Just this week I stumbled across a trending article called: “SJW YA Authors Object to ‘Clean Teen’ Fiction.” Obviously the title caught my attention because my clean teen Lost Princesses series just recently released. So I was rather intrigued to discover that other YA authors are opposed to the kind of YA fiction that I write.
To be honest, I had to google the meaning of SJW. I know I’m showing my age here, but I’d never heard of SJW. I discovered it stands for “Social Justice Warrior” which is the term applied in a derogatory manner toward those who are simply jumping on a current social issue bandwagon because that’s the popular thing to do or because they’re seeking self-promotion.
Anyway, the article speaks to a current debate over whether to categorize teen books. For example, some websites now offer a “Clean Teen” books section, particularly for parents and teens who don’t want to be exposed to the objectionable and mature content that is continuing to flood its way into the Young Adult (YA) genre.
Interestingly, the American Library Association (ALA) as well as some YA authors are opposed to such categorizing, likening it to censorship. There was even some mocking of the category “Clean Teen Reads” over on Twitter.
In a culture that touts “tolerance,” such attitudes aren’t so tolerant. And as I thought about the issue, here are a few reasons why everyone (including ALA and SJW Authors) should not only tolerate but embrace clean novels for our youth:
1. Clean reads respect diversity.
Let’s be very clear. There are still a large majority of parents (and even teens) who actually like and prefer clean YA novels that promote modesty and sexual abstinence including, but not limited to Muslims, Jews, Mormons, Evangelical Christians, and other people of faith.
To truly have diversity in literature, we can’t give preference to the social agendas of groups who shout the loudest while demeaning (and mocking on Twitter!) books that adhere to traditional values.
2. Clean reads give hope.
You only need to look at the covers of many current YA books to realize how dark and depressing so many of them are. Reading the book blurbs only confirms that.
Some might say that this downward spiral into increasingly oppressive material is reflective of our teen culture, that authors are merely giving teens stories they can relate to, stories that represent their struggles realistically.
However, I can’t help but ask if such stories only contribute to teenage angst rather than help it? If someone is drowning, do we jump in the water and wallow with them. Or would we be better off throwing out a life ring and offering them hope.
While there is a place for realistic stories that portray real issues, perhaps teen literature has gone to the extreme in trying to “meet teens where they’re at” by immersing them all too often in the gritty and often bleak reality of life.
Perhaps it’s time to shift the balance and also gladly offer our teens wholesome reads that inspire and encourage them to rise above their circumstances.
3. Clean reads provide a safe reading haven.
I think we can all agree that the nature of YA fiction has changed in recent years, delving into increasingly more adult-like content. The above article cites a spokesperson from Simon & Schuster as saying that because of the increasing popularity of the YA genre among adults, the content of YA books has “scooched up toward that adult audience.”
The S&S spokesperson says she hears from many parents that their kids “already feel so much pressure from the world around them—from current events, social media, the school environment—that they look to fiction as a real escape, a place where the stakes can be low and the consequences can be gentle. I think there are many teen readers out there looking for the experience that ‘clean teen’ can offer.”
Instead of exposing teens prematurely to sexual behaviors, vulgarity, and other situations that are more adult-like, clean reads provide a safe and “real escape” from a turbulent culture.
To find out more about my clean teen novels (especially my newest Lost Princesses series), visit my website here: http://jodyhedlund.com/series/the-lost-princesses/
So what about YOU? What thoughts do you have about the importance of clean teen reads?
Jody Hedlund
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I completely agree with your points! I love that there are “clean” options out there. I remember loving and reading the Christy books by Robin Jones Gunn as a teenager and am thankful I had that message as a young woman because it helped shape me into who I am today. It’s wonderful that there is so much variety in literature for teens, but a positive book that offers an escape from reality and that gives hope, is essential in today’s world. I look forward to introducing my daughter to your series when she is older.
Thanks for this information, Jodi. I don’t have teens so I’m out of the loop when it comes to these issues. Your blog has great information for all of us to know.
Keep it up, Jody. Our country needs clean reading literature for our teens/children!
I love clean fiction of all kinds. Thank you for writing clean fiction!
I vote clean reads for YA and Adults as well. That’s why I read and recommend your books. I think some book covers are disgusting which is only a tip of the iceberg as to what’s inside. Informative post and I am a big supporter of yours. Keep writing!
As a Christian teen myself, I always love finding clean YA books because it is so hard to do these days. Nearly ever YA book is full with something that is counter to what the Bible says. I honestly have stopped reading a lot of general market YA books because of this. I completely agree with everything you stated above!! It’s so heart breaking to think that so many people are okay with everything that they are putting into books that are geared towards teens. 🙁
I really need to read your new series, Mrs. Hedlund! I have heard amazing things about them and I already love everything about it!! 🙂
I agree wholeheartedly with your article. Many YA books of today are filled with many topics that plenty of teens would rather not read about. Having a category for kids who want clean fiction is a service to them. Demeaning them is no different than demeaning Christian Fiction for adults. Honestly I’m so tired of the diverse book movement in that it is not trying to promote books for all people, it is only trying to promote books for the loudest minority, to the detriment of others. For teens trying to figure life out, reading about sex, drugs and violence isn’t giving them a very positive sense of life. Thanks for taking this topic on!
Wow. Had no idea such a debate was going on. Keep writing your clean teen fiction because as you have so eloquently said, it is needed!
