Recently I read a Young Adult novel that one of my students recommended. There were many good aspects of the story, but one thing bothered me: The end of the story led me to feel like the future was hopeless.
In the far past, kids’ books could sometimes be too happy, so happy that they seem ridiculous to us now. But for many years, although kids’ books took on challenging problems, they were almost required by publishers to have a hopeful ending. No matter how much difficulty the characters went through, at the end there had to be a sense of hope for them and for our world.
I want you to know that I think that the idea of writing a book for children that ends with no hope is not only unnecessarily depressing, but I think it’s unethical. The fact is that human history is full of struggles. But the other fact that always goes along with those struggles is that humans thrive when we have a sense of hope for the future.
It’s unethical to write hopeless books for kids because those books are teaching you something that is untrue: you are not living in a hopeless time, and no problem is so great that you can’t find a shred of hope within it.
Reading books that tell you that the future is hopeless is not good for you.
So here’s my advice:
Don’t read them! You can read reviews to find out what others think of the book. And I give you permission to look at the end of a book before you read it. And if it’s a big, fat bummer, set it aside.
But won’t reading the ending spoil the story? It turns out that research says NO! Read or listen to my episode called “There are no spoilers” to find out why.
If the book has been assigned by a teacher, speak with them about your concerns—chances are, the teacher has found a good reason to assign it. But if you’re doing pleasure reading, don’t seek out books that make you feel worse about our world.
Life is challenging enough without being told that there’s no hope. There is hope, and I have hope that you will always be able to find hope within every challenge you face…. and the great books that you read!