides for producing a finished YA novel. Released 18th July 2023 by Penguin Random House on their Ten Speed Press imprint, it's 432 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats.

This is a practical and logically arranged guide to the craft of writing; specifically young adult narrative fiction. The chapters progress from creating worthy protagonists to blueprints/charts/storyboards for creating a narrative arc, through denouement and resolution. There are also tutorials for polishing, finishing, marketing, and planning sequels and series.

Nearly all the books on writing craft seem to be dry and so full of detail that it's easy to get overwhelmed. The Save the Cat! series is humorous, very useful, and accessible.

Four and a half stars. This would be a great public or school library acquisition, reference for aspiring writers, writing/bookclub groups and similar.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

The main takeaway from this book is that it is focused on more commercial fiction than the more literary YA I enjoy and tend to write. That doesn't mean it can't be useful, but ultimately I think a book needs HEART, not just the beats of the plot. That is what makes the good books (some of which explored here!) stand out, and not enough attention was paid to that. Writing isn't just a plug and play formula...to stand out, you need something deeper.

For me, I think the story beats may be a better revision tool than planning tool because of how I write. Brody acknowledges deviations from the typical format and how you can use the beat sheet for planning or for revision. But still, she has this attitude of "look how everything fits this formulat! How easy!" that can sometimes feel condescending.

Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel was an interesting read. This is the first time I have read anything by this author.

It's a well-detailed comprehensive story structure guide for anyone who wants to write a young adult novel by applying the famed Save the Cat

***** I have received and read an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for giving my honest feedback. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.*****

I've been a fan of the "Save the Cat" series since the beginning with Blake Snyder.

While I was iffy that the series continued after his death, I'm glad to say that I've yet to be disappointed, and the streak of awesomeness remains unbroken with this latest installation by Jessica Brody.

If you've ever read a Save the Cat book before, there's really not a lot of new information, just the same information tailored to this medium (in this case, Young Adult novels).

If you've never had the opportunity (or desire) to read a Cat novel, I'd recommend this book (as well as the original Save the Cat by Snyder) as great starting points.

This book does a great job of showing how YA novels are built, and even though each one is different, following the pattern can help you to create the YA novel you've been thinking about writing for years.

As a writer, my FAVORITE book on story structure is “Story Genius” by Lisa Cron—which I couldn’t help but compare as I read “Save The Cat! Writes A YA Novel.”

While “Story Genius” emphasizes psychology and brain science, “Save The Cat!” focuses on the patterns of popular novels, making it an easier read.

However, there were times when STC! got a bit too … convoluted …

“A beat sheet” is a “save the cat,” which is a “transformation machine,” which is a “15-step cheat sheet,” which is “the secret storytelling code,” which is “basic story structure.” 🥴 They all mean the same thing. It’s like learning a new, very complicated language, and it gets old after a while …

That being said, I appreciated the story studies A LOT!

It’s easier to understand structure when you see it in a familiar form (i.e. a book you’ve read and enjoyed). Once you ignore the creative labels, you begin to learn story from a hands-on approach, and the multiple examples help hammer it home, Bay-Bay!

I love the idea of these beat sheets being “story recipes.” That is *exactly* what I use these books for!!

✨ Hot Writer Tip: Books on story structure can help you “unstick” when you’re STUCK. ✨

I’m able to follow these books beat for beat to find what my story is missing. What is causing it to fall flat?

The beats also help write a SYNOPSIS when the time comes! A misery, unfortunately, we’ll all have to face.

And (as a plotter), prepping the beats ahead of time gives me the confidence that my story “has legs to stand” before I put pen to paper. I NEED that guarantee before I dedicate a year of my life to a project.

That’s what makes books like “Save The Cat! Writes A YA Novel” an excellent weapon in any writer’s arsenal. 💪🏻

Taking all the creative labels with a grain of salt, I will definitely be using Save The Cat! methods to compose my next book—and I’m not even writing YA!

Favorite quotes:
“If you want to be a better writer, you have to be a better reader.”
“Inspiration gets you started. Discipline gets you finished.”

#bookreview #writertips #SavetheCatWritesaYoungAdultNovel #NetGalley #bookstagram #writersofinstagram #writerscommunity #writersnetwork

Great guide for writing a YA novel. As always the save the cat novel is a great writing resource. the examples and tips were very valuable.

Thank you Ten Speed Books for this advanced reader copy.

I loved the original Save the Cat book on screenwriting so much that I have it in ebook and audiobook. I own a copy of Jessica Brody's first Save the Cat novel craft writing book: Save the Cat Writes a Novel.

