What teenager wants to read about a land of cotton candy, kittens, and rainbows? Many teenagers would not chose to read a book that speaks to this immature and superficial audience. Instead, adolescents would rather read about the topics that they encounter on a day to day basis. These topics include mental health, substance use, and relationships. As a result of the mature subject's being discussed, Young Adult (YA) books are a topic of great debate. The authors are choosing to make their novels realistic and consistent with the lives of the individuals who are reading their books. Many parents believe that if their children read these more intense books, their teens may feel inspired to act out in their lives what they are reading in the books. However, teens have a different idea about YA literature. YA books of all kinds shouldn’t be limited or filtered in any way because they may actually help teens through the struggle of life.
YA fiction has an enormous impact on teens because it makes them feel inspired and part of a community. In the provoking article “Why the Best Kid’s Books are Written in Blood” by Sherman Alexie, Alexie talks about a ceremony he talked at for kids in Seattle who had dealt with depression, abuse, homelessness, and self harm. He says, “After the ceremony, many of the graduates shook my hand, hugged me, took photos with me, and asked me questions about my book or my life. Other students hovered over the edges and eyed me with suspicion and/or shyness.” This shows what a big affect Sherman Alexie’s story had on these children who had all dealt with very difficult issues in the past. He served as a role model for these students. His book “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian” also obviously had such a big impact on these teens because of the way that they were behaving around Alexie. They were extremely interested in Alexie and they looked up to him so much that some were even too shy to to talk to him. It is clear that many students felt that reading his book provided companionship and hope. In another article, “Teen fiction plots are darker and starker” by William Porter, Porter quotes a college literature teacher, Jill Adams, “The genre has the ability to change with the times and it always seems to have a pulse on the teen heartbeat. It reflects whatever’s going on in their lives.” Jill Adams obviously understands that maturing teens have hard lives and that literature can help them deal with their struggles in the real world. This genre has so many types of stories and subgenres that it can reflect everyone’s life. According to Alexie, YA books “taught me how to battle the real monsters in my life.” YA books leave a lasting mark on children. Why would you take one of the only things that teens hold dear to them?
Adolescents are exposed to mature subjects through many channels such as TV, internet, and movies. Limiting YA books will not shield students from these topics because they are already witnessing them in their everyday lives. In “Why the Best Kid’s Books are Written in Blood,” Alexie talks about how naive some adults are about kids’ actual experience. He tells about how many of the grownups around were clueless. He says, “They wanted to protect me from sex when I had already been raped. They wanted to protect me from evil when a future serial killer had already abused me. They wanted me to profess my love for God without considering that I was the grandchild of men and women who’d been sexually and physically abused by generations of clergy. What was my immature, childish response to those would be saviors? ‘Wow, you are way, way too late.’” Alexie’s experience shows that even without YA literature, he had already encountered many hardships. Many parents believe that they are simply protecting their kids when they are restricting their teens access to YA fiction, but they are just making their child’s life scarier. Most parents don't know everything that is going on in their child's life or head, and books provide a safe space for children to learn about these topics and talk about them in their classrooms with teachers. Additionally, in the same article, Alexie talks about a 17 year old boy who wanted to be a writer, but his father wanted him to be a soldier, “He was seventeen and destined to join the military. Yes, 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 be too young to read a YA novel that vividly portrays those very same horrors.” The boy that Alexie is talking about is the son of a millionaire. This lets the reader know that no matter what your background or demographic is, everyone faces horrors that are almost too severe to picture. YA books are not contributing to children losing their innocence because it is already happening in their lives. Restricting access to YA books does not protect anyone, instead it may make them feel more lonely. YA books deal with normal issues that many teens have to deal with on a daily basis. YA books with more horrific details and storylines won't damage kids and teens because they already deal with these injustices.
In contrast to the many benefits of YA literature, some research points to the potential negative impact of YA books. This is the material that many parents cite and dwell on when speaking about YA novels. For example, in the article “Darkness Too Visible” by Meghan Cox Gurdon argues that reading YA fiction will harm adolescents’ natural wholesome state of mind. Gurdon says, “It has to do with a child’s happiness, moral development and tenderness of heart. Entertainment does not merely gratify taste, after all, but it creates it.” Gurdon is trying to get the point across that if teens and children read YA fiction, they will turn into mean, bitter, and unhappy people. She’s suggesting that children are better off if they’re happy. But isn’t knowledge more important than happiness? If you’re knowledgeable, than you have a more real foundation for happiness. People need to have knowledge in order to have a purposeful life experience. Reading about the experiences of others can give you knowledge and a more sophisticated view on the world. If someone did not have YA books to read about others lives and experiences, they could be trapped in the naive bubble of only what they have seen.
In conclusion, YA fiction is imperative to the healthy development of teens. Although some parents object to the darker themes in this genre, without YA fiction, teens would feel like they are the only person in the world that is gay, cuts, or is depressed. Additionally, they wouldn't know as much about the world. Kids go through a ridiculous amount of disappointments, dramas, and struggles, and YA fiction can act as an escape. Most importantly, young people come away from books feeling better about themselves and determined to read more. I do not know one teen who hasn’t been through something heartwrenching, so where would they be without YA fiction there for them?
