Books like Smack

"Not suitable for younger readers" - the warning on the back cover is well worth taking seriously. A classic and well-deserving Carnegie Medal winner, Junk is painful to read for the reason that it is truthful, accurate and told in the voices of young people falling victim to heroin addiction. They go through the various phases of invincibility delusion, adjustment to ever sinking standards, criminal behaviour, prostitution, desperate pain and physical downward spiralling while telling their life stories through their teenage perspective.It strongly reminded me of the true story of Christiane F., whose witness account on teenage drug addiction in Berlin in the 1970s was made into a book and later into a film, Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo. It haunted me for years after I read it in my early adolescence, and it leaves me pondering on what to do with Junk. Should I let my students and children read it? It is very good, and it will hardly trigger a healthy and stable young adult to try drugs. But it is a brutal account of violence and prostitution, and it might leave them with nightmares. Should one shield teenagers from the worst hardships, or let them discover the world in all its ugliness?That question always comes up when the American Library Association announces the latest banned or challenged books in school libraries. Most of the time, it concerns sexuality, bad language, violence or politically motivated messages. But this is teenage health and wellbeing potentially at risk. I guess there is no definitive answer to what is suitable for young adults, but I tend towards letting them read whatever interests them, while being ready in the background to talk to them and offer a platform for reflection.I will go with Oscar Wilde:"There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book.Books are well written, or badly written. That is all."This one is well written.