CCBC-Net Archives
Re: Sex and Y.A. Lit: Books!
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From: Merri Lindgren <mlindgren_at_education.wisc.edu>
Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 17:17:22 -0500
Thank you, Hannah, for bringing Rachel Cohn's books into the discussion. I remember reading /Gingerbread /when it was published in 2002 and being struck by the things you mentioned, especially the depiction of abortion. It stood out then, and how interesting that over ten years later we still have a hard time coming up with another YA title that shows a teen having an abortion that isn't an indictment of their sexual activity.
This month's discussion has made me question my own attitudes (parental and professional) on the topic of sexuality in YA literature. I've realized that although I'm usually at ease with what Megan's been calling "frank" treatment of the topic, the books that I've struggled with are more likely to show an unequal power balance between teens in a relationship. Sharon Flake's /Who Am I Without Him? Short Stories About Girls and the Boys In Their Lives/ (Jump at the Sun / Hyperion, 2004) is a masterful collection told in the first-person voices of young African-American teens dealing with the emotional highs and lows of their daily interactions with the opposite sex. The girls in this book are such real middle schoolers, and as such, at times they made me cringe with their willingness to go to great lengths, all for the sake of a boy. As much as that scenario can make me uncomfortable, I'm glad it's there on the pages to remind me about the sometimes painful path of adolescence and to validate the experiences of those traveling it now.
Merri
Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 17:17:22 -0500
Thank you, Hannah, for bringing Rachel Cohn's books into the discussion. I remember reading /Gingerbread /when it was published in 2002 and being struck by the things you mentioned, especially the depiction of abortion. It stood out then, and how interesting that over ten years later we still have a hard time coming up with another YA title that shows a teen having an abortion that isn't an indictment of their sexual activity.
This month's discussion has made me question my own attitudes (parental and professional) on the topic of sexuality in YA literature. I've realized that although I'm usually at ease with what Megan's been calling "frank" treatment of the topic, the books that I've struggled with are more likely to show an unequal power balance between teens in a relationship. Sharon Flake's /Who Am I Without Him? Short Stories About Girls and the Boys In Their Lives/ (Jump at the Sun / Hyperion, 2004) is a masterful collection told in the first-person voices of young African-American teens dealing with the emotional highs and lows of their daily interactions with the opposite sex. The girls in this book are such real middle schoolers, and as such, at times they made me cringe with their willingness to go to great lengths, all for the sake of a boy. As much as that scenario can make me uncomfortable, I'm glad it's there on the pages to remind me about the sometimes painful path of adolescence and to validate the experiences of those traveling it now.
Merri
--
Merri Lindgren, Librarian
Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
School of Education / UW-Madison
4290 Helen C. White Hall
600 N. Park Street
Madison, WI 53706
608-263-3930
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Received on Thu 13 Mar 2014 05:17:47 PM CDT
