Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal published an article in which its basic gist is that YA literature is too dark for its target market–readers between the ages of 12 and 18. I first found out about this on Twitter. Most of my book blogging buddies and author friends were angry with this article, and some of them even posted their thoughts about the article and banning/censoring in general on their blogs.

I’ve decided that I wanted to post my thoughts as well. I hope my thoughts are well-formed, and I hope that those that disagree with me won’t burn me at the stake. I’m only going to address a few things mentioned in the article because the article is too long to discuss in its entirety.  (Some of these thoughts are identical to those in my Speak Up post.)

First and foremost, this article acts as if all YA literature is too dark or inappropriate for all young readers. This generalization is just not true! You cannot lump all of YA literature into this category. Nor, can you lump all teenagers in this category. From experience, I know I wouldn’t have dealt well with some of the mature themes in some YA books when I was a teenager because of my upbringing and where I was mentally at that age. But, others I know, including my husband and at least one of my older sisters, would’ve been just fine. I also know that there are some books that I’ll never be adult enough to read while others will be.

I don’t believe any book should be banned or censored, not even Mein Kampf–the combined autobiography and political views of Adolf Hitler. There are many books, including Mein Kampf, that I won’t read. However, I believe I don’t have the right to keep someone else from reading those books. Everyone needs to make their own decisions as to what types of books they deem are worthy to be read.

In the case of children and teenagers, however, I believe that parents have the right to and should limit the books their own children read. Children and teenagers don’t have the experience or knowledge to make certain decisions by themselves. They may not realize how a book and its content will affect them. And, most of the time, their decisions are made purely on peer influences and selfishness rather than well-thought out decisions. (Granted, a lot of adults make decisions that way as well, and don’t often make the best decisions. But, as an adult, they’re more equipped to deal with the consequences of their actions.) With that being said, however, I think adults often err too much on the side of caution and think children and teenagers cannot handle the cruelties in this world. And, rather than preparing their children to face those cruelties, parents act as if they don’t exist, hoping their children won’t be influenced or taught by someone else (e.g. teachers, friends, TV, books) or the awfulness in this world. Just because you don’t talk about something or you can’t see it, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

In my opinion, controversial topics are a chance for parents to bond with their children, to teach them and help them understand the atrocities in this life, and most importantly, to more fully appreciate the beauty and love this life has to offer. No one can appreciate the good without knowing the bad, and you can’t always shelter your children against the atrocities of this world. Isn’t it better to arm your children with the skills and coping mechanisms needed to deal with these atrocities instead of hoping they’ll be able to figure it out on their own when they first encounter them, in most cases when they’re still young and easily influenced?

When I was sexually assaulted at the age of 14 (you can read my story, but please be respectful to my family), I had no idea how to deal with what had happened to me. While my parents warned me that there were despicable people like that in the world and to beware of strangers, they never informed me that sexual assault is more likely to happen by a family member (as in my case) or a close friend. I was very naive, innocent, and sheltered. And, because of this, I was devastated. When what had happened came to light, most of my family put more stock in the fact that my perpetrator was “family” than an assaulter; I felt alone and betrayed by the adults around me.

I wish my parents would’ve taught me how to deal with my assault instead of always shying away from the bad things as if they didn’t exist. I wish they would’ve taught me how to deal with my feelings of despair and anger from my assault. Because they didn’t, however, I also wish that Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson was around so that I would’ve realized that I wasn’t alone and that there was hope and I’d feel normal again someday.

I think if I would’ve had an outlet or support system of some kind when I was still young, I would’ve recovered much more quickly. As I said, I think Speak could’ve offered me that much needed support. I think other books that deal with real-life issues could’ve helped me, if only I knew they were there (or if I would’ve been a reader at that age). I think parental involvement is the best thing for a child. But, when parental involvement doesn’t happen, I think books like Speak can help teenagers who’ve experienced similar things deal with what they’ve been through, even if it’s just to let them know they’re not alone. I also think books like The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, which was specifically pointed out in the article as “hyper-violent,” can help teenagers realize the devastation of war and oppression more than anything else can in this world, especially if that teenager has no inkling that war and oppression exist, are glorified by media, and are as bad as they really are.

Banning/censoring books deprives parents and children from the opportunities to learn and cope with the atrocities of this world. Parents need to be involved in their children’s lives. Parents need to understand where their children are mentally and act accordingly. They need to be aware of what their children read. They need to read a book before they let their child read it if they’re worried it’s too mature in content for their child, and explain to their child why they don’t want them to read the book rather than just saying, “Because I said so.” And, in some cases, they need to let their child read the book so they can have the opportunity to discuss those mature themes and help their children learn what to do rather than trying to shield them from it and acting as if it doesn’t exist. In my experience, children react better to well-thought out conversations instead of just being banned from doing something or having their parents (or the other adults in their life) freak out about something the child read, did, or encountered.

While I agree with the article in the sense that there are a lot of books out there with questionable material or material unsuitable for some younger readers, my bottom line is that not all YA literature is too dark nor are the really dark books necessarily bad. I think a rating system, such as what’s used for music, games, and TV, would be helpful in all literature, not just YA. That way parents and readers can make informed decisions of what they find suitable to read.