These not so innocent teen novels

By Laura GrünLex Kleren

Everyone knows that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but why is it actually important to be weary of cartoon illustrations on youth romances, and to make readers aware of what can hide behind them? The answer to these questions is more nuanced than one might think – but one thing is clear, youth literature is not always as age appropriate as it seems to be.

With Christmas just passed, many people, including children and young adults, have been gifted books that they asked for. But does anybody actually know what is in them? With the prominence of social media, there has been a notable popularisation of romance novels such as Hannah Grace’s Icebreaker. When looking at the cover, the novel seems innocent and juvenile. It depicts two cartoon figures, one male dressed as an ice hockey player, and the other female dressed as a figure skater. The blurb describes what seems to be a rivalry story between an ice hockey player and a figure skater, who might end up getting romantically involved. There are, however, no warnings in regard to the contents of the book. The information the reader gathers from looking at the covers makes it seem like a light romance that portrays a cute and innocent love story designed to be read by a younger audience, which is reinforce by the fact that the novel as a target audience of 12+ year old readers. However, a closer look inside the book proves otherwise. After reading a few chapters, it becomes clear that the information provided is misleading, as the storyline mostly consists of explicit descriptions of sexual intercourse between the two characters.

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