Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Young Adult Fiction

Question: How low can it go?

Answer/Quote: “How dark is contemporary fiction for teens? Darker than when you were a child, my dear: So dark that kidnapping and pederasty and incest and brutal beatings are now just part of the run of things in novels directed, broadly speaking, at children from the ages of 12 to 18.

“Pathologies that went undescribed in print 40 years ago, that were still only sparingly outlined a generation ago, are now spelled out in stomach-clenching detail. Profanity that would get a song or movie branded with a parental warning is, in young-adult novels, so commonplace that most reviewers do not even remark upon it.”

Comment: The trend has been in this dark direction for many years. It reflects experience that is hell. The do-gooders toss it off as, “They know it isn’t real.” But is it to teen-agers? Does this depiction of reality extend to impressionable children’s acting on it? This article is written by someone who loves literature, children’s literature. And it provides evidence that maybe the censors should act on. And the author loves children’s literature.

The author does append some interesting fiction that can be recommended. I think. RayS.

Title: “Darkness Too Visible.” Contemporary Fiction for Teens Is Rife with Explicit Abuse, Violence and Depravity. Why Is This Considered A Good Idea? Meghan Cox Gurdon. Wall Street Journal (June 4, 2011), Internet.

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