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Realistic fiction includes short stories and novels that feel like they could have happened in real life. The setting is in the present day or the very near past (usually within the last ten years).  

Realistic fiction happens in the context of our real world and follows all the “rules” of our existence.  If the story starts out like it’s in our modern day world, but then you find out the main character owns a dragon and has a best friend that is a mermaid – the story is not realistic fiction. It is fantasy.

Realistic fiction has characters that are like real people. They encounter modern day problems and react to situations like real people would. These stories sound like they could be true. The conflicts dealt with are often common problems such as having trouble fitting in, bullying, moving to a new city, etc.

An example is The Nine Lives of Travis Keating by Canadian author Jill MacLean.

Travis has agreed to live with his dad for a year in a tiny community in Newfoundland. The sixth grade student is having trouble making friends and the local bully is already eyeing him up. Travis was feeling down about his life, but things change when he discovers a colony of abandoned cats. Travis puts his energy into helping the cats and ends up helping himself in the process.