The young adult books I read startled me by how dreary they were, even when they were most chipper. The world they describe is ultimately a trivial and a tawdry and a boring one. There is much evil in them, but the evil does not frighten or challenge because the authors do not see it. The good in them is usually weak, tepid, ineffective, a helping hand or a shoulder to cry on, not a gallant knight on a glorious horse. The salvation in them is equally weak, more often resignation than transformation.
Read the entire article, and then come back and tell me: agree with Mr. Mills or disagree? Can you give specific examples to support or refute his criticisms?
10 thoughts on “Bad Books?”
There’s so much there to digest, and I’m not well-read enough in current YA fiction to know for sure what parts I agree or disagree with. But I do remember that in reading The Hunger Games, I had a similar reaction. And it made me remember the depressing books that were assigned when I was in junior high.
I’m mulling the question of how to parent as my kids move toward independent reading… I was not restricted, and I don’t want to over-shelter. But the concerns raised in that article are sobering. Thanks for sharing it; it gives a larger perspective that will help me think it through.
I remember reading that when it came out. I haven’t read any of the “bad books” he talks about, though I’ve read similar ones. I’m not sure he’s wrong about those particular books, and I appreciate that he points out that there is a whole class of YA books to which his criticisms do not apply. I’d put books like “Princess Academy” and “The Hunger Games” in that last category – and that’s the kind of YA I read most often.
I do think he’s right about that sort of book . . . it reminds me of Chesterton’s point in the first few chapters of “Orthodoxy” that fairy tales are interesting because they’re about an ordinary hero to whom extraordinary things happen, and that stories about odd, unhappy people in odd, unhappy worlds are boring, because there’s no contrast and no one to cheer for. Or something like that.
I also think that a kid wouldn’t be harmed by reading a few books like that, if he was also reading lots and lots of good books. The contrast would be a lesson in itself. But if all you did in your reading was to wade through the mire, I do think it’d have a negative effect on you.
I have to say that I agree with Mr. Mills. From the ages of 10 to 14 I read lots of YA books (although I don’t think they were called that back in the early 1970’s) and felt that they were depressing. The Soul Brothers and Sister Lou, The Pigman, My Darling My Hamburger, and others were what the library offered for my age group. The happiest year of my life, book-wise, was when I was 14 and my freshman English teacher had us read Les Miserable. From then on I sought and read older classics: Uncle Tom’s Cabin, The Jungle, Main Street, The Complete Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Crime and Punishment, Brave New World, 1984, etc., and loved them.
I’ve not offered YA books to my children because of my experience, although when they have found and read some on their own I’ve asked them to talk to me about what they’ve read. I did enjoy The Giver.
A friend of mine is a teacher and has recommended that I read Feed, The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, and Freak the Mighty, and I hope to read them this summer.
I think the fundamental problem with this article is something that Shannon Hale addressed a while ago on her blog: are authors responsible for presenting a morality? Or are they responsible for telling a story? I think Mr. Mills wants the former. And the books are telling a story. He may agree or disagree with the morality or reality in that story, but to demand that an author reflect a more “accurate” or “conservative” morality or reality is unfair. There’s a lot of good in YA books. There’s a lot of depressing in YA books, too. But, either way, they’re just stories, and its up to us whether we choose to read them or not. (And, point of fact: the depressing ones have opened up the most dialogue with my daughters. The lighthearted ones are fun and fine, but we don’t really talk about them as much.)
it just makes me thankful that when I was a YA reader, the whole YA genre had not been invented and I was the one reading Tolkien and Sherlock Holmes and Anne of Green Gables.
One of these what I consider very negative YA books that I read recently was Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer. Yes, I know that many bloggers seemed to have loved it. But I found it’s view on life and morality so depressing and self centered that I would never recommend it to a young person.
I don’t think the need for morality trumps the need for a good story. But the trouble is poor morality hardly ever makes for a good story. Selfish, petty, and greedy people are no fun to root for. Misery without hope; romance without commitment; pleasure without sacrifice; these things don’t make for an actual *plot*. They are more the sort of thing one develops a taste for either from a lack of exposure to other options or out of a conviction that it is difficult and therefore more mature than reading real stories. There’s a poem of Chesterton’s addressing his own generation’s novels of the sort: “I shall go read *Jack Redskin on the Quest*/and fill my mind with better things.”
Perhaps someone needs to write the *Cold Comfort Farm* of modern YA novels.
Admittedly I haven’t read the whole article (I will! I will!), but I just wanted to jump into the conversation and say that the last YA novel I attempted to read (Vintage Veronica), I gave up on not four or five chapters in because I found most of the characters so. . . so. . . I hate to say revolting because that’s almost too strong, but . . .yeah. There were several “mean girls” in the book, and while I don’t know how the story turns out and probably shouldn’t even voice my opinion since I didn’t read the whole thing, I didn’t find it at all convincing given the fact that they were supposed to be older teens/young adults. What kept coming back to me while I read it was, “I don’t know anyone like this.” I know my life is different from most young adults’ lives, but still.
