argument essay 2

Harper di Liberto-Bell

805

           For years there has been a battle over banning YA books with mature content, and who should have control over what our kids read. This is happening because some people think the topics that are displayed are too adult for teens. Many YA books do have mature content, but it’s nothing teens won’t be exposed to. There are many very popular books that have been challenged, and school boards have very consistently challenged or banned these books. Parents should be the only people to have a say in what their kids read, so access shouldn’t be limited.

           Kids are really able to connect to YA literature. Sherman Alexie writes, “There are millions of teens who read because they are sad and lonely and enraged. They read because they live in an often terrible world. They read because they believe despite the callow protestations of certain adults, that books, especially the dark and dangerous ones will save them. ” These kids’ lives are often similar to some of the kids in YA books. This gives these kids an outlet even if the character is in a situation that’s just as difficult as theirs. They can escape their pain and experience something else. In YA books the main character tends to escape whatever world they are living in, and gets a better life. That’s what these kids want. When they read these books, they see themselves escaping their own world for something better. They are able to connect to the wants and the needs of the character. Alexie was talking to a millionaire’s son, who said, “I don’t want to be like my father,” that young man said, “I want to be myself just life in your books.” He grew up in a rich family. His life wasn’t horrible. He had never been hit or starving, but these books were still able to help him. He connected because he saw what he wanted to be. He saw that he could be free to be himself, and that’s a big part of YA books.

           People that are opposed to YA books say we need to ban them because of content. Now it’s perfectly true that YA books deal with mature and dark material, but sometimes the world is dark. Kids need to learn that.  Alexie wrote, “I write in blood because I remember what it feels like to bleed.” As a child he was abused. He can understand what some of these kids are going through. The content is no different than what some of these kids are going through. And I know someone that opposes YA books will say, “Not all kids get abused and have horrible lives.” This is perfectly true. Not all kids cut, and not all kids are abused, but these kids can still learn and be helped by YA books. It makes them more mature and empathetic. It helps to teach them about the world, and some of the issues our society faces. If there is a specific topic a parent doesn’t want their kid to read, then it’s up to them to tell their kid they can’t read it. If you let someone else make that choice, then that could be taking away a valuable life lesson from a kid. Mary Elizabeth Williams quotes her daughter saying, “Does she get that they’re not called children’s books? They’re called ‘young adult.’ Adult.”  This is a great point. There is really no point trying to hid kids from this stuff. As we grow up, we begin to learn about the world, and these books can help us start to grasp the reality of life.

                              

The opposition also says that YA books display a distorted reality where everything is horrible. This is true to an extent. The whole world isn’t horrible, and not everyone’s life gets messed up, but it does happen. To take YA books away from kids would blind them to the fact that some people have issues things like this. This would be a shame. Kids need to know about things like this. If we tell them that things in YA books are distorted, that is in most cases just plain lying.  Alexie writes, “they wanted to protect me from sex when I had already been raped. They wanted to protect me from evil when a future serial killer had already abused me.”  This is proof that the world YA books portray is not distorted. “When some cultural critics fret about the “ever more-appalling” YA books, they aren’t trying to protect African American teens forced to walk through metal detectors on their way to school, or Mexican American teens enduring the schizophrenic life of being an American citizen.”… “They aren’t trying to protect the poor from poverty, or victims of rapists. They are trying to protect their privileged notions of what literature should be.” This further illustrates that the examples aren’t hideously distorted, and that stopping kids from reading YA books won’t protect them.     

YA books shouldn’t be banned. These books provide valuable lessons.  If you take away YA books, then you are cutting off millions of kids from something that brings them joy and teaches them life lessons. Even though YA books deal with dark topics, the lasting effect is only good. These kids don’t need to be hidden from this. These books can change the way teens look at the world, and make them more mature. It gives them skills to face the world, and if you want to take that away something is wrong with you.