Teen Lit

First, read this article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303657404576357622592697038.html

Then, read this one: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304314404576411581289319732.html

And then, some comments: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304450604576418213590713904.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_MIDDLEThirdBucket

I was an avid reader growing up, and I think I lived during the transition from no teen lit to the now very-popular YA fiction genre. Judy Blume was popular, and I remember seeing "Outsiders" on the shelves at school, but I wasn't really interested in those kinds of books. Instead, I read Agatha Christie mysteries, the "Anne of Green Gables" series, and a ton of other books that were pretty tame. I do remember one book about a girl who becomes a drug user, which was pretty graphic, and I can't say I was the better for having read it.

In high school, I would collect "Recommended Reading" lists that were made up mostly of classics, and I made it a goal to read as many as I could. I remember being surprised that "Pride and Prejudice" was a comedy, rather than a book about poverty and racism, and I remember discovering that "Frankenstein" was a beautifully written book--to my relief, not quite as scary as I had anticipated. I fell in love with Gilbert Blythe, Mr. Darcy and Mr. Rochester, and strove to emulate Anne Shirley, Elizabeth Bennett, and Jane Eyre.

My life has truly been enriched by wonderful literature, and I feel bad that there are such low expectations of today's youth--that there is this assumption that if it's not edgy, they won't read. One of the comments above talks about a mother-daughter book club, and I want to keep that idea tucked away in my brain until my daughters are older. I'm in a great book group at the moment with some great friends. I hope I can participate in a similar experience with my children, their friends, and my friends.