The Is YA Too Dark & Edgy Controversy

By Jenny Ramaley

Since we’re focusing on Hot, Hot, Hot topics this month, how about the brouhaha a couple of weeks ago when Meghan Cox Gurdon posted her thoughts about violence and depravity in YA novels? If you missed it, here are a few select paragraphs from her article, followed by responses from author Sherman Alexie and editor Cheryl Klein from Arthur A. Levine Books:

Darkness Too Visible

Contemporary fiction for teens is rife with explicit abuse, violence and depravity. Why is this considered a good idea?By Meghan Cox Gurdon
Wall Street Journal (WSJ.com Bookshelf), June 4, 2011

 “The argument in favor of such novels is that they validate the teen experience, giving voice to tortured adolescents who would otherwise be voiceless. If a teen has been abused, the logic follows, reading about another teen in the same straits will be comforting. If a girl cuts her flesh with a razor to relieve surging feelings of self-loathing, she will find succor in reading about another girl who cuts, mops up the blood with towels and eventually learns to manage her emotional turbulence without a knife.

Yet it is also possible—indeed, likely—that books focusing on pathologies help normalize them and, in the case of self-harm, may even spread their plausibility and likelihood to young people who might otherwise never have imagined such extreme measures. Self-destructive adolescent behaviors are observably infectious and have periods of vogue. That is not to discount the real suffering that some young people endure; it is an argument for taking care. . . Every year the American Library Association delights in releasing a list of the most frequently challenged books. A number of young-adult books made the Top 10 in 2010, including Suzanne Collins's hyper-violent, best-selling "Hunger Games" trilogy and Sherman Alexie's prize-winning novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. "It almost makes me happy to hear books still have that kind of power," Mr. Alexie was quoted saying; "There's nothing in my book that even compares to what kids can find on the Internet." . . .

Oh, well, that's all right then. Except that it isn't. It is no comment on Mr. Alexie's work to say that one depravity does not justify another. If young people are encountering ghastly things on the Internet, that's a failure of the adults around them, not an excuse for more envelope-pushing.”

Here’s the link to her entire article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303657404576357622592697038.html?KEYWORDS=Meghan+Cox+Gurdon

Author Sherman Alexie took issue with her thoughts. Here’s part of his response, and the corresponding link to his entire article:

Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood

By Sherman Alexi

The Wall Street Journal (wsj.com Speakeasy), June 9, 2011

“As a child, I read because books–violent and not, blasphemous and not, terrifying and not–were the most loving and trustworthy things in my life. I read widely, and loved plenty of the classics so, yes, I recognized the domestic terrors faced by Louisa May Alcott’s March sisters. But I became the kid chased by werewolves, vampires, and evil clowns in Stephen King’s books. I read books about monsters and monstrous things, often written with monstrous language, because they taught me how to battle the real monsters in my life.

And now I write books for teenagers because I vividly remember what it felt like to be a teen facing everyday and epic dangers. I don’t write to protect them. It’s far too late for that. I write to give them weapons–in the form of words and ideas-that will help them fight their monsters. I write in blood because I remember what it felt like to bleed.”

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/06/09/why-the-best-kids-books-are-written-in-blood/

Sherman Alexie is the author of “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” winner of the 2007 National Book Award in Young People’s Literature. He is currently at work on a sequel. His website is here.

                                

Here’s part of what Cheryl Klein thinks about the “is YA Too Dark” controversy, posted on her blog at http://chavelaque.blogspot.com/ from Monday, June 13, 2011.

“And then with #YASaves itself . . . Is there dark stuff in YA, all about sex and death? Sure. But there is also I Now Pronounce You Someone Else and StarCrossed and Eighth-Grade Superzero and July’s The Rites and Wrongs of Janice Wills, to name four books off my own list that are terrific and smart and not at all about angst; and I feel a little bit frustrated that YA is being tarred as a dark genre when there is such an incredible diversity that people just aren’t educated to see. (Or they can’t find the books in stores, because the darkness is what sells and therefore what gets on shelves.) If you’re scared about the darkness, by goodness, do more to celebrate the light. Read review magazines or YA blogs to find titles you approve of. Tell your local bookstore (whether a chain or an independent) that you’re looking for those kinds of books. Request specific titles, if you need to, and then buy them. Give those as gifts to friends whom you’re trying to educate about the genre and to teenagers. . . .
          Finally, the hard fact I always come back to whenever discussions like this come up: We (meaning writers, editors, publishers, even booksellers and librarians) cannot control readers’ reactions to the books they find through us. There may be readers who read books about cutting or bulimia or feeling suicidal (to pick three forms of darkness at random) and use them to start or continue those practices themselves. This is horrifying and sad but true. There will also be readers who already practice cutting or bulimia or who feel suicidal, who will truly benefit from seeing their experience reflected on the page and given that recognition by someone else; who will connect with that character, and be helped by seeing that character start to move back toward hope and out of the sickness, and may start to take that step themselves. This is inspiring and brave and also true.”