Hmmm… interesting article.
I agree with a lot of the article. I have 4 boys, ages 12, 10, 8, and 2. They are all huge readers. I try to read a lot of what they are reading, but since they read so much now, I do not always catch up. I often have had to pick books for my 12 year old, as he is often at a class when we go to the library. I have been unhappy with the overall quality of books for YA readers. So much of it is..well, ugly. I have always been a really huge reader, and continue to read books, often one a day. I like to read YA books. But so many now appeal to the baser nature.
There is a lot “awakening” in pre-teens and teens. Some literature can be helpful to that. But so much of it is simply an indulgence in self-pity, or a crazy view of life. How to explain that? Reading some of those books is similar to reading a glossy magazine, where you know you do not belong to that world and will never belong or identify with it.
Education today neglects our kids. They often do not learn to read more difficult books, or think more critically. This is a “reality tv” generation. Teens are perfectly capable of reading more classic literature, but are often not lead to it.
While Mr. Mills seems to be looking specifically for Christian morality in books, the truth is many YA books lack a morality of any kind – except that of “get as much as you can, however you can”. Really good books have an operational morality underpinning their stories, even if they are never spelled out. Morality is essential to a story.
Now my 2 yr old is demanding to play trains, so I can’t think any more!!!! Interesting topic1
I used to be a YA librarian (I quit to be at stay at home mom). I admit that I am not keeping up with YA lit as I used to, but I think that Mr. Mills assessment that many YA books are “problem” books is true. These types of books are hugely popular. I think we’re in a season where reading has become popular and trendy, and not nerdy, thanks to Twilight, and Harry Potter before it. These kids (who have discovered reading is cool) need something to read, and some may tend toward fantasy, and some will like “real life” books. I think it’s great that kids read anything. These novels that Mr. Mills is talking about are interesting to these kids. These are the type of books that “hook” kids into reading. You start with something like the books he has mentioned, then move onto Rats Saw God, Feed, Monster–all great YA titles. Teens are just trying to figure out the world and they think these books help them to feel less alone and less lost. I am absolutely not saying parents shouldn’t know what kids are reading. But he sounds more like he was just shocked to find out that books are like this. YA lit has been like this for a long time. Forever by Judy Blume, anyone?
I agree with a lot of the article. Teens are perfectly capable of reading more classic literature, but are often not lead to it. Really good books have an operational morality underpinning their stories, even if they are never spelled out. Morality is essential to a story.
There’s so much there to digest, and I’m not well-read enough in current YA fiction to know for sure what parts I agree or disagree with. But I do remember that in reading The Hunger Games, I had a similar reaction. And it made me remember the depressing books that were assigned when I was in junior high.
I’m mulling the question of how to parent as my kids move toward independent reading… I was not restricted, and I don’t want to over-shelter. But the concerns raised in that article are sobering. Thanks for sharing it; it gives a larger perspective that will help me think it through.
I remember reading that when it came out. I haven’t read any of the “bad books” he talks about, though I’ve read similar ones. I’m not sure he’s wrong about those particular books, and I appreciate that he points out that there is a whole class of YA books to which his criticisms do not apply. I’d put books like “Princess Academy” and “The Hunger Games” in that last category – and that’s the kind of YA I read most often.
I do think he’s right about that sort of book . . . it reminds me of Chesterton’s point in the first few chapters of “Orthodoxy” that fairy tales are interesting because they’re about an ordinary hero to whom extraordinary things happen, and that stories about odd, unhappy people in odd, unhappy worlds are boring, because there’s no contrast and no one to cheer for. Or something like that.
I also think that a kid wouldn’t be harmed by reading a few books like that, if he was also reading lots and lots of good books. The contrast would be a lesson in itself. But if all you did in your reading was to wade through the mire, I do think it’d have a negative effect on you.
I have to say that I agree with Mr. Mills. From the ages of 10 to 14 I read lots of YA books (although I don’t think they were called that back in the early 1970’s) and felt that they were depressing. The Soul Brothers and Sister Lou, The Pigman, My Darling My Hamburger, and others were what the library offered for my age group. The happiest year of my life, book-wise, was when I was 14 and my freshman English teacher had us read Les Miserable. From then on I sought and read older classics: Uncle Tom’s Cabin, The Jungle, Main Street, The Complete Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Crime and Punishment, Brave New World, 1984, etc., and loved them.
I’ve not offered YA books to my children because of my experience, although when they have found and read some on their own I’ve asked them to talk to me about what they’ve read. I did enjoy The Giver.
