Last week, if you were on Twitter, you may have seen my tweet about how apparently "damn" (also, "damnable" since it includes the word "damn") is a curse word and people are appalled at its use, particularly in YA Literature. This was because a
blogger friend directed me to a blog centered on screening books for pre-teens and teens from a Christian perspective and issuing a rating of the book based on just the appearance of swearing, sexual content, violence, etc. rather than HOW those things were utilized in the book. That's the part that is really important- HOW those things are used to tell the story. Is it there for the right reasons, or the wrong ones?
Yes, swearing can get a bit much in YA books, as I said two weeks ago, and can be lazy, but if a writer is really good, they can include swearing effectively without it seeming like it's there for shock value. Teenagers swear, parents- get over it. Just because you never hear it happen around you doesn't mean that they never do it. High schools are a COMPLETELY different world. YA books reflect that reality and can do it very well.
One of the books reviewed on this site (I skimmed through all their posts and found books that I had read or had heard good things about) is This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen. I have yet to read this book but I know that TONS of people name it as their favorite Dessen novel. In the review, this was said: "I was glad that Remy was changing her life, I only wish that instead of that meaning saving sex till she is “in love” it was saving it until she is married." This book was not recommended because of the casual take on swearing, sex, smoking and alcohol. Casual in the sense that it happens and is not stopped or used as a heavy-handed moral lessen. As all YA authors know, teens do not take kindly to didactic stories. I can't even imagine what these people would think of Ellen Hopkins' books.
I was amazed at how many AWESOME books were given a 1 rating, like Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart ("The casual attitude towards drugs, alcohol and sex is not a good example for teens of any ages. The snarky, quirky, manipulative manner of Frankie is not something any teen should aspire to be."), kira-kira by Cynthia Kadohata (too bleak), Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (too violent, though the prequels were given good ratings), and Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta (swearing, negative attitude, drugs, sex; not recommended at all- very vehement rejection of book).
In regards to Mockingjay, the "too violent" remark was funny to me because while I haven't yet read them (I know, bad blogger!), I know what kind of books they are. Even if the war and violence weren't shown in the first two books, stakes have to be amped up and the situation the characters are in already is extremely horrible. This was never going to be a walk in the park. The Harry Potter books get darker as they go on too- these characters are growing up because of what they're going through (though with Harry, he was growing up age-wise too; Katniss, I believe, didn't age much, if at all through the trilogy though I could be very wrong). Their world is not pretty and those authors pulled no punches.
Other books like Paper Towns and Jellicoe Road are given extremely vehement rejections. The reviewers find little, if any, positives in these books and wonder why they were given awards. Perhaps their realism is too much for these reviewers? None of them seem to live in the real world, but instead in some Christian-centric orb that surrounds their neighborhood or whatever.
What makes the site even weirder is when the reviews say good things about the writing and the characterization and the sort of technical aspects of the novel, but can't recommend the book because of the horrible, sinful, scandalous things happening inside. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare was one such book- characters saying "Sex before marriage is A-OK!", the two gay characters, swearing (Lord's name in vain a lot), drinking, and drugs are mentioned as being in the book. The reviewer found the book appealing, but couldn't recommend it due to all those negative things I mentioned above.
It's the same sort of thing, but reversed, for the book My Brother Sam is Dead by James Collier, which is a fictional book about the American Revolution. Obviously, many bad things happen here- it is after all taking place in a war. It's a gritty book and was given a 1 rating by this book, yet the book was recommended for its accurate portrayal of the Revolution and that time period. The same, for some reason, cannot be said for today's contemporary YA literature, unless it's God-oriented. Realism is used against these novels, but applauded in historical fiction. How does either of these scenarios make sense?
I hate that these kind of people have this kind of pull over not only their own children's' lives but also the lives of other people's children. Luckily, this particular blog only has 45 followers, and commenting seems to be rare nowdays. But there are probably plenty of other blogs out there doing the exact same thing but more popular at it, like Common Sense Media, which has no common sense whatsoever. It's just so stupid. I mean, after having seen that the word "damn" is still a swear word, I had this image of a 25 year old with a sheltered childhood at work with a colleague who just said the word "damn" and Sheltered Childhood Guy goes "Ooooh! You said a bad word!" with their hand covering their mouth LIKE A CHILD. That guy? He's gonna get his ass kicked, or at least will be ridiculed at work forever.
What do parents think this does to their children? It doesn't save them from it because they'll see it eventually at college or when they're out on their own after college, if they don't see it before then. It harms them. Keeping them protected is one thing, but I think it makes more sense to talk about ALL these issues with your kid or teen in a rational, thoughtful manner instead of pretending it doesn't exist. YA books can help spark the discussion for a multitude of issues; this is why we need realistic, well-written YA books because those are the best ways to learn about an issue, I think.
OK, this is HUGELY long and I didn't mean for it to get this way, but there's still a few things that didn't really fit in the overall essay of sorts, so here they are:
There was a review of Marked by P.C. and Kristin Cast, where this question was asked: "How could a mother and daughter write a book with such bad language and sexual content?" Um, because both are adults who live in the real world? They have a good, healthy relationship where they talk about hard topics? Because bad language and sexual content happen in regular teens' lives these days? Go ahead, pick one- they all work.
This was said of the first Georgia Nicolson book- "Not only can I not recommend this book, but I would like to go so far as to encourage parents to keep this and all Georgia Nicolson books out of the reach of children!" HAHAHAHAHA! Isn't that funny? Anyway, they also didn't like it because Georgia is disrespectful of her parents and authority figures and that's a big no-no. Even when the authority figures are EXTREMELY STUPID AND DESERVE TO BE DISRESPECTED.
Hush Hush was given a 1 rating because "this book might have the capacity to draw in young teen readers to the world of the occult, and using elements of scripture makes it even more offensive." Apparently, these Christian parents think teens are stupid. Maybe theirs are, because of being sheltered, but actual teen readers in the real world are not going to be drawn into the world of the occult because of a book about a fallen angel. Also, your scripture isn't as perfect as you're making it; obviously, this fallen angel research and stuff is coming from somewhere and that would be from the Bible. They aren't making up stuff, just extrapolating from what's already there.
11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass was given this funny little note under sexual content- "None – It was nice to read a book where a boy and a girl could be just friends with no romantic involvement." Um, maybe it's because they JUST TURNED 11?! Why would they be interested in each other in that way at that age?
Finally, a book I absolutely adore, North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley, which was given a 1 rating due to Lord's name in vain, some cussing, and sexual innuendos as well as attitudes to premarital sex. "God reverences his name above all names, and I cringe when I hear or read it used in a profane manner." The reviewer found the objectionable stuff unnecessary to the story even though it is REALISTIC. People take God's name in vain- get over it.
OK, this is probably not the best way to end this post with a "get over it!" but ah well. Put your thoughts in the comments- they are screened but only so spam doesn't get through. Every legitimate comment will be put through.
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