What is the author's style in When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt?

The language in the novel is clear and concise, void of any slang or native sayings that might normally fill a book set in Texas. The story is told in an equal mixture of dialogue and exposition with the occasional letter added in. Although her characters are young people, the writer does not endeavor to use the language a child might use, instead having her characters speak clearly and with the intelligence a young teen is capable of expressing.