People are always debating what’s “appropriate” for teenagers to read, but the topic was in the news once again last month when the mother of a high school student criticized Toni Morrison’s Beloved for being graphic and disturbing. To be fair, the book is graphic and disturbing—but it’s also a great work of literature that’s profoundly moving and important. To say that it’s not appropriate for teenagers seems, at best, kind of silly.
Although Morrison’s book is (obviously) not YA, this got me thinking about the frequent criticisms lobbed at YA books. Overzealous parents frequently complain or try to censor/ban YA books that they think are too dark, violent, sexualized or whatever. A couple of years ago, Meghan Cox Gurdon decried the current state of young adult fiction, claiming the genre as a whole was “so dark that kidnapping and pederasty and incest and brutal beatings are now just part of the run of things in novels directed, broadly speaking, at children from the ages of 12 to 18.” Gurdon was concerned that all this darkness was too damaging to the fragile psyches of teenagers, that this was harmful to their still-developing minds.
In a similar vein, in January The Daily Mail published an article by Tanith Carey about the phenomenon of “sick-lit” (ugh, I’m so sorry I just used that term, you guys). She described books about cancer, self-harm, suicide and depression as “exploitative” and expressed her concern that books with liberal sex and swearing were being marketed towards teenagers. She was referring to books like John Green’s The Fault In Our Stars–you know, the one that’s widely regarded as one of 2012′s best books.
Well, to these writers and anyone who attempts to decide what’s inappropriate for teenage audiences, I have to respectfully say that I disagree.
I’ll admit, I’m not a mother. Maybe my opinion on this will change when I have children of my own who are eager to read The Perks of Being a Wallflower or whatever YA book is frequently challenged by that point, but I sincerely doubt it.
To adults who want to ban or censor young adult books, I need to ask you: Do you remember what you were like as a teenager? Because I remember what I was like. Truthfully, I probably remember way too well. It can be easy, from the far-away perch of adulthood, to forget what those years can be like, to romanticize the innocence of childhood. But the truth is, kids are smarter and tougher than most adults like to give them credit for. When I was a teenager, I read voraciously, anything and everything I could get my hands on, and it didn’t scar me. You know why? Because I loved learning! I didn’t want to read a sanitized, pre-screened selection of books where no one ever used profanity and the characters always made the right decisions, where no one ever got hurt and people never behaved badly. I wanted to read about real life and the real world.
I’m not a teenager anymore, but I’d be willing to bet that teenagers today still feel the same way. Assuming that kids can’t handle books about intense, upsetting, controversial topics is worse than just silly, it’s insulting. Kids aren’t stupid. They know every story doesn’t have a happy ending—not in real life, anyway. In The Daily Mail’s piece about sick-lit, Carey writes that these books “don’t spare any detail of the harsh realities of terminal illness, depression and death.” Well, yeah. Teenagers deserve to read about reality.
My biggest problem with articles like this one is the complete lack of respect the authors have for teenagers. Believe it or not, teenagers are people, too. People who’ve been on this Earth for a shorter period of time, but people just the same. To insist that they only read books that ignore the “harsh realities” of life is just dumb. Obviously, parents have some obligation to protect their kids from some things (like, I’m not suggesting you get your kid a subscription to Playboy or anything), but letting them read books that talk about difficult topics in honest ways is probably going to do them much more good than harm.
That books can force painful, uncomfortable subjects out into the open can only be a good thing. Speak, a book that’s as dark as they come, deals with protagonist Melinda’s sexual assault. Instead of telling anyone about what happened to her, she retreats. She loses friends, becomes incredibly depressed, and blames herself. It’s a secret, a shame, a burden that (she thinks) is entirely her fault. That’s what happens to kids when these very painful, but very real, topics are not talked about. The fact is, 44% of sexual assault and rape victims are under the age of 18. Pretending that teenagers don’t face these problems will only lead to more Melindas, to more kids who hide their problems and blame themselves.
Personally I used books as an escape mechanism from my problems as a kid. To this day I still tell and retell myself stories from those books when I am having a bad day and need a distraction. My favorite books were not the frilly, feel good stories of perfect teenagers but of struggles and hardship that other people (fictional and real) had gone through. They made me feel as if I was not alone, As if others had expirienced my problems and continued on and overcame those problems. To censor these stories would just be wrong.
I’m all for dark books. I was a very sheltered child, to the point where when I read a sexy scene in a YA book at age 12, my first thought was “I shouldn’t be reading this, it’s inappropriate!”. This made it taboo, and of course made me want to read it more. Dark books can let extra-sheltered kids feel like they’re living a little, without actually doing anything wrong.
I definitely understand that feeling! Sometimes I think one of the main reasons I love reading so much is because I was always trying to find inappropriate things as a kid.
Well said! “Darker” YA books are a good preparation for the harsh realities of life. I think the characters serve as good examples with how to deal (and more often how not to deal) with the hardships of life. “I Am The Messenger” by Markus Zusak is one of my all-time YA favorites.
I love this article! Books can really help you to understand yourself and the world you live in. My favourite one is not YA, but I think it’s been one of my most powerful weapons to deal with my life, it’s Hopscotch by Julio Cortázar, I read it almost on a daily basis.
Kids and teenagers should absolutely have the access and ability to read various types and genres of YA books. Books like music and movies can have a significant impact on us. As a teacher I want kids to read books that both interest AND challenge them when it comes to different topics, life situations, etc but they should also ALWAYS know they can talk about what they read with others. Books can bring out a lot of new thoughts, questions and ideas (whether good or bad) that kids need to have the ability to talk about and share. Examples like Speak or even historical YA books like The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Shades of Grey, etc aren’t “safe and happy” the entire way through but ever so important to read, learn about certain times in history and come away with a realization of the gravity of life and that as we move forward as people (individually and humanity as a whole) we CAN be better than that. History doesn’t have to define us.
Bravo! Well said. I wholeheartedly agree with you on this topic. As a YA Librarian I am often distressed by parents who censor their teens reading that they never get to experience what you have laid out so plainly here. I understand the desire to protect a child from danger and difficult situations but teens are so much better off learning about all the trials they can come across in the world instead of ignoring them. I want to print out and hang this and Sherman Alexie’s articles in my library.
Thanks so much, Emily! You’re so right. Pretending like difficult experiences and terrible times in history don’t exist doesn’t help anybody.
Books are a great way to address difficult issues. There are a lot of crappy YA books out there that are violent or sexual or mean and offer up no real benefit, but there are a lot of crappy books out there, period, so kids may as well learn that now.
When I was a preteen I read a lot of books because they were melodramatic or disturbing (Lurlene McDaniel! Fear Street! Christopher Pike!). Did this make me a bad person who kills cheerleaders or seeks out cancer patients as best friends or lovers? No, it simply made me love reading. Oh, and parents can just talk to their kids about what they’re reading, it helps.
Thank you for this. These are arguments I have been making for years, and every time a new Megan Fox Gurdon-type article comes along, I get furious all over again, wondering when we can stop having these nonsensical arguments. Teenagers are WAY smarter than we give them credit for, and are not easily swayed to do something just because they read it in a fictional book.
Agreed! I think too many people forget what it’s like to be a teenager.
Cox*
Fantastic article! Reminded me of the Judy Bloom quote, “Let children read whatever they want and then talk about it with them. If parents and kids can talk together, we won’t have as much censorship because we won’t have as much fear.” Teenagers need to read books that explore real issues!
Love that quote!