Has the world of YA fiction gone into chaos. YA fiction has become a series of books that are argued about alot. Some people think YA books should be labeled. Some think That these books shouldn't change at all. Some even want labels but to use them to filter content based on age. YA Books shouldn't be banned or labeled to filter content, but instead harmlessly labeled (like a movie) to help people easily identify levels of maturity to help people pick out books they would like.
Since the introduction of a movie rating system in the 1930's, barely anyone has contested it's continual existence. Have you ever heard somebody say that they wish movies didn't have a rating system. You would think they were crazy. It's such a small detail that just barely adds to the experience, but helps let parents know what movies are appropriate for their children. The same principle could apply to books. If barely anyone has objections to the movie rating system, then why should they have any for a book rating system.
Another need for a rating system is for children. A child could effortlessly discover sex and drugs prematurely because a book was put under YA and they thought they were old enough. I was also affected by this lack of supervision in reading. When I was around ten, I took home a YA book from the library expecting an interesting supernatural story, but one day during class, the book took a very dramatic turn when the two main characters started having sex. It shocked and ruined the whole book. I couldn't even read more after that. With a rating system, this might not have happened or at least prepared me for that scene.
While some may might with me, some may not. They may argue that a rating system may ruin the experience and in some respects this is true. A book may not have have the same flare if you know that it's suited for an older audience. It will give you a small insight on the books subject and content. However, this argument is flawed because of its scale. As I said, it gives you a small insight, but not a big enough one that would actually ruin the experience. In movies this isn't an issue because the view is so small. Also others may want a rating system, but they want to use it to filter content that may not be appropriate for children. The founder of a small idea to use age ratings to filter books and a YA author said "I have changed my mind: I think children's literature has got to far". The article also says that YA "bestsellers have twice the rate of cursing as video games...". These are valid points somewhat. Children's literature can be very graphic and mature. The article's point on swearing rates also shows that there is a valid reason for this. Actually, these reasons aren't very good. While a medium may be graphic, it doesn't mean it should be filtered. If this existed then you would be basically banning books for children. The fact that they're mature doesn't mean that some people shouldn't be allowed to read them.
In conclusion, YA fiction should have an rating system. There already is one for TV and movies and they can help children stay age appropriate. The only arguments that don't want a rating system are flawed and aren't strong or supported enough to be taken seriously. What would be so bad about letting readers know how appropriate a book is? Why would you want to let children read anything without letting them know if it's appropriate or not?
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