how far is too far in teenage books?

Well, this may be a slightly awkward post for some younger readers, so I warn in advance.

So I am reading Looking for Alaska, by John Green. This book is a book for young adults, I think at very youngest, my age (15).  It deals with many issues, including sex, drugs, alcohol and more, that some people may not be happy to read. They may find it offensive or controversial.

I personally do not, but I can understand why some people would, but I think in this case, every instance where these issues are touched on has a very good reason behind it.

John Green, the author, makes videos on YouTube with his brother, and on January 30 2008, he made a video entitled, "I Am Not a Pornographer", which I am embedding here and HIGHLY recommend to be watched if you are (a) planning on reading the book or have read it, (b) think sex/drugs/alcohol in teenage books is a bad thing or (c) want to see a funny author talking to his camera.

Also, it will help this blog entry make much more sense.



I first watched this video before I read Looking for Alaska, and I have to say, it did make me wary about reading the book. But it also reassured me and my ideas about the occurence of sex/drug use/alcohol consumption in teenage books.

I think the way Green portrayed the sex scene in Looking for Alaska really does support the ideas that he suggested it was meant to convey in the video, such as the fact that physical intimacy can never stand in for emotional attachment. Although physical intimacy is an important part of a relationship, particularly in marriage, you cannot simply have that physical intimacy without the emotion. It will leave you feeling empty and unsatisfied.

I believe that sex in teenage books is most definitely not a bad thing. I do think parents have a right to stop their kids reading certain books, and I also think that teenagers should be able to find books that do not have sex in them, but I really do not think that just because a book has sex in it means it should automatically be banned, as was suggested. Green is right when he says that teenagers are wiser than adults often think we are. I picked up the juxtaposing scenes in Looking for Alaska, and I think other teenagers would too.

The drug and alcohol (ab)use in Looking for Alaska are somewhat condemned by the main character, Pudge (Miles) Halter, and also lead to a tragic event. However these issues are present, and some of the messages portrayed are that alcohol can lead to having a good time. But then again, I do not believe that the prescence of drugs and/or alcohol in a book are enough to deem it 'inappropriate'. Often there is a message behind the consumption of these substances.

So overall, I do really recommend Looking for Alaska but I do not promote the issues in it. But I do think the precense of these issues in teenage books is not necessarily a bad thing, but should be looked at closely before being simply deemed 'inappropriate'.