“…just so glad I can grab any book with your name on the cover and know it’s safe for my kids and grandkids to read…”

The longer the woman talks, the drier my throat becomes. I try to speak—I fail. Half-gasping, half-wailing to the Lord for help, the words miraculously (okay, a bit of hyperbole there) burst through the instant desert otherwise known as my throat. “Don’t.” It comes out in a squeak, but I try again.

No, really. Don’t. I have a couple of books I don’t recommend for younger teens or those who have led a more sheltered existence.”

Three books come to mind in a scenario like this.

First, there’s Not a Word. That book deals with a difficult topic—that sexual temptation isn’t just a male thing. I know it is hard to imagine, but there are still churches, camps, and similar places that treat sexual temptation as a boy’s curse and a girl’s job to prevent… in those boys! Both are untrue. And so, in that book, I really stressed what happens when we perpetuate this fallacy and leave our daughters surprised at their own sexual struggles.

Effective Immediately also has a short scene that is awkward and uncomfortable. I don’t think I took it too far. I wanted to show the situation for the horrible thing it was without dragging the reader too deeply into that muck. I wanted to show it—not plop you in the center of it. But, it’s still several paragraphs that I wouldn’t want my twelve-year-old to read. She probably wouldn’t “get it.” And if she did, it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

As I said in THIS POST, I work very hard to ensure kids wouldn’t get an education from my books that should come from their parents.

But one book of mine should come with one of those warning labels:

Warning: This Book Isn’t Free from Sexual Tension

Okay, that’s a bit of an understatement. Speak Now has more than just sexual tension. And yes, it’s sort of “click bait,” but I did it for a reason. I hope you’ll forgive it when you see why. Because let’s face it, all books have some sexual tension somewhere. But compared to most of my books, this one has serious issues to consider.

Why would I do that if I avoid most of that stuff?

Because it’s real. And it’s out there. And it’s a part of our everyday lives. And in Speak Now, I chose to show just how easy it is to justify, to convince yourself, to “go there.” And once you’ve taken steps toward “moral failure,” it’s even harder to step back again.

And I wanted to show that temptation isn’t reserved only for those who are careless with their study of the Word—who claim a relationship with Jesus the Christ that they don’t actually live. Committed, godly, sold-out-for-Jesus Christians are tempted. Daily. Sometimes hourly. Married or single, young or old, mature or still feeding on the “milk of the Word,” every last one of us are subject to temptation.

** Spoiler alert**

For those who need to know before reading a book just how “far they go,” I’ll tell you. They get a hotel room. They get into that room with every intention of using it. And all without ever touching. I was as graphic as I could be about the desire without pushing it into emotional porn. I did it for a reason. I ran right up to that line of appropriateness, and while I didn’t lean over it, I didn’t lean back either. I pulled no punches…

Right up to the moment when one of them snapped out of their desire-driven decision and woke them up.

And I did that for a reason, too. Because so often I hear people say, “Well, once you’ve gone that far…”

It’s a lie. A lie from the pit. I don’t want this post to get too graphic either, so I’ll put it this way. There isn’t any moment… not ANY that is too late to separate and say, like Paul Sutton did in A Walk in the Clouds,

You can’t imagine how I want you. But… I won’t hurt you that way. I won’t.”

So yeah. Speak Now might need a warning label, but I guarantee it’s safer than cigarettes, gasoline, and a million other things known to cause cancer in the State of California.

Update:  

A couple of the commenters reminded me of other books I should add to the “warning” list.  While still free from graphic and overt sexuality compared to most of what you find, these books also have themes or scenes that you want to be aware of before you hand over to someone who isn’t married or isn’t anywhere near ready to be.

Shattering Secrets:  Deals with adultery, sexual temptation, and the devastation they have on the entire church.

HearthLand: How the church handles unrepentant, ongoing sexual sin and what it does to community.

None So Blind:  There’s nothing strictly overt in it, but the confusion about marriage vows and what it all means might be a bit mature for younger readers.

Overall:  Apparently, I’m much more forthright about cycles and things in my books than I am IRL.  Who knew?  Snort  So, if your girls aren’t comfortable there, it is something to be aware of.