If you are writing a YA novel and you love plot and structure, this is a brilliant book. It uses examples (beware spoilers) from young adult greats like The Hunger Games and Six of Crows and Fault in our Stars. And as promised in the title, it follows the framework of Save the Cat but adapts it for novels..

What I like about this craft book is that it uses a framework to help you craft your story. While it follows closely to the hero's journey, it branches out. Brody expands and creates a novel writing bible.

If you already have the first general novel version of this book and want to know if it's worth the read or purchase, I think it's worth the read. Brody goes into more detail in the chapter about book series in this version and there are small offshoots that go deeper into the Young Adult category.

This was my first Save the Cat! book (novel or otherwise). I've always wanted to read Brody's original Save the Cat! Writes a Novel, but when I saw this YA edition I was especially interested since I write middle grade (which is not YA but obviously closer than adult). I loved this book! Brody so clearly explains each beat and gives so many examples it's impossible to not get it. I read it at the beginning of plotting my newest novel and I can't believe how incredibly helpful it was to have this framework. I will be returning to this again and again. Highly recommend, especially for YA authors!

I read this after reading SAVE THE CAT! WRITES A NOVEL, Brody’s original how-to and structure breakdown for writers. With that experience in mind, I can confidently say that SAVE THE CAT! WRITES A YA NOVEL is standalone. It provides all the key plot points from Brody’s original book, applying them to bestselling YA titles. If you’ve read the original book like I did, the how-to in this one feels a bit redundant, but the application of her method to YA books that can serve as mentor texts for us novice writers of YA is invaluable.

Throughout the book, Brody provides the reader with beat sheets. Beat sheets are lists of Brody’s plot points paired with brief summaries of how each plot point is expressed in a given YA novel. The beat sheets in SAVE THE CAT WRITES A YA NOVEL were written with what teens want in mind. It was extremely fun to revisit my favorite stories from RED QUEEN by Victoria Aveyard to ARISTOTLE AND DANTE DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE by Benjamin Alire Saenz in the highlight reel form of these breakdowns.

Brody opens the book by sharing with readers the fascinating origin story of YA as a genre. The introduction made me reflect on how fascinating YA is as a fake/umbrella genre. Prior to YA, genres weren’t synonymous with their demographics. That said, the demographic for YA is more than young adults. Case in point: This book about YA is PERFECT for writers of YA literature, fanatics of YA literature that want to revisit their favorite books without doing full re-reads, creative writing students, teenagers interested in writing, and teachers of teenagers…especially those that want to take them through the curricula for NaNoWriMo and the NaNoWriMo Jr.

Pedagogically, this book has so many possibilities for educators. As a teacher of reading, I know that students need schema to develop key reading comprehension skills. This book shows teachers different schematics that books can fit into. In learning structure, readers can free up some cognitive capacity to understand intricacies of character motivations, language choice, and more.

The way Brody defines genres topically and thematically makes so much sense. Her breakdown in the book makes this guide easy to use as a reference for writers of YA to return to again and again. At least, that’s what I plan on doing.

The Save the Cat series is the best in the business and Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel is a great writing craft book. I have a hard time with outlining concepts but this book helped explain the concept very well. The examples are so helpful. This will be a go-to reference when I decide to write another YA. It can be applicable to all genres, though.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn't sure if STC YA was going to be different enough from the original STC by Jessica Brody to warrant me purchasing it. After reading the first few chapters, I was convinced it totally is. I decided to preorder it so I could have a hard copy to make notes it. The best thing about it is presenting all of the most important information through the lens of YA stories. This may seem straightforward, but the examples from YA books are extremely helpful to me as I draft a YA book - more so than the original STC. Highly recommend for YA writers.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my review.

I am an aspiring YA author, writing a book has always been my dream. I discovered the STC method long ago but never went deep into it. When I discovered that they were launching a YA version, I told myself I had to read it. And in a way, my intuition was more than right. This book is perfect for YA authors: beginners and advanced. It teaches you the STC method and provides examples of books that use it. Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel is a book that is different from others, it is in fact more helpful. I have read a bunch of books about writing, but none like this one. It goes deep into the subjects, which means lengthy chapters. I am using this book as a guide to write a YA novel for NaNoWriMo. Best writing book ever! 5 out of 5.

Book review time! It’s a craft book. I don’t know why I chose a craft book, but I did. Mostly because it’s been a while since I read one, I guess. Anyway, Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel by Jessica Brody was released on July 18th from Ten Speed Press. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do the thing.

Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel expands on Blake Snyder’s screenwriting guide (Save the Cat!) and tweaks it to make it more easily applicable to YA novels. Along with the expected beat sheets, the author also includes guides to what she calls the ten Save the Cat! story genres. There’s also a chapter dedicated to writing a series and one about creating loglines and synopses when you’re preparing for publication/the agent hunt/whatever you decide to use them for.

The original Save the Cat! is pretty much the only craft book that I remember with fondness. Most I’m either meh about or hate with a passion. This particular craft book is better than most of the ones I’ve read, but I couldn’t get into it when the genres came up (and they’re most of the book). First, the good. I liked the beat sheet. It explains where events usually go and how plotlines merge and diverge and how to make your own beat sheet either before writing, during it, or between drafts. Plus, you can tweak it as needed if your story feels off. It’s a great tool. I also liked that the author discusses how to apply everything to a series and a synopsis. That was all actually very helpful.

My biggest problem with this book was the breakdown of genres. Instead of using traditional genres (fantasy, sci-fi, etc.), the author tries to categorize stories by their essence (rites of passage, buddy love, etc.). That’s cool. I like the idea. But there’s far too much overlap for these genres to be distinct from each other. How do I know? Because a lot of the same books are used as examples in multiple genres. It’s confusing. The author says that’s okay and that many people will disagree as to what books go into which genre, like it’s not a big deal. It’s fine for debates. But she also says each genre needs to include certain things. If my book crosses multiple genres, how do I know what to include? It’s confusing. Especially for newbie writers who might think a craft book is writing law and don’t realize they can break the rules. It’s just too messy for my liking.

The other problem I have with the book is definitely a me thing. I don’t like it when writers use their own work as examples in craft books. It just feels like they’re trying to get me to buy their stuff and they never delve as deeply into their own stuff, like they don’t want to give away spoilers. Meanwhile, they’ve just spoiled every other book they used as examples. This author does it sparingly until the chapter on series which is all about one of her series in the example. It’s annoying to me, but I know most readers don’t care.

As far as the writing goes, it’s a craft book. Starts out a little preachy, but that fades away pretty quickly. Otherwise, it’s long and very repetitive as most craft books are.

Ultimately, I found some useful things in Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel. It was one of the better craft books I’ve read. Apparently there’s also one about writing novels in general, so I might look that one up.

Overall, I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. Craft books are either pretty good (4), meh(2), or bad (0) to me. This one leaned toward pretty good. If you’re writing a YA novel and you’re stuck, it’s worth having around.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ten Speed Press for the chance to read this eARC. I was delighted to receive a copy of Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel while I was in the throes of writing my latest YA novel. Jessica Brody is a master at breaking down story structure and providing a new way of seeing story, regardless of what stage you're in. If you want to up your young adult storytelling game, put this book on your TBR list!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel brings all the delicious insight of the Save the Cat! Series into the context of YA literature.

The thing that I think makes Save the Cat! So special as a series on craft is that it is approachable, it is thorough, it is well-researched, and it manages to balance simplicity and nuance without making the reader — the writer! — feel alienated or lost. As someone with multiple degrees in writing, craft discussions can often end up far too in-the-weeds. Sometimes this is important — breaking down voice, characters, worlds, dialogue, etc. etc. etc. — but sometimes it can make it seem like there’s an infinite, ever-growing field of inevitable pitfalls between the writer and their work. Save the Cat!, however, never loses sight of its largest concept: a finalized book. Here, we talk about story moments always within the context of how they serve the piece at large, and then later we take the time to investigate how those ideas may even serve a much larger goal of a series. We learn how to balance and balance and balance, always with the sum of all these parts in mind. Along the way, Jessica Brody takes time and care to explain each concept, with ample tangible, relevant examples from touchstones within the genre (I spend a large portion of my life thinking about things within the context of The Hunger Games, so I was thrilled to see the series featured prominently in many examples).

What is especially great about this book, aside from all the other great things that come with any Save the Cat! Guide, is that it is abundantly clear and thoroughly discussed exactly why the Young Adult literary space required an entirely separate guide. Jessica Brody recognizes and understands the importance of the differences and the uniqueness of YA lit, and for me, that adds abundantly to the value of this work. I’ve already got my finished copy preordered, and I am so excited to revisit this valuable guide as I approach the now slightly less daunting task of tackling my own writing.

Wonderful addition to the Save the Cat family! This new installment goes deeper into many aspects from Save the Cat Writes a Novel and it's absolutely required reading for any YA plotter who loves story structure!