Here’s Jenny’s Two Cents:

I certainly enjoyed reading all kinds of books when I was a teen. Reading Go Ask Alice did not make me want to go out and experiment with drugs, but it did help me understand what was going on when an older girl I knew ran away from home with a drug dealer. The Outsiders didn’t make me want to stab any rich kids, but it gave me comfort growing up in an area where clear class lines existed between the haves and the have-nots.

Picking what YA books to read (and encouraging young readers to check out) is like my thoughts on drinking alcohol or eating rich foods – all things in moderation.  Just as devouring four Godiva chocolates at one sitting will make my stomach churn, reading four dark, heavy YA novels in a row will make me depressed.

Mix it up.

i.e. after reading 13 Reasons Why, try Twilight.

Love to Write for Children? Spread the Love – to Them

Year-end is a good time to stop and think about why we do what we do. Why do many of us chose to write for children? Why does Andrea spend hours agonizing over the perfect rhyming word? Why does Miss Kitty unleash her popcorn brain on the youth of America?

            Speaking for myself, I spend hours on YA stories because I like young people. Good books provide not only knowledge and information for children and teens, but also provide a safe escape from their rapidly changing, sometimes angst-driven lives. We should encourage children's love of reading – and writing. Writing's an important life skill – and if students are cheered on, maybe they’ll grow to love the process as much as the Route 19 Writers!

The school district where I live thankfully has a strong writing program. Focus on writing starts early, in grade school, and continues through graduation and all those hair-pulling college essays. In 6th, 7th & 8th grades, the writing labs in our two middle schools offer an extra special component – interested adults are invited to attend a training session, and then come in throughout the school year and help students by giving an "adult conference" for their writing assignments. After more than six years of helping, student papers can still make me burst out laughing and, sometimes, struggle to hold back tears.

The goal of this volunteer program is two-fold: to help students with their writing assignments and enthusiastically encourage their efforts.

As you probably well know, there's a right way and a wrong way to work with children. As my gift to our readers, I’d like to share the following time-tested guidelines for working with student writers. The guidelines were developed by some pretty terrific educators at our writing labs. 

Conferencing Guidelines

(some of these might sound odd or even bossy, but bear with me)

·        Review the paper’s guidelines beforehand, and make sure you understand what the teacher is looking for in this assignment. Trust the teacher!  Each assignment is building different skills and you’re just seeing one tiny slice of what's planned for the year.  (You may think the concluding paragraph is a mess, but the teacher may not care – that may be a lesson she hasn't focused on yet)

·        Introduce yourself to the child and greet the writer by name. ( Hi Sam, I'm Mrs. Ramaley, I love your jersey. Are you a hockey fan? a little something to break the ice helps). Sit side by side with the paper on a table in front of you.

·        Make sure the writer has a pencil and holds it ready to write. Feel free to jot notes on a spare sheet or the student’s “conference” sheet provided by the teacher, but YOU should NEVER write on the student’s paper.  If you write on the paper, you are “taking ownership”. Not good.

·        Ask the writer to read his or her entire paper out loud. You’ll be amazed at how often a writer will self-correct when they read out loud. Encourage them to make notes/corrections right away when they stumble on an error so they don't forget to fix it.

·        First, find something in the writing to Praise (wow, you’ve done a really great job in finding 2 strong quotes), then Question an item that needs improving (hmm, the teacher wants 3 events to support your topic sentence, but you’ve only got 2. Can you think of a 3rd example you could add?). If a student seems stuck, Suggest something that may jog the writer's thoughts. This can be tricky; it’s their paper and you don’t want to rob them of the chance to come up with an idea, but sometimes they need a nudge. (You haven’t mentioned the best friend in the story. Could you use something that happens with Jeremy for your 3rd event?). Your mom/dad/auntie/grandpap/wise adult intuition comes in handy during a conference.

Here’s a few Questions you can use:

o   What do you think is the strongest part of your paper? The weakest?

o   Is there anything you’d like me to pay attention to?

o   Can you tell me more about  . . . ?

o   What would happen if . . . ?

·        Focus on a few areas for revision; DON’T overwhelm the student with too many changes – trust me, their eyes will glaze over. For a strong writer, maybe 3 suggestions. For a child who is struggling, maybe just one - if you can help them improve one thing and make them feel good about it – that’s something to be proud of. You're not there to “fix” the writer’s paper or to get the writer an A. You’re there to encourage the student and help him or her meet the assignment requirements. Be especially wary of not trying to do too much with your OWN CHILD.

·        Recommend a second adult conference, if needed.

·        Alert the teacher if you see a problem you can’t solve. Be discrete, and keep your experience confidential. (No blabbing to another adult that you just conferenced with that Ramaley kid and boy, did she need help – no no no no no!)

·        Always remember that you have no idea what kind of day a child is having – maybe her best friend just yelled at her, or maybe her dog died this morning. A friendly word and praises and a few minutes of interested attention can do more good than your realize.

Happy Holidays to you and yours! And may the New Year bring some Happy Conferencing!