I could not agree with you more, especially about the part where we need to be throwing help to those who are drowning, not wallowing with them! If I may say, I also felt you handled the topic with far more gentility and grace than I felt that other article did. It popped up on my Google feed the other day, so I’d already read it, and while I understood where they were coming from and agree that Clean Teen Reads not only need to be allowed but embraced, I didn’t care for the angry tone of the article. I especially didn’t care for their suggestion that adult YA readers who “can’t seem to grow up and move on to the adult section of the library” are part of the problem because YA writers are pandering to them. I am an adult reader who still prefers YA but I prefer it because I’m trying to stay away from the sexual stuff and depressing depressingness I see in the adult section too! Not to mention that I *write* clean YA and need to be reading what I want to write as well as keeping track of the market. A lack of clean teen reads is just as much a problem for this adult YA reader (and many of my Christian friends my age who feel the same way) as it is for actual teens and their parents. I think one way to help solve this problem is not only by embracing clean teen reads but by publishers making sure that these supposedly YA books that are “scooching” closer to Adult in content get put in the New Adult category instead of YA and then clearly market them as such.
I have been greatly dissatisfied with some so called YA books that are seemingly popular now. I am 55 years old and a Christian. I don’t like the violence and suggestive circumstances that some authors are including in their YA books. I have had the privilege to read your Lost Princesses series and feel like you have a much better alternative for young people today. You deal with Romance and Adventure but don’t go overboard with the story tipping it into what I would consider Adult territory. I have stopped reading part way through some books that (in MY personal view) are too dark and steamy to be considered YA. GRANTED each of us have a little bit different “thermometer” in judging a books content. I definitely would concur that some of the books that are focused on teen readers are too dark and or explicit. I appreciate your efforts to provide an exciting reading experience without JUNK!!
Jody, continue writing your clean teen reads! Kids need hope, love, justice, responsibility, encouragement, peace and joy taught! The world is so depressing and hopeless without Him. So many know nothing about Him or have turned away from Him. Good post!
I agree wholeheartedly. If the world is all about diversity and choices, they need to allow for these kinds of choices as well.
This is precisely why a dozen or so authors, myself included, started Catholic Teen Books – so that we can make parents aware of clean alternatives to the darkness and sexual morality marketed to teens. We want teens and parents to have choices that are well-written and entertaining but won’t undermine the values the family espouses.
So glad to see you writing more clean reads for teens, Jody! My oldest daughter will be ready for them soon.
I love your thoughts! Thanks so much for sharing your strong perspective!
Putting trash into books for children and teens started more than 25 years ago, and I do call it trash – curse words, graphic descriptions of such things as animals mating and attacking each other, explicit sex, gratuitous violence, and hate. I taught 5th grade language arts for 23 years, retiring in 2014. Students were constantly showing me library books that contained first the bad language and then gradually the other situations mentioned above. They were appalled and offended that this was in their literature. Now, it is commonplace. Standards have been lowered and will continue to be. The same people who produce this literature are the first to complain about hate, racism, and proclaim themselves part of the Me Too movement.
The more I read Christian fiction, I find myself rejecting authors I used to enjoy. Society has devolved to the point of rejecting common sense, constantly criticizing religion, morality, and diminishing the values of those who don’t ” think” like them. Sadly, it is going to get worse.
As an adult I will only read clean read fiction or Christian Fiction. I have read books claiming to be clean read or fiction and found that a few cuss words are thrown in. This causes me to turn away from the authors books in the future. Your Books have always been clean and what I consider to be Christian Fiction. I’m currently reading your Lost Princesses series and loving it.
Oh, gosh. This really is a topic for a panel discussion for booksellers and authors! I read a little of everything, just to see what is out there, and yes, there is a great need to clarify exactly what is YA (Young Adult). I read “Christy” at 13 because Mom thought it was clean. It is (as far as sex) but it also doesn’t ignore the harsh realities of life or how faith can help. Nowadays, YA books run the gamut from super-duper clean to others, dare I say, written about college-age young adults with far too much sexual experience for their age. (I know a gal who writes what she calls YA erotica. Seriously.) And this despite statistics showing more young people are waiting before having sex! That being said, there will always remain a need for intelligent stories (like yours) that do not talk down to teens, that aren’t boring, that are written from diverse points of view, and can keep it clean while still acknowledging that yes, teens are full of raging hormones. Because they are, and ignoring that fact doesn’t make it disappear no matter how much parents wish it could be so!
Well said, Jody! I totally agree with you. So much of what teens are exposed to is so dark and depressing. Thank you for giving them the option of something uplifting and encouraging! God bless you and keep sharing your gifts with all of us!
congratulations on your book series and being clean that makes them extra special. having three daughters who love to read, it can be very difficult to find appropriate books!
Thank you for writing clean teen reads. It is so hard to find good books for my teen daughter. I sent her links to your ya series.
I actually feel NOT categorizing CLEAN TEEN reading is censorship. At its roots, censorship is about hiding truth. Why try to hide what a book is about? That’s evil. And it’s Satan’s way of putting evil into lives of people at a time in their life they are extremely vulnerable. Shame on them! The truth will prevail through the work of God’s people. I’d be interested to know how to push for this categorization.
I agree with this post. I have been very concerned about the adult issues now worming their way into YA. So much sensuality and violence. I have written a YA series (not yet published) that is exciting and romantic but “clean.”