Mature themes in Sparx Reader

Within Sparx Reader, we have some books that contain mature themes. Please find some details below about why we have chosen to include these texts, as well as the precautions we have put in place to ensure books are given to students appropriately. 

The adolescent experience

As secondary educators, you are familiar with the intricacies of the adolescent experience. Young adults are in the thick of what is known as the 'storm and stress' developmental phase of their lives; it is important that the realities of this period of enormous change are not overlooked or dismissed when it comes to the content of their personal reading.  

Young Adult (YA) titles are specifically intended to bridge the gap between children’s literature and adult books. This means that the narrative structure, characterisation and plot might be more complex than in the books students may have previously read; the same can often be true for the nature of the subject-matter. It is inevitable that a student reading YA fiction will encounter sensitive, mature themes from time to time. 

Overwhelmingly, young people seek to experience the ‘emotional truth’ of the teenage existence in what they choose to read and watch, which can involve very intense questions about: who they are; who they should be; what they should or shouldn’t do; where moral boundaries lie; how their actions affect others, and so on. These important questions are often bound up in the wide-ranging, complicated themes of identity, mortality and love which can - sometimes unavoidably - give rise to more mature subject matter. Given that young adults place a very high value on authenticity and honesty, at times a YA author is only able to craft an authentic adolescent narrative voice through the exploration of relatively mature content. 

Equally, it is important to recognise that many adolescents are grappling with aspects of their identity, leading - in some cases - to their mental health suffering. In recent years, there has been a worrying spike in the number of children and young people presenting with anxiety and low mood and self-esteem. Yet, if a young person encounters a character in a YA book who faces similar challenges to them and is seen to overcome adversity, then that particular ‘reading journey’ can become an intensely gratifying and motivational experience. The book might not necessarily provide answers - or even a positive outcome - to a character’s particular emotional conundrum, but the reader may experience relief as they travel through the narrative alongside that character, accessing their interior thoughts and uncovering resonant, relatable moments throughout the story. Alan Bennett perfectly captured this, saying: ‘the most a writer can hope for in a reader is that [they] should think: “here is someone who knows what it is like to be me.”

Sarah Capon, Book Collections Developer at Badger Learning, makes the crucial point that ‘young adults generally feel the need to belong, but through YAL, they can be reassured that being different is not abnormal and that they can accept themselves as they are.’

Fiction allows 'safe danger' and develops empathy

Young Adult fiction gives adolescent readers the chance to experience danger and darkness 'safely'; in a sense, it would be patronising for YA writers not to acknowledge some of the discomforts of the process of emerging into adulthood. By being positioned as an onlooker, a participant or even a confidante to a teenage protagonist, the adolescent reader deepens their search for ‘emotional truth’, in addition to ‘[gaining] knowledge of new experiences that could play an important role later on in their lives’, as Capon emphasises. 

Vicariously experiencing the perspective of another (fictional) person of the same age - and crossing the boundary into someone else's lived experience - can help develop empathy, allows adolescents to identify with someone in similar circumstances to them, or to explore the thoughts and feelings of someone with a very different context to theirs. An example of this is that many of the YA titles on Sparx Reader feature diverse characters from across the globe; these can provide insight into the lives of others far different from the reader’s own. Crossing the threshold from the real world into a convincing new world in a book stimulates the reader’s intellectual curiosity as they witness the complexity, uncertainty and novelty of someone else’s lived experience. 

While these kinds of ‘gateway’ texts occasionally, necessarily, handle uncomfortable material, our dedicated team of content writers carefully calibrate their questions so they focus on developing the reader’s empathy and understanding, rather than highlighting any sensitive or uncomfortable topics broached in a text. The question writers never draw attention to a book’s mature content in the questions that are posed to the student-reader. 

Award-winning texts, chosen by teachers

Several of the titles with mature themes in the Sparx Reader catalogue have been shortlisted - and won - at the UK Literacy Awards, where teachers themselves vote for the books that they think will most inspire their students. There is also a wealth of YA titles in our catalogue that are on The Book Trust’s recommendation list, and many that have been awarded or nominated for the Yoto Carnegie Medal (voted for exclusively by librarians), the Branford Boase Award, The Young Quills Award, The Waterstones Book Prize and The EmpathyLab catalogue selection. Books that have garnered these accolades have done so because they have succeeded in creating ‘[deep] subconscious satisfaction [...] of having gone through a real experience that is retained afterwards’ (Yoto Carnegie). 

Here again, it is worth reiterating that an authentic voice is critical to a young adult’s enjoyment of a book, ultimately achieving that ‘deep subconscious satisfaction’. It is often the case that a YA novel will be written from the direct perspective of a 1st person narrator in the simple present tense, which makes for a more immediate and engaging voice. The resulting openness and vulnerability then allows difficult topics to be handled with genuineness. The adolescent reader does not want to feel as though their relationship with the protagonist (or the credibility of the story) has been marred by adult censorship or overt use of literary devices: the writing must speak directly to them. 

Controlling exposure

We can't ignore the reality of being a young person in today's world; it is extremely hard for adults to control their exposure to mature content on their phones or through TV. The mature texts we have on Sparx Reader allow pupils to encounter some of these themes in relative security, knowing that those manuscripts have been through many layers of checks in the publishing houses. So, while mature themes will undoubtedly surface in some of our YA novels, we know that they have been crafted with tact, compassion and intelligence. 

Teachers and schools have a duty to prepare young people for the stark and unavoidable realities of the world. In many lessons, including science, RE, history, PSHCE and English, teachers must handle highly sensitive subject matter as they support their pupils, in the controlled environment of lessons, to understand and explore uncomfortable truths. Unfortunately though, many schools are facing extreme pressure and do not have the capacity to incorporate YA fiction titles into their English curricula at Key Stages 3 and 4. This can mean that most (if not all) of the texts that pupils study in their lessons over a five year period do not provide a relatable experience for them.

