The Pen and the Page

In one sentence…

The purpose of The Pen and the Page is to review and recommend good, clean books for everyone.

In some more sentences…

Here’s a quick backstory. Basically, I’ve loved books since I could read. When I was younger, I read all the books that looked interesting in the kids’ section of the library. However, when I turned twelve, I was too old for the “middle grade” kids’ section of the library, and the books did feel a little bit young for me. However, my parents didn’t want me to read books in the YA (Young Adult, teenage) section. I wondered why…and discovered that a lot of the books in the YA section were not good or clean. So I was disappointed. When I was a little older, I started looking through the YA books again. I also started doing research about YA books. That…got me some mixed results.

One day, when I was a sophomore in high school, I looked up “good YA books.” And…I researched and discovered that many of the “good” YA books had some very objectionable things in them. Apparently Google’s definition of “good” was—not the same as my definition. So…

What are “good” books?

“Good” has so many different meanings. Basically, a good book should have an interesting plot, compelling characters, a believable and interesting world, and well-written prose—but there’s more than that. I think that’s what Google didn’t provide in the search results. Good books have a message, a deeper meaning that communicates something about how humans act or should act. Some books are just entertaining, with no lasting message or value. I think it’s okay to read books like that, but a really good book should have a purpose, a message, in addition to entertainment.

Additionally, the message should be accurate. Some stories say something about how humans act, but it isn’t accurate. For example, some books suggest that humans are basically good until they’re ruined by society, and that isn’t accurate. Humans are fallen, sinful, not basically good.

So if the book says something accurate about human nature, I think the book is worth considering. However, there are some more considerations…

Why “clean” books?

What is a “clean” book? I’ve actually made a whole page about that 🙂 Basically, books are labeled “clean” if they don’t have objectionable elements. Is a book “good” if it doesn’t have that? 

I will not be reviewing books that have unnecessary, graphically described objectionable elements. However…

Nothing is completely free of objectionable elements. No book is completely perfect. The world is objectionable, and it isn’t realistic to ignore everything that might be offensive. I’m a Christian, and I believe the Bible is true, and it’s perfect. It contains some objectionable things. It contains a lot of objectionable things, actually, because it’s real. It’s impossible to avoid objectionable things, so how do we decide what to read?

It’s impossible to completely avoid all objectionable elements, as I’ve said. However, some books do have fewer objectionable elements, and they’d be considered “clean.” If a book does have some bad objectionable content…it’s important to notice how it’s being portrayed. Does the author seem to enjoy describing something objectionable? Is the author describing it in a way that makes the reader want to participate? Does the author have a purpose for using the objectionable content?

I think that’s the most important question. What is the purpose of the objectionable content? If it’s just there for its own sake, that isn’t good. But if it does have a purpose, then I think there is still value in the book. For example, the play Macbeth is very violent, but the violence helps show the extent of…sin, basically.

So, basically, objectionable elements can be used in a way that communicates something good or true. However…a lot of YA books use objectionable elements in ways that do not communicate anything good. Which is why I will be reviewing mostly “clean” YA books.

Personally, I don’t really like the label “clean.” I’m more focused on the message of a book, the meaning, the lesson it teaches. Even if a book doesn’t contain objectionable elements, it still might not have a good message. If it doesn’t have a good message, I probably won’t read it…if a “clean” book is meaningless, I don’t think there’s any value in reading it. I’d rather read good books. 

As for the types of books I’ll be reviewing…my primary focus is YA books, but I’ll review other books too. Why YA? I think it’s is a really important genre, but there’s so much YA fiction that looks interesting but isn’t clean or good. There’s also a lot of good YA fiction too that may not look quite as interesting, compared to some of the popular stuff, but it’s good. 

Additionally, other books are good. I love classics; I’ll review those. Middle-grade books are also fun to review sometimes. Any book that is good and clean should be enjoyable for everyone.

And that, overall, is the purpose of this website. Thanks for reading!