Hmm, I'm not familiar with this particular title but the YA books section encompasses material suitable for roughly 6th grade through high school. In other words--reader beware, definitely parent beware.

Angst, sexual identity confusion and dysfunction are hot right now. My 13 year old has come home with books about teen girls starting a web-based dating service which turns into a hook-up site, another starting off detailing bedsheets stained with fill-in-the-blank, and a memorable story including an attempted anal rape which went right over her head. I, as her parent, make an effort to vet what she checks out and will use my veto power if necessary. On the other hand, I'm letting her read Stephen King's The Shining right now. I'm sure the shock value is driving her interest and I'm questioning my own judgment as it is really awful--not the gore, but the language and adult themes are terrible.

My own parents never banned books and I, as I am sure many here were, was a precocious reader. I think the difference now is that the YA books are so incredibly graphic and make much of what I was reading in the 60's and 70's mild by comparision. Sydney Sheldon, Danielle Steele and Stephen King were really grown-up, right? They look like Sunday School lessons compared to some of what is on the YA shelves.

The YA section has mostly wonderful titles. In my experience, the books with which you need to be the most cautious with a younger reader are the newer, often award-winning or critically acclaimed, aimed at the older end of YA. Some of these titles should probably go with the adult books because of their graphic content/language and mature themes, but the books are about teens and marketed as such.

Unless you favor a hands-off approach, your child is really young enough to have some, um, "guidance" in the YA section. Sometimes, I wonder why some of these titles are being purchased, but I have to wonder that about some authors in the adult section, too. A lid for every pot, I suppose.

I read, not long ago, possibly on the Observer books blog, that stuff that would never be accepted in a mainstream adult novel was considered okay in mainstream children's and YA fiction, so your observations do not surprise me.

And I did read, definitely on the Observer book blog, that publishers were actually thinking about labeling books with the ages they are considered appropriate for. I don't agree with that for many reasons, e.g. different levels of maturity among kids and teens, but maybe children's/YA books could be given labels to show that there is a particular kind of stuff in them that might frighten or offend. Then those who want to can use the labels to seek out or avoid particular types of content.

And Ajpa, if you haven't already, look for Terry Pratchett's YA novels: the Johnny Maxwell books, the Tiffany Aching books, and The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents. They are fantasies, and there is some violence, but it isn't graphic, and there is no sexual content.

I emailed the library's YA librarian asking if they could put a warning sticker on the book. I got a nice long email response on how that would be the same as censorship. And how the book has won so many awards it is sure to be in all the YA libraries.
Oh well.

bookmom, to be sure, I am very suspicious now of newer titles from authors I haven't heard of with awards on them.

netla, thanks for the Terry Pratchett recs. I will look them up. Actually I don't mind there being sex in YA books -- Tamora Pierce has great YA books where the characters usually do eventually have sex, but it's always a big deal, with love and respect and affection and honesty.

That is rather horrible to think that standards are lower for YA & juvenile lit.

I remember classes in library school where we were taught that the ultimate sin was censorship. At the time I thought they were right. Well, I still believe in freedom of speech, and let adults read what they please, but I do think that some judgment is called for when selecting reading material for children. (Not that teens would thank you for calling them children.) I agree with Ajpa that addressing sexuality in teen books is entirely appropriate -- it's going on in the lives of many of them -- but violence and abuse should not be presented so slaveringly. It's almost as though the author is saying. "Oh this is awful, do it again!"

Generally, in public libraries the YA books are separate from the childen's books. YA books generally cover 6th grade or so through high school or even college, so that is a very wide range of readers to be addressed in one collection. I think it is ultimately the parents' responsibility to do any censoring. I do it, albeit reluctantly, and try to keep out the most graphic/extreme choices but some of them do slip by me.

As the mother of a 12-year-old, I personally think the YA section needs to be divided into two sections: 12-14ish and 15 and up. There is no way any librarian can give me a good arguement that 12-year-olds and 18-year olds are similar enough in maturity, temperment, and intellect to read the same books. I've told my daughter that I will not censor her reading unless I feel it is not age-appropriate.

