Developing Sexual Relationships and Surviving Pregnancy, Incest, Rape, Abortion, and Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Buy this book »

As teenagers grow up, they constantly deal with problems related to their sexuality. Not only must they cope with their own feelings, but they must also confront peer pressures and their families’ expectations. In addition, they must factor in the things that they see on television and in movies. Stories of sexual relationships and pregnancy began to be published in the late 1960s and early 1970s when some of the taboos about these areas broke down. Now, books on these and other topics dealing with sexuality are accepted in most circles, although some are still challenged, especially for younger adolescents. Many of the books contained in other categories of this list show young adults facing the difficulties of dating and establishing relationships.

Some teens have to cope with unwanted pregnancies. Two uncompromising looks at the realities of life for some teenage girls are found in Rita Williams-Garcia’s Like Sisters on the Homefront (1995) and Connie Rose Porter’s Imani All Mine (1999). Margaret E. Bechard’s Hanging on to Max (2002) and Angela Johnson’s The First Part Last (2003) look at teenage fathers who try to raise their children. In Second Choices (Brinkerhoff, 2000), Nikki’s conversion to Christianity helps her deal with her choice to give her baby up for adoption.

In the past, rape and sexual abuse often went unreported and unaddressed in young adult realistic fiction. Although the victims’ emotional scars may have lasted a lifetime, especially in the case of sexual abuse by a family member, the violence remained hidden. Therefore, books on these topics received sharp criticism from censors and other groups who wanted to limit what young people read. Those restrictions have been lifted as more novels address these topics. In Hadley Irwin’s classic Abby, My Love (1985), Chip loves Abby and questions her reluctance to be close, both psychologically and physically, with him. Then, Abby reveals that she has been sexually abused by her father. In Out of Control (1993), Norma Fox Mazer presents the story of Valerie Michon, who is assaulted by three respected teenage boys; and in Speak (Anderson, 1999), Melinda deals with the aftermath of date rape. While safe in the United States, 14-year-old Mardi tries to hide the fact that she was raped by soldiers in Haiti as she was leaving the country in Jaira Placide’s Fresh Girl (2002).