The Truth About Teen Literature
"Parents alarmed that books are more 'Sex and the City' than Nancy Drew." Young Adult Librarians across the country are disturbed by the recent NBC Nightly News story on teen literature, New Trends in Teen Literature: Racy Reads.
In the written version of the segment, journalist Janet Shamlian discusses some recent teen novels that deal with incest, oral sex, and other controversial issues. Many librarians who work with teens and preteens have expressed concern that the segment was slanted toward sensationalism, mentioning only titillating topics that are not representative of the majority of teen literature.
The segment speaks specifically about the books Claiming Georgia Tate, Rainbow Party, Teach Me, and Gossip Girl. "In 'Claiming Georgia Tate,' a father has sex with his daughter. In 'Rainbow Party,' teens make plans for an oral sex party. And in 'Teach Me,' out next week and seemingly ripped from the day's headlines, there's a student-teacher affair." Librarians are quick to point out that Claiming Georgia Tate is about a young girl who suffers the crime of incest, not the trashy novel one might assume from Shamlian's news segment. One YA author said of Teach Me, "A wonderful book for girls who can read about the pain caused by a predatory teacher, rather than have to experience it."
Still other librarians and other experts in the field of YA literature are chiming in to remind Ms. Shamlian and parents that teen literature is not all "Sex and the City"-esque. The Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in young adult literature is awarded every year to quality young adult books. Past winners have included novels about a teenage father trying to make a better life for his daughter, the experience of a Korean immigrant and her family, and other stories that would not fall into the "racy reads" category that Shamlian purports comprises the majority of YA lit.
There is a greater issue than merely overlooking a few quality books, though. The issue involves the consequences of a sensationalized news story. Young Adult Librarians have worked hard to make a wide variety of books available to teens and make the library a safe haven in the community for teens to relax and read books that address the issues they face growing up. One librarian calls this story, "a major disservice to the many librarians, like myself, that want to get these life changing books into the hands of the teens that need them the most." By only highlighting the "racy reads," the YA librarian's job of trying to match teens with book that address the issues they need to read about is more difficult. This news segment only reinforces the stereotypical view of YA lit that librarians and YA authors have worked hard to overcome--that there is nothing good written for teens anyway.
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