PAM

I think it would be great to have a 12-14 section. The gap is too great emotionally between 12yo & 17yo.
By the way, I just saw (online) that they are releasing that book I was complaining about with a new cover (much more appropriate ).
here's the original (misleading, imo ) cover
http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1235445952m/2662169.jpg

and here's the forthcoming cover:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4egvgaQGf0g/SgGJlh0AVAI/AAAAAAAAB2Q/ik6JalExiSE/s400/Tender+Morsels.jpg

What a difference! If the book had had the second cover I wouldn't have even dreamed of considering it for my 12yo.

What makes a YA book a YA book as opposed to just an adult book? I think the definition has really gotten muddled in recent years, perhaps because we do not seem to want to label older teens as adults. YA books to me should be appropriate for any middle schooler (6th-8th grade).

And once you're in high school (particulary if you are 17 or 18), don't you want to be and shouldn't you be in the adult section of the library? I see an awful lot of what I consider adult books in the YA section, meaning I don't think they were necessarily written for teens, but seem to end up there and there may or may not be a second copy in the adult section. Often they are genre fiction or have a young main character. They are not necessarily inappropriate, just not what I would consider a YA book. And don't get me started on the shelving of graphic novels. Just because it looks like a comic book does not mean it belongs in the children's section.

I distinctly remember when I "crossed over" into the adult section of the library. Couldn't seem to find anything to catch my interest in the children's section one day, and the librarian took me by the hand and led me through the doors into the adult section to the Mrs. Polifax books.

Some of the best writing these days can be found in the YA and children's section, but there is an awful lot of dreck, too. As with everything else, it's much harder to monitor what kids are getting into.

I second the Terry Pratchet recommendation. Eoin Colfer is good, too.

I can't agree with the position that a warning label is censorship. This means that all the films and TV programmes shown in Australia are censored, including the ones showing very realistic depictions of sex and those that use coarse language! A label is just a guide to help those choosing something to watch (or in this case, read). I don't think it should have age groups, because I agree with Netla that not all 14 year olds have the same level of maturity, but something like the TV warning would be fine.

The following programme is rated M for mature audiences. It contains sex, drug use, coarse language and nudity.

Astrokath, they should put that warning on all the classic literature. Then the kids would be sure to read it.

The surest way to get a group of kids to read a book is to tell them they're not allowed to read it.

Though honestly, as a parent I would like a warning like that.

Hmmm, there certainly is a lot of classic literature to which such a label could be applied! It's just that it is described so discreetly that a young reader could miss it. I'm remembering that when I read Jane Austen in my teens I actually didn't get it that there was seduction and illicit sex taking place. Of course I was more naive than kids are today.

Well the Bible would certainly warrant a warning, wouldn't it?
But a warning wouldn't mean kids couldn't read the book, it would just give parents some idea of what was in it without having to read it themselves.
I know when my sister's boyfriend lent me his James Bond books when I was about 14, I hid them in a drawer!

The system that movies use is a good example. It is not censorship, it is a guideline, as astrokath mentioned. My kids see G and PG movies, but are not ready for the more adult humor and themes found in PG-13. The benefit to the publisher would mean that I, as a parent, would be more willing to spend money on a book that I know is age-appropriate instead of saying no. The benefit to the parent is piece of mind that maybe, just maybe, we don't have to read everything our tweens want to read first. The benefit to kids like my daughter is more freedom of choice because she won't need me to preview them first.

It's not censorship, we are not considering banning these books, no, not at all. It is simply making us more informed consumers. And, like anything else, these warnings can be ignored by those who don't want to use them.

PAM

What I think of as "crossover" books are books that straddle the line between belonging in the childrens and YA sections. In my library's YA, your child might like books by Chris D'Lacey and Michael Scott who write contemporary fantasy appealing to boys or girls. Paula Yoo, Cynthia Kadohata, Ally Gallagher and Paula Yoo are safe choices for younger girls, too, but write realistic fiction.