However. It is Friday, glorious Friday. And since this particular Friday is Good Friday, I have my fingers crossed that the office will close at 3:00 and I can go home and veg a couple hours earlier than normal.
Anyway. This question of the week from Ginger at GReads! iiiiiis:
Explicit Material: How do you feel about explicit language &/or sexual content in YA books?
My answer is super simple: I love it.
I don't find anything offensive or wrong with cussing or a sex scene. Let's be honest, it's not like teens aren't cussing and developing/exploring their sexuality. They are. It's all part of growing up, and I feel like being crass and a tidbit promiscuous it's a vital part of being a teenager. Call me a heathen if you must, but I actually think a YA novel WITHOUT a couple cuss words and a smutty scene is strange, and more often than not, unsatisfying.
That being said, I don't want to pick up a YA novel and be accosted by F-bombs and raunchy, overwrought bedroom scenes--if I want that, I'll go to the romance section. Or I'll just re-read everything by Candace Bushnell.
If you are interested in some YA novels that involve cussing and sexy times, but aren't raunchy, I will point you in the direction of:
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
If I Stay and Where She Went by Gayle Forman
The Curse Workers series by Holly Black
Looking for Alaska by John Green
I'm such a cheerleader for these books, I know. BUT THEY ARE GOOD.
I hope everyone has a great Friday, and a fabulous weekend! Happy Easter!
