As much as I hate to see teens pushed into adult classics before they've had a chance to fully explore the wide and wonderful world of children's literature, it must be acknowledged that literature transcends the age of the reader. To put it more simply, a good book is a good book. It doesn't matter if a teen wants to read Ramona Quimby books or Charles Dickens or Sophocles, art is ageless and belongs to everyone, not certain age groups. Sometimes, though, teens need good books that are both "age-appropriate" and morally trustworthy, and the reviews in "What's In It?" will not always meet their needs. If you have spent much time exploring these reviews, you will have noticed that most reviews have content of concern to cautious families. Those that don't have content of concern aren't necessarily starred as great reads, either.
This is where my "Young Adult Classics" page comes in handy. If you have not yet discovered it and are frustrated by the options presented in the reviews, I want to take this opportunity to introduce you to it. These are the "in-between" books--literature either written for teens or are at least teen-friendly that are considered modern classics. These are the books that are outside the scope of What's In It?' 's criteria for reviews. It is important to clarify that parents and teens cannot simply assume that these books will coincide with their personal standards for appropriate entertainment. In fact, some of them have decidedly adult content, such as A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (although the protagonist is a young girl). Parents and teens can be certain, however, that these books have strong literary merit and have stood the test of decades of time with teen readers.
When I began writing this post, I intended to list all of those books in my "Young Adult Classics" page that are completely trustworthy for cautious readers. Then I realized that my standards may be different from yours and must back off of that intention, except for a few titles. Here are those books that you can be certain contain no troublesome material, according to the content categories I use in my reviews (such as violence and vulgar language). I should add that I am including only those books with which I have had enough experience to be certain about them. Other books stand out to me as very "safe," but I do not know or remember them clearly enough to include them; thus, I am certain that I am leaving out books that should be included. For those of you who just want a few suggestions without spending any time researching them first, though, here's a start. And if you have any to add to this list, please let me know!
And here are the books about which I am 90% certain are free of concerning content:
This is where my "Young Adult Classics" page comes in handy. If you have not yet discovered it and are frustrated by the options presented in the reviews, I want to take this opportunity to introduce you to it. These are the "in-between" books--literature either written for teens or are at least teen-friendly that are considered modern classics. These are the books that are outside the scope of What's In It?' 's criteria for reviews. It is important to clarify that parents and teens cannot simply assume that these books will coincide with their personal standards for appropriate entertainment. In fact, some of them have decidedly adult content, such as A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (although the protagonist is a young girl). Parents and teens can be certain, however, that these books have strong literary merit and have stood the test of decades of time with teen readers.
When I began writing this post, I intended to list all of those books in my "Young Adult Classics" page that are completely trustworthy for cautious readers. Then I realized that my standards may be different from yours and must back off of that intention, except for a few titles. Here are those books that you can be certain contain no troublesome material, according to the content categories I use in my reviews (such as violence and vulgar language). I should add that I am including only those books with which I have had enough experience to be certain about them. Other books stand out to me as very "safe," but I do not know or remember them clearly enough to include them; thus, I am certain that I am leaving out books that should be included. For those of you who just want a few suggestions without spending any time researching them first, though, here's a start. And if you have any to add to this list, please let me know!
- Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis
- The Westing Game, by Ellen Raskin
- The Laura Ingalls Wilder series
- Understood Betsy, by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
- Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery
- Betsy-Tacy series, by Maud Hart Lovelace (half the series is about Betsy's childhood; the other half is about her adolescence and young womanhood)
- Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
- A Wrinkle in Time series, by Madeleine L'Engle
And here are the books about which I am 90% certain are free of concerning content:
- Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen
- Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O'Dell
- Julie of the Wolves, by Jean Craighead George
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain
- The Black Stallion series, by Walter Farley
- Homecoming, by Cynthia Voigt
- The Witch of Blackbird Pond, by Elizabeth George Speare
- An Old-fashioned Girl, by Louisa May Alcott
- Sister of the Bride, by Beverly Cleary
- Fifteen, by Beverly Cleary