Minimum ages

We understand that it is important to control which texts are accessible to younger students, so we have set the following age limits on certain texts, where appropriate: 11+, 13+ and 15+. We know that it can be difficult for teachers and librarians to know exactly what a student might encounter in a book, so we’ve developed a system that mimics the way films and television programmes are rated, applying ‘mild’, ‘moderate’ and ‘strong/frequent’ descriptors to a range of specific themes so that you have full visibility of any mature content within each title. You can find more information about these here: Minimum ages in Sparx Reader

Over half of the books in the Sparx Reader library have no minimum chronological age, and so are available to all students with appropriate reading ages. Approximately 75% of the books in the library are available to students who are aged 11 or over. The remaining books require students to be a minimum age of 13 or 15 before they will be offered the books by Sparx Reader. You can find some examples of books with minimum ages below:

Minimum Age 11 

The most common mature themes which appear in 11+ books are ‘Bereavement & Loss’ and ‘Violence and Threat’. In some cases, there are fleeting passages of text which cover these, and in other cases, they may be the key premise of the story but are not portrayed in a detailed or graphic way.

Anna, Laura Guthrie

This modern-day retelling of the classic novel Pollyanna (Elanor H. Porter) introduces readers to Anna, a teenager who loses her father and is forced to move to Scotland to live with her estranged mother. The novel sensitively delves into the experiences and thoughts of a neurodiverse teenage girl facing bereavement as she moves home, joins a new school, makes friends and learns more about her new family. Anna's positive outlook is challenged numerous times through the book, and her unique perspective and inner strength may inspire and strike a chord with many young readers.

Nightmare Man, Tim Collins

Specifically written with reluctant readers in mind, this four-hundred-word short story is targeted at secondary school students with a low reading age. Badger Learning books such as Nightmare Man include elements of action, adventure and horror to ensure exciting plots to engage readers. 

Minimum age 13

In 13+ books, the themes found in 11+ books are often present, but may be covered in more detail. Additional most common themes that appear in a moderate way in 13+ books are ‘Historical Perspective’ and ‘Discrimination’. These texts may contain views which are outdated or highlight ongoing areas of discrimination, allowing students to build empathy and gain an increased understanding of the world around them. 

Cane Warriors, Alex Wheatle

This brilliant piece of historical fiction highlights the struggles of slaves in the Caribbean and America during the slave trade, a period which students may cover as part of the History curriculum. There are moderate levels of violence and a continuous theme of discrimination throughout the book, but it is written in such a way that allows students to build empathy with the main characters and reflect on outdated views of race. This book is written by Alex Wheatle, who has been awarded an MBE for services to literature and has Jamaican ancestry. 

Things a Bright Girl Can Do, Sally Nicholls

Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal 2019, National Book Award, Books Are My Bag Readers' Awards and the YA Book Prize, Things a Bright Girl Can Do offers a historical snapshot of a society in turmoil. This coming of age book approaches themes of feminism, equality, sexuality, social class and divisions, and the huge impacts of the First World War. This book aims to give students a greater understanding of British history, whilst also touching upon some societal and personal issues they themselves may face today. 

Minimum age 15 

A minimum age of 15 is used where books have strong references to any of the mature themes. The most common themes found in 15+ books which are not found in 13+ or 11+ books are strong language and sexual references. Strong language is often used to give an authentic voice to characters in books, and sexual references allow young adults to explore some of the realities of this period of enormous change for them.

We have also applied this age rating for some classic texts that - at the time of publishing - would have been aimed at readers younger than 15. However, some of the attitudes expressed and language used in these novels are now considered unacceptable and offensive. For this reason, we do not recommend that younger readers are necessarily exposed to these texts. 

The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas

This award-winning book navigates the continued racism faced by many black communities through the voice of teenager Starr, who is fighting for justice. Some students may relate to many of the themes in this book, allowing their own feelings to be validated, whilst others can build empathy and understanding towards their peers. Strong language and racial words are frequent, contributing towards the powerful voice that makes this book such a thought provoking and impactful read. Angie Thomas wrote this Young Adult fiction after being inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. 

Tremendous Things, Susin Nielsen 

From an award-winning Young Adult author, Tremendous Things is a coming of age story that approaches teen romance, diversity and sexuality in an honest and humorous way. The comedic elements engage students in the story, and the careful writing allows students to relate to the self confidence, relationship and bullying issues that main character Wilbur faces during his school and home life. This book which was written to help young males find the confidence to be their true self has won multiple Young Readers’ Choice Awards.

Handling historic perspectives

Occasionally, a book written in the 19th or early 20th Century puts forward a disturbing, unsettling or even offensive outlook on the world. While we want to ensure that our catalogue reflects the full range of classic and contemporary titles that a school library would stock, we also know that anyone reading a book such as this must be prepared to confront these upsetting historic perspectives. As such, we have applied a minimum age rating of 15 to a selection of classic texts that we have carefully reviewed.

What information do we give to teachers and students?

We flag if a book contains mature themes to a student when they are choosing a book. They can hover on this label to see what the mature themes are, in order to make an informed choice of which book to begin reading. 

You can also view this information in your teacher account in a number of places. The library page will show you the mature themes for any book. When you're viewing the books a student has read in their reading history, you will also see this information.

Swapping or removing books 

Teachers can also swap or remove books for students. Go to the reading history for a student, click on the book, and at the top right you'll see a button called "Swap or remove book". We will then ask you to provide a reason for this and choose whether you want to swap the book, or permanently remove it. Permanently removing the book will ensure we never offer the book to the student again. Swapping might be more appropriate if the book is too hard/easy or certain themes could be more appropriate at a later date.