#YAsaves

Okay last night's post about the @WSJ article was written at midnight. Now that I have had even more time to digest this topic and really think about everything it was stating - I'd like to say that YA novels are there to help teens see that they are not alone. There are so many different genres that fall under the YA section that they cover everything from plain old romance and fantasy to difficult topics including rape, self mutilation, drug abuse, eating disorders and the like. I think that by hiding our younger generations away from such topics we're setting them up for failure. Instead of not letting them read it - I think we should let our teenage population make the decisions for themselves - they are a lot smarter than people see to give them credit for. They will learn from the books what it's like to be in those situations and also what it is like to survive them as well. Why let our kids fall into the bad crowds and experience it first hand instead of EDUCATING them about it so they can avoid it altogether?!? Or make more informed decisions after having read about it.

I would say that just by floating around the book blogosphere you will find that many bloggers and authors have been tackling the topic of #YAsaves. Go to twitter and follow the hashtag and you will find so many uplifting stories about how reading just one book saved someones life or changed it for the better.

I'd also like to leave you with the post I just read by author Jackie Morse Kessler whose book RAGE was spoken about in the article. This is her remark about reading the @WSJ article.(BTW I loved both of her recent books - I think they were well written and spoke out to those dealing with the same issues.)

EDUCATION is everything. So why stop letting our children and teens read about the world around them? Shouldn't we let them understand and have the knowledge to make decisions for themselves?