| 50 Book Pledge | Book #28: The Fault In Our Stars by John Green |
On Friday, May 18, 2012, Jason Koebler of the U.S. News & World Report published an article entitled “Is It Time To Rate Young Adult Books for Mature Content?” The premise of the piece is Sarah Coyne’s insistence that young adult books come with a content warning.
I see not one, but four problems with implementing a rating system. Firstly, books have always been a safe haven for young readers. In the pages of a book they are free “to explore edgier, sensitive, or complicated topics” without judgement. If books are taken away, young people have lost a valuable platform that can help them better understand themselves and the world around them.
Secondly, whose going to decide what is and isn’t appropriate reading material for teenagers. What makes a “nebulous organization” more qualified than your child or you? What criteria are they going to base their decisions on? Is the reading public going to be able to question their decisions?
Thirdly, are librarians now going to be called upon to enforce this system? If so, how? Will students be required to provide some form of identification every time he or she wants to take out a book?
Finally, and most importantly, a rating system is a form of censorship. How is it any different from banning a book? The truth is, it isn’t.
A book on a shelf is meaningless if a reader can’t actually read it.
