my umpteenth blog

This has been such interesting listening- I need to find the original piece that prompted this discussion, but it's a discussion between a book critic who feels that YA lit has become rather dark and, in some cases, unacceptably so for its intended audience and a YA author who strongly disagrees. The book critic originally wrote something somewhere (that's what I need to find) that prompted a sharp reaction from parents/librarians/etc...

After listening to this, I actually agree more with the book critic than the author (who really came across as not the best advocate for the case she was trying to make).

The critic cited studies that have found strong correlations between teens' exposure to high-risk behaviors via books with their actually adopting those behaviors. The author took umbrage with that and harped on the fact that "correllation is not causation". While this is true, correllation is indicative of a relationship- it might be that the books influence the behaviors or it might be that kids who practice the behaviors are attracted to a certain kind of book.

It seems that a lot of the outcry in reaction to the original piece was because readers (I guess) thought the critic was advocating censorship- I don't think that's true, and I don't think that's the solution in any case. What I DO think she's advocating is that more care be taken in selecting books for YA readers. Some readers may be able to handle certain issues or types of books better than others- the biggest issue here is one that I think most YA librarians already practice- trying to match the right book with the right person.

I don't know if I'm making a lot of sense- just listen to the discussion- it makes more sense than I can.