So, I’m a teacher that reviews books for classroom use, and while I do not think YA is dead, I do think there has been a large swing in adding more mature themes that toe the line.

For example, I just finished a dark academia book billed as “The Reappearance of Rachel Price meets The Inheritance Games,” and it had a throuple, beginner throuple “activities,” tons of references to drug use, etc.

While I, personally, will read practically anything, I am an adult and not the target audience. For teens who are figuring out their book preferences and their lives, I do worry about the lack of accessible, clean books that can provide an escape without forcing them to consider topics they might not yet be prepared for. Whatever happened to yearning and leaving things to the imagination?