Critical Analysis on "Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood" by Sherman Alexie

           In the article “Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood” by Sherman Alexie, the author talks about how YA fiction, and darker books can help teens fight off the troubles and monsters in their own lives, so therefore YA books shouldn’t be banned or filtered in any way.  One example that Alexie gives is of a promotion ceremony he gave for a Seattle alternative high school.  There were 60 students who had all come from different and yet all difficult childhoods.  After reading Alexie’s autobiography, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”, this book meant so much to each of the students.  I had inspired them to find a better life for themselves.  Sherman Alexie then talks about how no matter what the demographic of the schools that he visits is, there is always students that have very difficult lives, and have been inspired by his book, and other pieces of YA fiction.  These examples show that kids always need inspiration, and without inspiration from books that include similar situations that they have been in, teens can’t fight off the monsters in their own life.

           Alexie is trying to tell adults that they have already done enough wrong to the teen community and the least they can do is let them read YA fiction that will help them along in life as well as persuading them not to limit the access of YA books.  He is trying to make them feel guilty and like what they are doing to their children by limiting their access to books is a terrible thing to do.  One way Alexie does this is by inserting an example of a millionaire’s son.  At first, he thought “What kind of pain could a millionaires child be suffering?”.  The teen then said that he wanted to be a writer but his father wanted him to be a soldier just like he was.  Then Alexie goes on to say that “he was old enough to die and kill for his country and old enough to experience the infinite horrors of war.  But according to Ms. Gurdon, he might to be young to read a YA novel that portrays those very same horrors”.  This makes the reader feel revolted.  You can’t protect someone from something they already have to deal with.  This makes adults feel guilty and teens feel heard.

           Alexie made some really good points in his article, that made me feel heard and understood.  Although all of my friends and I have grown up in a good and healthy environment for kids, I don’t know one person who hasn’t been through something rough or terrible.  I agree with Alexie in every way that YA novels shouldn’t be limited.  They have helped many of my friends and myself through difficult situations, and they have the ability of doing much more than adults.  When someone is going through something tough, adults say that they are there to talk, but YA fiction can do much more than talk, it can inspire and make kids feel like they are not alone.  This shows that books make people feel heard and understood, and the least adults can do is to not limit teens access to inspiration.