A friend of mine is a teacher and has recommended that I read Feed, The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, and Freak the Mighty, and I hope to read them this summer.
I think the fundamental problem with this article is something that Shannon Hale addressed a while ago on her blog: are authors responsible for presenting a morality? Or are they responsible for telling a story? I think Mr. Mills wants the former. And the books are telling a story. He may agree or disagree with the morality or reality in that story, but to demand that an author reflect a more “accurate” or “conservative” morality or reality is unfair. There’s a lot of good in YA books. There’s a lot of depressing in YA books, too. But, either way, they’re just stories, and its up to us whether we choose to read them or not. (And, point of fact: the depressing ones have opened up the most dialogue with my daughters. The lighthearted ones are fun and fine, but we don’t really talk about them as much.)
it just makes me thankful that when I was a YA reader, the whole YA genre had not been invented and I was the one reading Tolkien and Sherlock Holmes and Anne of Green Gables.
One of these what I consider very negative YA books that I read recently was Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer. Yes, I know that many bloggers seemed to have loved it. But I found it’s view on life and morality so depressing and self centered that I would never recommend it to a young person.
I don’t think the need for morality trumps the need for a good story. But the trouble is poor morality hardly ever makes for a good story. Selfish, petty, and greedy people are no fun to root for. Misery without hope; romance without commitment; pleasure without sacrifice; these things don’t make for an actual *plot*. They are more the sort of thing one develops a taste for either from a lack of exposure to other options or out of a conviction that it is difficult and therefore more mature than reading real stories. There’s a poem of Chesterton’s addressing his own generation’s novels of the sort: “I shall go read *Jack Redskin on the Quest*/and fill my mind with better things.”
Perhaps someone needs to write the *Cold Comfort Farm* of modern YA novels.
Admittedly I haven’t read the whole article (I will! I will!), but I just wanted to jump into the conversation and say that the last YA novel I attempted to read (Vintage Veronica), I gave up on not four or five chapters in because I found most of the characters so. . . so. . . I hate to say revolting because that’s almost too strong, but . . .yeah. There were several “mean girls” in the book, and while I don’t know how the story turns out and probably shouldn’t even voice my opinion since I didn’t read the whole thing, I didn’t find it at all convincing given the fact that they were supposed to be older teens/young adults. What kept coming back to me while I read it was, “I don’t know anyone like this.” I know my life is different from most young adults’ lives, but still.
Hmmm… interesting article.
I agree with a lot of the article. I have 4 boys, ages 12, 10, 8, and 2. They are all huge readers. I try to read a lot of what they are reading, but since they read so much now, I do not always catch up. I often have had to pick books for my 12 year old, as he is often at a class when we go to the library. I have been unhappy with the overall quality of books for YA readers. So much of it is..well, ugly. I have always been a really huge reader, and continue to read books, often one a day. I like to read YA books. But so many now appeal to the baser nature.
There is a lot “awakening” in pre-teens and teens. Some literature can be helpful to that. But so much of it is simply an indulgence in self-pity, or a crazy view of life. How to explain that? Reading some of those books is similar to reading a glossy magazine, where you know you do not belong to that world and will never belong or identify with it.
Education today neglects our kids. They often do not learn to read more difficult books, or think more critically. This is a “reality tv” generation. Teens are perfectly capable of reading more classic literature, but are often not lead to it.
While Mr. Mills seems to be looking specifically for Christian morality in books, the truth is many YA books lack a morality of any kind – except that of “get as much as you can, however you can”. Really good books have an operational morality underpinning their stories, even if they are never spelled out. Morality is essential to a story.
Now my 2 yr old is demanding to play trains, so I can’t think any more!!!! Interesting topic1
I used to be a YA librarian (I quit to be at stay at home mom). I admit that I am not keeping up with YA lit as I used to, but I think that Mr. Mills assessment that many YA books are “problem” books is true. These types of books are hugely popular. I think we’re in a season where reading has become popular and trendy, and not nerdy, thanks to Twilight, and Harry Potter before it. These kids (who have discovered reading is cool) need something to read, and some may tend toward fantasy, and some will like “real life” books. I think it’s great that kids read anything. These novels that Mr. Mills is talking about are interesting to these kids. These are the type of books that “hook” kids into reading. You start with something like the books he has mentioned, then move onto Rats Saw God, Feed, Monster–all great YA titles. Teens are just trying to figure out the world and they think these books help them to feel less alone and less lost. I am absolutely not saying parents shouldn’t know what kids are reading. But he sounds more like he was just shocked to find out that books are like this. YA lit has been like this for a long time. Forever by Judy Blume, anyone?
I agree with a lot of the article. Teens are perfectly capable of reading more classic literature, but are often not lead to it. Really good books have an operational morality underpinning their stories, even if they are never spelled out. Morality is essential to a story.