Sex in Sarah J. Maas's A Court of Mist and Fury - How Far is Too Far?

Mild spoilers ahead. I really don't spoil anything specific.

This is one of my all-time favorite books. I just finished reading it for the second time, this time via audiobook on Hoopla through the Denton Public Library, read by Jennifer Ikeda. Jennifer did a WONDERFUL job!!

I LOVE this book. Sarah J. Maas does a fantastic job creating a very rich world, telling her story, and giving us very complex characters. It is no surprise she is putting out more books that center on different characters. Actually, that's half the reason I read this again. My mother-in-law lovingly gifted me with A Court of Silver Flames for my birthday, but I don't remember much of ACOWAR! So I'm gearing up to reading the new book, and it was so fun to read this book four years later with a new perspective now that I have taken a couple of classes on young adult literature.

What I love most about ACOMAF is the focus on healthy relationships vs. manipulation. Mental health is just as important as physical health, especially in a relationship, and I love that Maas addresses that in this book. She does it so well! She addresses PTSD, consent, unhealthy dependence, agency, and so many other things that make me glad to recommend this series to my friends because it is so well done!

I have read negative reviews about this (yes, they exist) that claim Feyre is a Mary Sue. And, you know what? She totally is. But she's a very well-written Mary Sue. An overpowered character that is clever and beautiful and compassionate is only a problem when she is written as a cliche. Feyre Archeron is not that.

My one negative opinion about ACOMAF is, predictably, the sexual content. I read an interview one time - and if I get the motivation sometime I'll go back and look it up to link y'all - where Maas addressed the sex in her books. I am largely paraphrasing, but she said she writes sex the way she does to present a positive representation of sexual relationships to young adults. That is an honorable motive. My problem is not with them having sex in the book - it's the description. Don't get me wrong, it is very well done, like the rest of Maas's writing. I respect her writing on a very high level. I don't think there should be that level of sexual description in a YA book.

Sex exists in young adult literature. Young adults have sex. These are facts. But what I don't appreciate is how far and detailed the big sex scenes are - you know what they are if you've read it. I don't appreciate them because this is supposed to be YA. Don't pull out your pitchforks when I use this word, but it is literally pornographic. If this series was tagged New Adult or Adult, like ACOSF, I wouldn't have any issue with it aside from my own personal preference, but including these scenes in a young adult book are not creating a conversation about healthy sexual relationships; they provide pornography to a young audience.

I believe in communication and honesty, and I think talking about these things with teens is very important. I am not suggesting censorship of this book, that this book be removed from school libraries or anything along those lines. I simply suggest that, in the future, this type of content be tagged as New Adult or Adult.