For the entire month of April, we'll be participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Our theme for the month? CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS IN YA. Check out the link above for other awesome blogs participating.
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| Taken from coe.int |
However, let's not forget that violence can be witnessed just by turning on the news or reading a newspaper or magazine. Some YA books may include violence, but it's nothing that teens are already witnessing on a daily basis.
Here are a few novels that include violence on a large scale:
* The Hunger Games (trilogy) by Suzanne Collins
* Rage by Jackie Morse Kessler
* Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts
* Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
Do you have violence in your writing? Do you think too many YA novels have an abundance of violent behavior?
10 comments:
I had a very hard time stomaching The Hunger Games because of the violence. I worry that my children have become numbed to violence, because to them it was just another action-adventure story.
Lucy
In my WiP there's a bit of violence, and it's only going to get worse later on. I think there's a difference between violence that is thrust upon characters (i.e. need to protect themselves) for survival versus violence for violence's sake. I think THE HUNGER GAMES is a great example of this. It's not like the tributes asked to be tossed in the arena to kill one another. And Katniss herself tries not to kill anybody until it becomes necessary.
I thought of another book with violence——DIVERGENT. We see it the most in the Dauntless faction.
I guess it's just important to have a reason for it and to avoid being gratuitous with it.
Thanks for the comments ladies!
@ Lucy- Yes! I have the same worry that today's generation is way too numb to violence. They don't even seem to blink when they witness it.
@Jamie-- Good points! THG didn't have violence for violence's sake. Divergent is an EXCELLENT example! Thanks for adding it to our list :D
Since a number of my books are set during WWII, a fair amount of violence is to be expected. I know some people, like my parents, don't want to read books or watch films set during that era, but real life isn't all flowers and bunnies. It's morally irresponsible to candycoat a very dark chapter of the past, and it's not like I've written, to my recollection, anything nearly as dark, disturbing, or violent as some of the scenes in The Painted Bird.
@Lucy, like Jamie said, Hunger Games crafts an entire story around whether the violence is legitimate. Did seeing the movie provide an opportunity to discuss with your kids? I'm over 30 and my husband and I talked for 45 minutes about it after the movie! But I think it would be a great way to explore those themes with younger viewers.
I wouldn't say I write a lot of outright violence... there's quite a bit of emotional "violence" in my writing, though.
LIVING DEAD GIRL is one of those books that was amazingly written, but I still wish I hadn't read it. I hate that those images and all that violence are stuck in my head forever. Elizabeth Scott has such diverse talent.
There sure is a lot of it being consumed. That worries me a bit. I'm trying to visit all the A-Z Challenge Blogs this month. My alphabet is at myqualityday.blogspot.com
I have no concerns about teens reading books with violence; however, I've witnessed multiple fourth and fifth graders reading The Hunger Games. THEY are too young for the violence.
Catch My Words
http://joycelansky.blogspot.com
I don't think any of the YA books I've read have gone overboard (at least in my opinion) with violence. I may finally check out The Hunger Games just to see if I think it's as violent at everyone says now.
Hi there - I'm visiting from the challenge circuit!
I think that violence is a reality... young children should not be exposed to it unnecessarily, yet they cannot be shielded from it... one has to find the right balance...
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