Hi all. This week's blog post has been provided by a connection through Georgia McBride. Georgia works tirelessly for the benefit of the reading lives of children and adolescents She is the operator of Georgia McBride Media Group (GMMG). This is the home of Month9Books, Tantrum Books, Swoon Romance, and Tantrum Jr. This post is written by Jennifer Bardsley, one of authors in the Month9Books.
Sex, drugs, violence, and curse-words; visit any bookstore and you’ll see young adult fiction shelves packed with juicy books. From the gritty realism of Crank by Ellen Hopkins to the raunchy dialogue in Paper Towns by John Green, there are plenty of YA books that would earn a PG-13 or R rating if/when they were made into movies. There are also books that feature purity and innocence. Authors like Jenny Han have built a reputation on “good girl” characters, like Lara Jean in To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. There is even a small company called Clean Teen Publishing which promotes books that please the most conservative of readers.
How much is too much, or not enough, when it comes to mature content in YA fiction?
Before we can answer this question, we need to ask a bigger question. Who are YA books for? Is the intended audience teens, or is it the flocks of adults who whip out their credit cards whenever Sarah J. Maas publishes a new book? Some research suggests that as many as 55% of all young adult fiction readers are adults. Teens are busy and loaded down with required reading from their teachers. It makes sense that so much of the YA market is built by adults with fewer restrictions on their lives.
When I look back at my teen years, I rarely had the opportunity to read for fun. There was always a book in my hand, but it was usually on the syllabus for an AP class. The one book I remember reading for pleasure was “Say Goodnight Gracie” by Julie Reece Deaver. I enjoyed it so muchthat it is no wonder I sought out YA fiction as soon as I was the master of my own free time.
Before we can answer this question, we need to ask a bigger question. Who are YA books for? Is the intended audience teens, or is it the flocks of adults who whip out their credit cards whenever Sarah J. Maas publishes a new book? Some research suggests that as many as 55% of all young adult fiction readers are adults. Teens are busy and loaded down with required reading from their teachers. It makes sense that so much of the YA market is built by adults with fewer restrictions on their lives.
When I look back at my teen years, I rarely had the opportunity to read for fun. There was always a book in my hand, but it was usually on the syllabus for an AP class. The one book I remember reading for pleasure was “Say Goodnight Gracie” by Julie Reece Deaver. I enjoyed it so muchthat it is no wonder I sought out YA fiction as soon as I was the master of my own free time.
Realistic fiction is called realistic fiction for a reason. The fact many adults are resistant to facing is that teens use the f-bomb every day. Some of them have sex, do drugs, grapple with suicidal ideation or pregnancy. There are hordes of teenagers living lives straight out of the pages of an Ellen Hopkins novel. But there are also teenagers like Lara Jean, living Jenny Han lives. They listen to their parents, hang out with their families, and spend truckloads of babysitting money at the craft store.
My hope is that the so-called “gatekeepers” of KidLit, teachers, librarians, parents, and publishers, remember that YA fiction should offer books for every reader. There needs to be diversity in content, just like there is diversity in humanity.
Who knows? Maybe a sixteen-year-old struggling with an addiction to meth could find inspiration in clean fiction. Perhaps the grittiness of dark fiction helps everyone gain empathy. The important thing is to encourage reading. So go ahead and explore the YA fiction section with abandon. There is something there for everyone.
My hope is that the so-called “gatekeepers” of KidLit, teachers, librarians, parents, and publishers, remember that YA fiction should offer books for every reader. There needs to be diversity in content, just like there is diversity in humanity.
Who knows? Maybe a sixteen-year-old struggling with an addiction to meth could find inspiration in clean fiction. Perhaps the grittiness of dark fiction helps everyone gain empathy. The important thing is to encourage reading. So go ahead and explore the YA fiction section with abandon. There is something there for everyone.
Jennifer Bardsley's novel Genesis Girl debuted in 2016 from Month9Books, and the sequel, Damaged Goods, released in 2017. Genesis Girl is about a teenager who has never been on the Internet. Jennifer, however, is on the web all the time as “The YA Gal." On Facebook, she hosts the weekly instant book club called #TakeALookTuesday where YA Gal friends geek out, share pictures of what they are reading, and chat about books. An alumna of Stanford University, Jennifer lives near Seattle, WA where she enjoys spending time with her family and her poodle, Merlin.
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