Hello, thanks for stopping by!
As of January 2025, I am in the process of shutting down this website. Most of my blog posts and all of the supplementary information and reviews are being moved to my website, Once Upon a Pen: https://onceuponapen.studio/. Since I am no longer reviewing YA books, the 300+ reviews that you see here will be offered as a downloadable, static, PDF document at Once Upon a Pen (free of charge). As I finish preparing this document, all the reviews will remain posted here for your convenience. Once they are posted on Once Upon a Pen, visitors to What's In It will be redirected.
What is What's In It all about?
What's In It?: The Concerned Parent's Guide to Young Adult Literature is a unique resource of nearly 300 reviews (and counting!) for anyone concerned about the entertainment being marketed to our teens today. If you find it helpful or if you have suggestions for ways to improve the guide, please take a moment to send me your comments.
On this website you will find no advertising, and you may peruse the reviews at no cost. This is a service I provide for the purpose of promoting transparency to parents of the spiritually dark and morally corrupt YA book industry. Because there are still wonderful books being written and teen readers who need literature that speaks to them, I seek to provide a way for concerned parents to help their teens find good books that speak to their generation.
If you would like a specific book reviewed, please contact me through my "Cheri's Corner" page. If you would like to help me in this venture, so that I can offer more reviews, please visit the "How You Can Help" page.
On this website you will find no advertising, and you may peruse the reviews at no cost. This is a service I provide for the purpose of promoting transparency to parents of the spiritually dark and morally corrupt YA book industry. Because there are still wonderful books being written and teen readers who need literature that speaks to them, I seek to provide a way for concerned parents to help their teens find good books that speak to their generation.
If you would like a specific book reviewed, please contact me through my "Cheri's Corner" page. If you would like to help me in this venture, so that I can offer more reviews, please visit the "How You Can Help" page.
Why I Can No Longer Review YA Books
My most recent review was for The Ivies. I have read many, many YA novels over the years, some beautiful and worthy of becoming classics someday and others -- far too many -- dark and disturbing. The Ivies is one of the most depraved of the lot, and I realized with this book that I cannot continue reading in this genre. I too often feel sick, disgusted, spiritually compromised, and horrified by what passes for appropriate YA entertainment with modern publishers. Most parents have no idea what their teens are reading, and if they happen to look at the jackets, they most likely shrug and hand it back.
But the jackets seldom adequately indicate what's really inside, and parents tend to assume that anything published for teens must be age-appropriate. I cannot state emphatically enough that this is not true. Many YA novels today are full of sex, drinking, swearing, and other blatantly immoral behavior that is normalized with few consequences. Most novels do not directly denigrate Judeo-Christian faiths, but some do, and many openly flout or dismiss traditional moral and family values. While you may observe that this website only reviews a fraction of the books that have been published over the past decade, please note that I have taken care to choose a variety of books in a every genre and have given each book an equal chance to prove its worth. Therefore, this fraction is probably a good representation of the whole.
If you are a concerned parent with impressionable teens who love to read, please do not take YA literature lightly--or even middle grade literature anymore, for that industry has changed, too. The children's book industry as a whole does not serve parent interests and preferences whatsoever. It serves its bottom line, and that is all. Also, most YA authors write for one of three reasons: 1) to express themselves artistically, 2) to promote or affirm ideas or 3) to earn monetary income. None of these reasons is inherently bad, but the published results make it plain that the least of their concerns is parental approval, especially parents who are trying to instill traditional values.
Sometimes, publishers and authors manage to come together to produce truly wonderful literature worthy of discussion and multiple readings, but more often than not, they offer your teens stories you would never believe they'd dare to publish until you read them for yourself. Don't be fooled by awards and reviews. Screen books carefully, don't throw out the gems with the trash, and if you need help with discernment, please contact me for help. I will review any books upon request until I decide to remove this website. Please email me at [email protected]. Thank you so much for your support over the years!
But the jackets seldom adequately indicate what's really inside, and parents tend to assume that anything published for teens must be age-appropriate. I cannot state emphatically enough that this is not true. Many YA novels today are full of sex, drinking, swearing, and other blatantly immoral behavior that is normalized with few consequences. Most novels do not directly denigrate Judeo-Christian faiths, but some do, and many openly flout or dismiss traditional moral and family values. While you may observe that this website only reviews a fraction of the books that have been published over the past decade, please note that I have taken care to choose a variety of books in a every genre and have given each book an equal chance to prove its worth. Therefore, this fraction is probably a good representation of the whole.
If you are a concerned parent with impressionable teens who love to read, please do not take YA literature lightly--or even middle grade literature anymore, for that industry has changed, too. The children's book industry as a whole does not serve parent interests and preferences whatsoever. It serves its bottom line, and that is all. Also, most YA authors write for one of three reasons: 1) to express themselves artistically, 2) to promote or affirm ideas or 3) to earn monetary income. None of these reasons is inherently bad, but the published results make it plain that the least of their concerns is parental approval, especially parents who are trying to instill traditional values.
Sometimes, publishers and authors manage to come together to produce truly wonderful literature worthy of discussion and multiple readings, but more often than not, they offer your teens stories you would never believe they'd dare to publish until you read them for yourself. Don't be fooled by awards and reviews. Screen books carefully, don't throw out the gems with the trash, and if you need help with discernment, please contact me for help. I will review any books upon request until I decide to remove this website. Please email me at [email protected]. Thank you so much for your support over the years!
