Dune is a YA Novel?

A friend of mine posted an article last week on Facebook that I found interesting.  It's title: When Did Dune Become a YA Novel?

The author of the article was surprised when he found out that Dune, the classic and complex science fiction novel by atheist Frank Herbert, was considered a Young Adult (YA) novel.  After some further research, he discovered that the American Library Association (ALA) defines YA as anything that 12-18 year olds are willing to read, a definition that he finds "squishy."

I had always thought that YA literature was, well, literature aimed at young adults.  Literature with slightly more complex and mature themes compared with "Children's literature."  Literature that was "safe" for young adults to read.  Needless to say, this changes my approach. 

Under this definition, if 12-18 year olds are reading say, Fifty Shades of Gray, it becomes "YA Literature."  This is something I think parents and teachers need to be on the look out for.

Censorship and the banned book list is a rather complex topic that should be saved for its own post.  However, as a parent and pre-service teacher, I think there are books that are not appropriate for children and young adults to read.  I do think the "banned books" advocates take it to the extreme (I recently found out that Green Eggs and Ham is on the banned list, seriously?). 

What I think we can take away from all of this is that "YA" does not necessarily equal "safe."  Parents should always know what their children are reading and take appropriate steps from there.  Know the content of the books your child is reading.  If you haven't read the book, Google it.  Wikipedia and Goodreads can easily get you a synopsis.  Knowing the content helps you open a dialogue about the appropriateness of the book or, if it's too late for that, discussing the questionable content of a particular book.  After all, knowledge is power.