Future Assassins of America?

The other day I was looking at paperback books in Target and two little girls, Asian, around 8-9 years old, walked behind me, followed by their dad. They were looking at the book selection and complaining, "I wish they had a book like Resident Evil! You know, where you shoot people a lot."

Well, at least they're reading! That seems to be the default response to any question about the subject matter of reading material. It's like exercise--anything is considered better than nothing!

On one hand, how awesome is it that a video game is making kids want to read? On the other hand, what is up with 9-year-old girls longing to read about shooting things?!

Not that I'm worried--I don't subscribe to the school of thought that kids will automatically copy behavior they read about or see on TV. I watched tons of Smurf cartoons as a child and have never yet battled a wizard named Gargomel. I watched X-Files and didn't start believing in aliens. I watched Twin Peaks and didn't become a drug-addicted prostitute prom queen. I think most kids figure out pretty fast what behaviors are and aren't acceptable in the real, non-TV world. I watch TV and read books to escape from reality and never took it seriously. In fact I was often shocked when I found out things I'd only known to happen in TV Land actually happened in the real world. I mean, murders and shootings only happened on TV, right?

Still, I don't think I have it in me to actively encourage kids to read violent or sexy books. When I found out a book I'd given my niece who was 12 or 13 at the time had a make-out scene in which the phrase, "he unzipped my jeans" appeared, I felt pretty skeezy. I mean, if she reads that stuff on her own, fine, but I don't want to be the one who hands it to her gift-wrapped in Santa Claus paper!

I think a lot of people were upset about the last Twilight book for that reason--supposedly this sweet, defanged sparkly vampire-in-love story becomes brutal, bloody, and morbid, with a vampire baby biting its way out of its mother's womb in a childbirth scene I am definitely avoiding.

But I know if my mom had told me as a kid, "You can't read this, it's too mature for you," I would then stop at nothing until I'd gotten my hands on it--and most likely proven her right. There are books I wish I hadn't read when I read them, but you don't know that until it's too late and your young mind is already warped.

One of the benefits of being childless is not having to deal with this particular conundrum. I would hate to think I've turned into the kind of annoying censor I encountered as a young reader, but I fear I might be. It's more like I'm censoring my own thoughts than the kids, though--even though it's totally normal, the thought of a 12-year-old reading about sex or torture gives me the creeps. They can handle it--but I can't!