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I don't even know where to start here. But I will give it my even-tempered best.
"You are naive if you think young people can read a dark and violent book that sits on the library shelves and not believe that that behavior must be condoned by the adults in their school life."
Having a book in a collection does NOT mean the content is condoned- but it definitely means the content is acknowledged. Some of the strongest books I have read in a long time, 'Hunger' and 'Rage' by Jackie Morse Kessler, deal with eating disorders and cutting, and while I do not 'condone' that behavior, I would damn well want kids aware of it. To recognize it. To think about it. Same goes for a lot of the 'dark' YA.
"It is that question—the condoning of the language and content of a strong current in young-adult literature—that creates the parental dilemma at the core of my essay."
That closing argument is what really put the nail in the coffin for me on this piece. Parental dilemma? Engage in dialog with kids. They are smarter than you think. Perhaps, if you are leaving them to read and digest alone, you can be seen as condoning content. Take the time to talk to your young adults. Help them understand what they are reading. Don't condemn a strong trend emerging in a genre. It has to be emerging for a reason. Perhaps we really should be talking to our kids, since something in these books is singing to them so strongly.
"You are naive if you think young people can read a dark and violent book that sits on the library shelves and not believe that that behavior must be condoned by the adults in their school life."
Having a book in a collection does NOT mean the content is condoned- but it definitely means the content is acknowledged. Some of the strongest books I have read in a long time, 'Hunger' and 'Rage' by Jackie Morse Kessler, deal with eating disorders and cutting, and while I do not 'condone' that behavior, I would damn well want kids aware of it. To recognize it. To think about it. Same goes for a lot of the 'dark' YA.
"It is that question—the condoning of the language and content of a strong current in young-adult literature—that creates the parental dilemma at the core of my essay."
That closing argument is what really put the nail in the coffin for me on this piece. Parental dilemma? Engage in dialog with kids. They are smarter than you think. Perhaps, if you are leaving them to read and digest alone, you can be seen as condoning content. Take the time to talk to your young adults. Help them understand what they are reading. Don't condemn a strong trend emerging in a genre. It has to be emerging for a reason. Perhaps we really should be talking to our kids, since something in these books is singing to them so strongly.
