Below is a complete young adult query letter written by our editorial team to model what works in this genre — followed by line-by-line annotations and young adult-specific querying norms. The book and author are invented; the techniques are what we coach in real reviews. For the underlying structure, start with the complete query letter guide.
The example letter
Dear Ms. Tran,
Your MSWL asks for "YA where grief and hope share a bedroom wall." That's the book I've written, and I'd be honored to share it.
WHERE THE SIGNAL ENDS is a 68,000-word contemporary YA novel with a speculative thread, for readers of You've Reached Sam and They Both Die at the End.
Seventeen-year-old Juni Park inherited two things from her brother Theo: his battered ham radio, and the silence he left when his car went off Route 9 in January. Six months later, on the frequency they used as kids, the radio crackles out a voice that knows their private call sign. It sounds like Theo. It knows things only Theo knew. And it always cuts out at 9:47 — the minute of the crash.
Juni knows it can't be him. She keys the mic anyway. Each night's transmission pulls her deeper into the version of that January she's been editing out — the fight before he drove off, the message she never answered — while her best friend watches her choose a ghost frequency over everyone still living. When the voice starts describing a place that matches the unbuilt rest stop where Theo's memorial now stands, Juni has to decide whether she's receiving a signal or building one — and whether saying goodbye means letting the static win.
I write and teach high school physics, where my students taught me that teenagers grieve at full volume with the door closed. WHERE THE SIGNAL ENDS is my debut, complete at 68,000 words. In line with #ownvoices values, Juni's Korean-American family draws on my own.
Thank you for your time.
Warmly,
Dana Suh
danasuh@email.com
Why this query works
- The voice is YA without trying to sound teenaged — interiority and immediacy, not slang. Agents flinch at queries that perform "teen speak."
- The speculative element is bounded by a rule (always cuts out at 9:47), which signals the writer controls the conceit rather than the reverse.
- The emotional stakes outrank the mystery: the question isn't "is it Theo" but "what is Juni avoiding." That hierarchy is what YA editors buy.
- Identity context is offered in one natural sentence, connected to the book, not appended as a credential list.
Querying young adult: genre-specific advice
- Age your protagonist 16–18 for upper YA, and say the age in the query — it's a category signal agents check immediately.
- YA queries live and die on voice; write the description in the book's emotional register.
- Comp YA with YA. Adult comps suggest you've mis-shelved your own book.
- Romance, friendship, and family threads are welcome — but name the emotional spine, because that's what the category is.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a young adult novel be to query agents?
55,000–85,000 words depending on subgenre — contemporary YA runs lower, YA fantasy higher.
What age should my YA protagonist be?
16–18 for upper YA, and state the age in the query itself — it's a category signal agents check immediately.
Can I use adult books as comp titles for a YA query?
No — comp YA with YA. Adult comps suggest you've mis-shelved your own book.
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