YA Censorship.

I normally check into Facebook in the mornings when I'm sitting up in bed having the cup of tea that Hubby has lovingly made for me (yes - everyday - tea brought to me in bed! I know - I'm lucky!) and this morning my friend Maureen posted a response to something that was happening in Florida regarding one of her novels. I should come clean now and mention that my friend Maureen is none other than Maureen Johnson and in case I might give you the impression that I actually know her or have in fact ever met her in person I should (for clarity's sake) also mention that she has 2,734 (at the time of posting) other friends like me ... on Facebook. Maureen made a video to respond to a Fox News report on a mother and her friend who were trying to get two YA novels (one of which was by Maureen Johnson) moved from the YA section to the Adult section in public libraries because they did not approve of the content. Do have a look at it - it's fairly self explanatory. (Note: if you click on the video so that it actually plays on the You Tube website, Maureen has kindly linked to the news reports and the passages spoken about in them in the sidebar next to the video).



I don't know how you feel about the subject of book banning but personally it appalls me. On many many levels. Now those of you who have watched carefully may now be shouting "but the woman did not ask for the book to be banned!" and this is true - what she asked for was for it to be moved to a section in the library where her daughter could not access it. She is effectively asking the library to censor the content and to act as babysitter for her child.

I have no doubt that the woman in question did not feel that the books her daughter "randomly" chose were appropriate for her daughter. I think she was genuinely shocked at the content of these books. This is her right. It is totally up to her how she choses to bring up her children. However that does not give her the right to censor the reading of other people's children. The thrust of her argument is that the more adult content is not appropriate for younger readers. A twelve year old is far too young for some of the themes, concepts and even more explicit (but y'know - mentioning sex does NOT make it porn Lady) content of these books. The books were clearly in the YA section and that section was clearly marked as 12-18 year-old.

Here's my point - YA does not mean yeah, it means Young Adult. These books are for older teens. Young adults in fact. Personally I have always seen book banding to be like a recommended reading age and that recommendation gives you some idea of difficulty level (both in terms of prose and concept) and content appropriateness. Twelve year olds are what we call middle grade (9-13). There is no doubt that a lot of 12-year-olds will be well past MG books and would prefer to select from the YA shelf. As far as I'm concerned this is how it should be. A child should not feel bound by age bands. These are just recommendations. And there are plenty of YA novels that children of 12 and 13 can happily read without their mothers having a heart attack. However there are also plenty which are edgier and which reflect a more realistic and grittier side of growing older and many parents may not want their 12, 13 and possibly even 14-year-olds exposed to this. This is their choice and I fully respect it. However I feel this means they should teach their children (as I have done) how to chose books. My kids know how to look up reviews and research authors on the net and possibly most importantly, they know that I also am very familiar with YA authors. They know that I'm as likely to read any book that comes in the house as they are. There is nothing more likely to help a child be a discerning reader than the fact that their Mom's going to want to borrow their new book.

And that's the thing isn't it? If you care about the books that your children read you should take an active interest in what they are reading. It is not up to the public library service to monitor what your children read. That is your responsibility as a parent.

I do not believe that my children will be corrupted by literature. I think there are many books out there that might challenge them in the way they feel about certain things, how they think about certain things and how they view the world in which they live. I am not scared by this. I welcome it. I want my children to learn to think and to morally interrogate this world. They should not accept it at face value. They should have values of their own which they arrive at not only by instruction but through their own exploration. And reading - all sorts of reading - in invaluable in growing up a well rounded individual. I hope my kids will never feel they have to hide a book from me (as I did from my mother). I hope they will always know that they can come and discuss with me anything they read that they love, hate, are confused or enthused by. What I hope most of all is that my children will always have books that they will want to read.

I have to admit to you now that I have not read The Bermudez Triangle but I have read several other books by Maureen Johnson and I have to tell you that she is a superb writer. She writes about quite weighty subject matter without judgement, with the lightest of touches and she is also a wonderful humourist. It moved me very deeply that she appreciates so much that her books have touched the lives and helped teenagers who are struggling with issues - whether it is with their own sexuality, or with bereavement or simply with first love. I for one am very grateful for writers like her.

Young adult books are meant to relate to the lives of our young adults and as such will frequently have content which is too grown up for the average middle grader. This does not make it an adult book. It does not make it a smutty book. Our children will be faced with making tough choices in their lives and reading about those subjects can help to equip them to make good choices. And I for one do not want some Pink Jacket Lady with a stick up her ass censoring the books available to my child just because she was too damn lazy to inform herself about the reading material available to her child.