Three years ago, I watched a twelve-year-old girl buy a Colleen Hoover book at a department store. I can’t remember which book it was – I barely knew who Hoover was at the time, nor of her reputation as one of the most controversial yet most popular romance authors of the decade. All I remember thinking was: That book is for adults.
It is well known that exposure to topics such as pornography, violence, and abuse can be dangerous for young people. Media dealing with these topics often provide inaccurate and irresponsible representations of what love and sex should be, damaging the relationships that they have and will have with others. Many books, such as Hoover’s, condone emotional and sexual manipulation, whilst others glorify and romanticise a range of topics including unsafe sex, rape, eating disorders, mental health conditions, domestic abuse, and other forms of violence.
Obviously I couldn’t intervene. Maybe her parents approved of the book, or maybe she herself didn’t know what she was getting into and would throw it away as soon as she realised. Either way, it wasn’t my place nor my business (and likely would not have been well-received), so I watched in mild horror as the cashier scanned the book and bagged it. I think a lot about this moment – every time I hear someone mention Colleen Hoover, or see someone reading one of her books, or even hear the words young adult fiction, I think of that poor girl who was very likely harmed by Colleen Hoover’s novel.
The main question that I had was: Whose fault was it?
Who recommended her the book? Who told her it was appropriate for her age? Who shelved the book on the children and teenagers’ floor of the department store, surrounded by toys and colouring books? Who designed a cover that would look appealing to a young audience? Who wrote a blurb that concealed the dark nature of the book? Who approved all of these marketing decisions and didn’t consider (or didn’t care to consider) how this book’s cover and back page could be interpreted?
A new question: Why are Google, TikTok, and other websites and apps recommending adult books to children?
Teenagers, young adults, and even children will often stumble upon content that is inappropriate for them in the digital age. Whether it be pornography, violence, or gore, it is widely understood that much of the online world is simply not suitable for young people. Social media apps have age limits, pornography sites and other mature webpages can be blocked on home WiFi, and child-specific content exists, such as Kidz Bop or the infamous YouTube Kids. Even older forms of media such as films and television shows are reviewed and given age ratings; songs that contain swear words or sexual lyrics are censored for the radio. These aren’t always perfect, but for the most part, they do prevent children and teenagers from encountering content that is harmful and inappropriate.
What about books? In this case, sexual content, crude language, and violence are being actively recommended and advertised to young people by websites and apps that we (incorrectly) trust. There is no governing body for books – no country’s government, nor any corporation or organisation or charity, reads and rates books based on their suitability for specific ages or other audience classifications. There is certainly no enforcement of an age rating, either, as books do not advertise ratings or specific audiences on their covers, adult books are hardly kept separate from those for young people in bookstores, supermarkets, or online shops, and young people are not IDed when they try to buy an adult book. In fact, there are no protections at all for some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
The fault partially lies with the writers, publishers, artists, marketers, and editors that allow books like these to be advertised as maybe for teenagers, maybe for young adults, and maybe for mature audiences. There is no denying that the ambiguous designs and descriptions of these books are a huge problem, using cartoonish brightly-coloured illustrations that resemble children’s book characters.
Yet there is also a larger problem at hand that publishers capitalise on: Declining literacy rates. The National Literacy Trust found that 18% of all British adults have low proficiency in literacy; similarly, the National Literacy Institute found that 21% of all U.S. adults are illiterate, with over half of the country’s population (54%) reading at below a sixth-grade level. These statistics present an explanation of current reading trends: Lower literacy levels mean that more adults are reading YA books, primarily genres such as romance and fantasy that contain universally relatable plots, regardless of age. These books, aimed at teenage reading levels, often avoid challenging language, non-chronological structure, and mature or complex themes. The more adults that read YA, the more catered to them the genre became, eventually branching off to create an amalgamation of plot and content aimed at adults, but writing and complexity originally aimed at teenagers. Confusing, right?
This isn’t to say that YA is bad by any means – and nor is it bad that adults are finding something to read that works for them. In fact, it’s great! Everyone should read – and deserves to read – books that they enjoy that cater to their reading ability. The problem here goes beyond that, when publishers began to combine the characteristic elements of both YA and adult fiction to create a genre that is accessible to more demographics in terms of language whilst containing mature graphic content – and when publishers do not bother distinguishing between this new genre and YA. No wonder children are picking up adult books! They are written in ways that cater to their reading level; their covers reflect the art styles and colours of actual young adult books.
Take a look at the book covers below. Can you tell which are for adults and which are for young people?
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This might seem obvious to you if you’ve heard of these books or just have a keen eye. But to a twelve-year-old? They might all look the same.
It is important to note that I focus primarily on romance here as it is the genre that children and teenagers seem to be getting their hands on most frequently – not because I think romance (more specifically, sexual content) is something sinful or something to be hidden from children. Young people should absolutely learn about sex, but this is not an appropriate nor safe way to do so, especially as many adult romance books also tackle mature topics such as sexual assault and abuse. Additionally, other genres such as fantasy and crime do not tend to have similar designs to YA fiction; there are less opportunities for confusion.
There is obviously nothing wrong with adult romance books having fun, playful, and colourful designs. But there is an obvious problem when adult romance books and YA romance books look the same and are described in the same ways, with no indication of which is for which audience. This is how the mix-up happens, with adult books often being innocently recommended to teenagers in Google searches and TikTok videos. They look the same!
There is no quick fix to this problem – adult books will continue to be written, designed, described, and advertised in ways that appeal to young people. Implementing an age rating system is the only possible solution, albeit one that requires not only the support of governments and stores to enforce it but the cooperation of publishing houses around the world. We need to protect some of our most vulnerable members of society by making the line between young person’s and adult’s fiction clear, to ensure that reading is a safe and suitable hobby for everyone.
Sources
National Literacy Institute, ‘Literacy Statistics 2024-2025 (Where we are now)’
https://www.thenationalliteracyinstitute.com/post/literacy-statistics-2024-2025-where-we-are-now#:~:text=21%25%20of%20adults%20in%20the,were%20born%20outside%20the%20US
National Literacy Trust, ‘What do adult literacy rates mean?’
https://literacytrust.org.uk/parents-and-families/adult-literacy/what-do-adult-literacy-levels-mean/#:~:text=This%20survey%20found%20that%2018,report%20was%20published%20in%202015