How do you decide if a YA book is appropriately pushing the edge or going for sensationalism?

[Alyson (Kid Lit Frenzy)]

Just curious...how do others determine if a YA book with a hard topic (i.e., sexual violence, social issues, etc.)is meaningful and appropriate (disturbing in a good way) vs. inappropriate (over the top, disturbing in a not good way)?

[Carrie]

I usually ask myself if the topics and ideas shocked me and made me think. If a book only shocks me, I think that is sensationalism. But if it forced me to take a look at a difficult issue and explore my thoughts about it, gain empathy, or consider a new perspective I think it is meaningful.

I do believe, though, that we always have to look at our particular community of students and use what we know about them to determine if a difficult book is appropriate for our collections.

[Roxy]

I'd say somewhat the same as Carrie, your personal reaction will say a lot, because if you're feeling shocked towards it, then obviously the author went wrong somewhere. Usually that happens when the writing gets graphic with a certain topic rather than exploring how it affects people. Like sexual violence for example- you get told over and over how it happened, when it happened, where it happened, etc., but it doesn't explore the psychological part of it. How the victim felt about it, how they rose above it, and so on.

[Alyson (Kid Lit Frenzy)]

Carrie - I think you made an important distinction between shock alone and shock with making you think. I also think a book can shock without getting overly graphic with particular scenes. I like the phrase "disturbing in a good way" which for me may mean something that I am uncomfortable with and bothers me but does it in a manner that makes me think or challenges me. And despite whether I think it is a good book that is "disturbing in that good way", we do need to know our students that we would be recommending it for. I believe that an adult still reads with a different lens than a teen.

[Julie]

Sometimes when I'm reading a teen book, I start to get annoyed because the author has drudged up every possible teen issue. They infuse lots of drama, way more drama than any one group of people could ever have in their lives.

These authors are going for quantity over quality. That's usually the way that I make the distinction between pushing the line to explore an issue versus pushinng the line only to be controversial.

[Leslie]

I think most of the good books choose a topic or two and build them up as a main plot. Other books will throw out issues so there’s more “action” in the story that’s where I seem to draw the line. It’s one of those things that you know it when you see it but it’s hard to pin point.