# Young adult "problem novels" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 20, 2004, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-adult-problem-novels/270224 "2004-10-20T15:15:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-adult-problem-novels/270224/41 "2004-10-21T20:46:04Z")
> [@Rysler](#): > > Well, YAs don’t want to read realistic books as much as educators want them to – that’s where the disconnect lies. I’d say the readership of “crap” is much higher than the readership of good books. I’d say you just put you’re finger on the inherent problem (pardon the pun) with such YA literature. “educators want them to” - - even as a 13 year old, when I read **Go Ask Alice** and **the Outsiders** , I could pick up on the condescending tone of the writing. These books don’t deal with problems in a realistic way. Rather, they are simplistic morality tales designed to coerce kids into behaving in the way adults think they ought to act. Cecil himself did a column exposing **Go Ask Alice** as a fake diary written by an adult, one who obviously had very little first-hand knowledge of young people in general, let alone young runaway drug addicts. The authors of such books don’t seem to think much about the kids they are writing for; they seem to think they’ll swallow any B.S. IMO, kids can tell they are being written “down” to; meaning that they can spot a hoax, and realize when they are being preached at. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-adult-problem-novels/270224/42 "2004-10-21T20:52:24Z")
> [@Rysler](#): > > Well, YAs don’t want to read realistic books as much as educators want them to – that’s where the disconnect lies. I’d say the readership of “crap” is much higher than the readership of good books. I’d say you just put you’re finger on the inherent problem (pardon the pun) with such YA literature: “[what] educators want them to [read]” - - even as a 13 year old, when I read **Go Ask Alice** and **the Outsiders** , I could pick up on the condescending tone of the writing. These books don’t deal with problems in realistic ways. Rather, they are simplistic morality tales designed to coerce kids into behaving in the way adults think they ought to act. Cecil himself did a column exposing **Go Ask Alice** as a fake diary written by an adult, one who obviously had very little first-hand knowledge of young people in general, let alone young runaway drug addicts. The authors of such books don’t seem to think much about the kids they are writing for; they seem to think they’ll swallow any B.S. (“Alice” in particular is riddled with factual inaccuracies - namely that drug abuse can cause teenage girls to think lesbian thoughts! ‘oh the horror!’) IMO, kids can tell they are being written “down” to; meaning that they can spot a hoax, and realize when they are being preached at. It explains why the ‘Harry Potter’ series was such an unexpected success - these books aren’t written ‘down’ to kids; and aren’t written with an agenda in mind. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-adult-problem-novels/270224/43 "2004-10-21T21:06:30Z")
Oops. My bad. Cecil didn’t write a column on “Go Ask Alice” - I read about on the “snopes” urban legend page: > **[Go Ask Alice](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/go-ask-alice/)** > > Was 'Go Ask Alice' the real-life diary of a teenage girl? Just thought I’d correct that. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-adult-problem-novels/270224/44 "2004-10-21T21:13:18Z")
> [@Judith Prietht](#): > > If anyone has any information, I’d love to know how librarians and teachers actually go about compiling reading lists for children and young adults. Which is probably a topic for another thread. I can handle this one. Reading lists are usually compiled in a bunch of different ways: [ul] [li]Favorites from the librarian’s YA-hood[/li][li]Suggestions from publishers[/li][li]Suggestions from teachers[/li][li]To round it out the library’s teenage staff are asked what books they’re reading[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-adult-problem-novels/270224/45 "2004-10-21T21:32:49Z")
Oh and discussions with other librarians too. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-adult-problem-novels/270224/46 "2004-10-21T21:48:42Z")
> [@Eureka](#): > > I think you are missing her point. At least, the problem as seen by the professor of my Young Adult Literature class is that Newberry awards are supposed to be given to the best _Children’s_ chapter books and are often given to _Young Adult_ books. Is this the end of the world? Maybe (probably) not. Don’t you hate when you read threads in the morning before work, and then you don’t have a chance to jump back in the conversation until the end of the work day? I really do think her point was that the Newbery Award is dominated by “problem” books as opposed to … I don’t know, fun loving books or something. I think the phrase “problem” book is troublesome, but I’m trying to use it in the same sense it was used in the article – but the longer this thread goes on, the stupider I think the term is! However, I agree that the target age of the Newbery winners does seem to be creeping up, although I feel it’s still safety within the “up to and including 14” range stated in the ALA guidelines. Still, it’s been a while since a really solid book for younger readers got the nod from the Newbery committee. I would say that _Shiloh_ is probably the most recent (1992) winner that’s aimed a little younger. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-adult-problem-novels/270224/47 "2004-10-21T21:53:27Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > What is the appeal, especially to boys? I don’t want to read about Female Complaints now; why would a seventh grade boy want to read a Judy Blume book? But unless we expand the definition beyond the point of usefulness by including Harry Potter and _Treasure Island_ the authors are mostly women writing mostly for girls. Is this an accurate impression? I remember I use to sneak off to the bathroom in 2nd and 3rd grade with my sister’s Judy Blume books. “Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great”, “Superfudge”, and “Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret”, were a beginning introduction into the world of secret and guilty pleasures. To be honest, I don’t remember a lot of them as it’s been 20 years except that Judy Blume thought that it was possible to cover a toilet seat with toothpaste to the point that someone wouldn’t notice it. It didn’t work too well for me. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-adult-problem-novels/270224/48 "2004-10-21T22:32:53Z")
Okay, maybe Judy Blume, who is known to be funny, is not the best example but my daughters know all they have to do to stop dad from asking more about what they are reading is to describe some of the Girl Stuff (and you know what I mean) in it. :eek: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/young-adult-problem-novels/270224.md?page=2)