“Reading Level: College.” I remember those words showing up on my testing results at a young age.
My penchant for all things literary came from my mother, who passed down a love of words and read to me likely from my time in the womb. I started devouring books on my own as soon as I learned to read, and fiction was my genre of choice, particularly fantasy or adventure stories.
Many kids grow up the same way. We come back from trips to the public library with heavy bags, eager to be transported into each story. The hobby often follows us into our teenage years, where the door opens to new selections.
The stories we read can be some of the most beneficial inputs in our lives. Humans learn through stories—absorbing facts, lessons, and values often more quickly than we would from a textbook. Fiction gives us the chance to explore new worlds and lives we’d otherwise never imagine. It’s a beautiful thing.
And yet it can also be dangerous. Stories influence our thinking, and teenagers are already especially susceptible to influence.
Evaluate Stories
It’s not realistic for parents to read everything their teens are reading, but when they’re conversing about these books, they can get a productive glimpse into the worlds their children are living in and discuss the values they’re picking up on.
Consider asking your teens these six questions about the volumes on their nightstands or in their backpacks.
1. What’s the book about?
As long as you aren’t catching your teen mid-page (which many readers would say is a massive faux pas), most bookworms are more than happy to ramble on about the plot of their current read.
By simply asking your teen what the book is about, you’ll get a handle on what he’s focusing on in the book, how he’s liking it, and, of course, what the content is. Understanding the plot of the book will give you an idea of the world he’s spending his hours submerged in.
2. What do the characters care about or want most?
Character motivations fuel fiction. The plot is pulled this way and that by the lead’s goals as he fights whatever obstacles he encounters to achieve what he wants. What a character desires will be foremost in the reader’s mind, and that teaches them something about humanity—whether we want it to or not.
As she reads, your teen may start caring about what the protagonist cares about. Is that justice or revenge? Is it identity? Finding out what the characters want can be key in understanding what your teen might start considering important.
3. What’s the romance like?
Our views of love can be molded by the media we consume. From Hollywood chick flicks to Pride and Prejudice, the world is filled with depictions of what humans think love is like. More often than not, it’s nothing like what the Bible tells us about love. Perhaps one of the greatest failings of literature lies here, and it’s important to discuss with your teen how the couple she’s so ardently rooting for is developing their relationship.
The expectations we have for romance will be shaped by what we’re reading, so discuss what’s accurate and what’s not. This question can quickly lead to a conversation about love from a godly perspective.
4. Did the characters do the right thing?
It’s not always completely black and white, but more often than not, characters are brought to a point where they need to make decisions about good and evil. From deciding how to bring justice against the villains to simply considering how they treat those around them, heroes are surrounded with choices. And those choices influence your teens. Everything we consume feeds our understanding of the world, including our understanding of morality.
Everything we consume feeds our understanding of the world, including our understanding of morality.
Being able to discuss moral decisions in fiction through a biblical lens helps parents and teens break down how we can glorify the Lord in difficult situations. While most teens will never have to confront the same choices as a hero in an adventure story, they’ll face hard decisions, and the kinds of stories they read about can influence their responses.
5. Why do you think the author wrote the book?
No author writes without a purpose in mind. All writing is persuasive, to some level, and our worldviews seep into our writing as easily as blood flows from a paper cut.
This question prompts your teen to think deeper about the adventure he’s experiencing and ask himself what the purpose of the tale is. What does the author intend for him to believe? What is the author asking him to take away from the story? If her purposes for writing are flawed, chances are her views on honor, love, justice, and the world will also be flawed. These kinds of authors may not be worth learning from.
6. Is this book worth reading?
After she’s evaluated these questions about the book, the teen can offer her opinion on whether she’ll finish it. Would she recommend it to someone else? Why or why not? Sometimes, a parent will realize he or she needs to step in. But this question gives your young bookworm the chance to come to the realization on her own and think more carefully about each book she decides to read in the future.
Stories are one of the ways humanity can most imitate our Creator, by creating worlds and stories we can enjoy and learn from. Encouraging our teens to read and enjoy books is a good thing, and I’m grateful my parents did that for me.
But, like nearly every part of life, the maze of modern literature isn’t one teens can navigate on their own. Striking up these conversations and diving deeper into the meanings of the stories we love is one way Christian parents can help their children approach one of God’s gifts biblically.
The Gospel Coalition