The Roll of “Spice” in YA Novels

Book Trends

Aug 2

As a reader of Adult and Young Adult novels, I—like many others—have noticed a trend of intimate scenes in YA becoming more graphic. After a recent YA read that teetered the edge of young adult and adult, I stopped to ponder the question: what is the roll of “spice” in this genre published for a teenage audience?

Quick Disclaimer:

This will be my third year as a high school librarian in Texas. Before that, I was a high school English teacher for three years. And prior to this, I was an English major with a focus in Creative Writing. But more than all of that, I am a reader.

What I am not is the purity police. Moving forward, please note that I’m not here to criticize anyone who enjoys reading spice. (That would be pretty hypocritical of me!) My goal is to examine the implication of this trend, and the consequences it entails.

What is “Spice”?

It’s a term with quite a broad spectrum. Spice has many synonymous terms in relation to literature, such as “steamy” and “intimacy”. But, boiled down into as clear a definition I can muster, spice is explicit sexual content. From here, we could go down a rabbit trail of what qualifies as “explicit” and “sexual”, and everyone will have their own takes. For the sake of this article, I imagine explicit sexual content as a focus on the body and anatomy, as opposed to prose regarding feelings. Put simply, physical acts meant for titillation as opposed to intimacy used to further an emotional connection/bond.

What is Young Adult?

Young adult is a tricky age group because it targets teens that have just left their gangly middle school years alongside teens who plan to ship out to college in a few months. What might be fine for an eighteen year old might not be appreciated by a fourteen year old, and vice versa.

I’ve derived my definition of Young Adult from two sources: YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) and SLJ (School Library Journal). Moving forward, YA will be considered as a genre geared towards readers between the ages of 12 and 18. It focuses on the experiences often faced by this age group, such as challenges to identity, explorations of self-discovery, and the transition into adulthood. Typically, our protagonist will be between the ages of 12 and 18, though that’s not always the case. In Belladonna by Adalyn Grace, for instance, our protagonist is 19.

I loved this book, as well as the sequel, and I can’t wait for the release of the third novel this month! That being said, this cover portrays our protagonist in a manner that makes her look older than a teen. The artist also poses the FMC in a way that puts emphasis on her lips. If I saw this without context, I can honestly say that I would think it targets an adult audience. In fact, it’s giving Broken Bonds or Bonded by Thorns, both of which are NOT young adult novels.

Why Does it Matter if Spice is in YA Novels?

In the realm of young adult novels, it stands to reason that teens should be the voices listened to and advocated for. They are, after all, the population that the characters are based off of. They are also the population that should be able to relate and identify to the journey of the character. And just like libraries are safe spaces for teens, many books provide safe breaks from the strain of reality.

These past few years, it feels as though adults (specifically adult women) have invaded this realm. And what do they seem to want more of?

Spice.

Publishing companies are just that—companies. And they’ll bend to meet the demands of the audience that makes them the most money. It’s a business after all. This means that we adult women could be the cause of teens losing the themes of identity that we were provided at their age.

Why do Adult Women Demand Spice in YA?

I have two (completely unsubstantiated and personally derived) theories regarding this.

Nostalgia

As we grow up, the “adulting” of life becomes overwhelming. Dreary. It’s easy to reminisce on the younger version of ourselves and romanticize the dreams of the teen girl we once were. Sometimes, that includes the books we read. And so we pick up YA. But we’re adults now, and the storylines or character journey’s can feel (rightfully so) juvenile. With the emphasis of smut and spice rising do due social media influences like BookTok and Bookstagram, adding this maturity to YA novels keeps those cherished themes of identity and self-discovery while simultaneously increasing the adult feel of the plot. It’s a source of instant gratification. And it incorporates a sensation we were always taught to strive for and covet: love.

Audience Transitions Mid-Series

Yes, I’m going to talk about ACOTAR (A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas). In this bestselling fantasy series, the initial target audience was Young Adult. It was labeled that way by the publisher, and presented that way to libraries in their purchasing systems. That’s because the first installment of this series was 100% YA (with some more mature themes). Later, though, the storyline developed with the FMC and became unequivocally adult in terms of spice. At that point, the readership level changed to fit the content and was altered by the publisher. I will always advocate for a story that grows with its characters. That being said, this blurs lines for readers because the aging up was such a natural progression. And when this blur gets equated to ACOTAR, which could be considered by some as the Mother of Romantasy, understanding the difference between YA content and Adult content becomes less intuitive.

So much so that Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros has also blurred lines despite the explicit sex scenes between the FMC and MMC. This year, our representative from our purchasing company spoke to me about this novel as though it were a YA I should consider for the high school library. It had dragons, a disability rep, and was already quite popular. It would be a hit with the kids! I was shocked and pointed out the novel was Adult, which is the opposite of what he’d heard from—you guessed it—an adult woman. After that conversation, I looked at the tags on Goodreads, and sure enough, this novel has readers listing it as YA. But in our purchasing system, it was listed as Adult, which is the audience recommended by the publisher. As another hot title in romantasy that often gets comped to ACOTAR, it makes sense that readers would be uncertain of the target audience. But if we think back on that definition of spice, it certainly falls under that adult category due to the explicit sexual content.

Who Faces the Consequences of Spice in YA?

Even still, none of this would matter if there weren’t consequences to spice, or explicit sexual content, in YA. So, who suffers?

Teen Audiences

The most immediate impact would be to the teenage audience that young adult novels should be centered around. And let me get something out of the way here: plenty of young adult readers pick up books that are labeled as adult. The amount of students who have approached me to ask after Colleen Hoover or to gush over Hannah Grace’s Icebreaker are not few and far between. (And I politely tell them those novels cannot be found in our high school library due to the age level.) The difference here is that these students were actively seeking a novel labeled for a different audience, and therefore they know what to expect from those novels. Teens seeking adult publications enjoy more mature content. The problem lies in teens coming across content that they do not anticipate—and don’t relate to—in a genre targeted toward their age group. And if you look at reviews by teens on platforms like Common Sense Media, they will express their discomfort or aggravation when coming across unexpected sexually explicit scenes. They even state that these unnecessary inclusions could keep parents from letting their kids read an otherwise incredible story.

Which is what happens. Parents will stop their child from reading a phenomenal book because there’s an explicit scene that does nothing to add to the storyline.

Now, I don’t want the above to get conflated with me implying intimate relationships don’t belong in young adult novels. That isn’t the case at all. In fact, it would be ignorant to state that teens aren’t in explicit relationships. I work at a high school, and I’m sorry if this shocks you, but they very much are sexually active. However, this doesn’t change the purpose of YA, which is to provide stories that focus on themes of identity, self-discovery, and the transition into adulthood. And while relationships absolutely should be included, they must be approached with the purpose of demonstrating personal growth, as opposed to a purpose of titillation or pleasure.

*Cautionary tales regarding SA are the exception. Though they might be explicit in manner, these scenes would never be considered “Spice” and have a purpose of awareness. Unfortunately, we have students that have suffered from SA, and they find comfort in reading about experiences and healing journeys that correlate to this trauma.

Librarians and Libraries

As a high school librarian, I’m also seeing the ramifications of increasingly explicit scenes in regards to my profession. Book banning is on the rise in the United States. And while sexually explicit content is not the only target of groups like Moms for Liberty, it is easy content for them to take aim at. In 2023, I was a part of 2 out of 24 Reconsideration Committees. Other libraries in nearby districts restricted access to all books without individualized parental permission, and classroom libraries came under fire. In 2024, teachers and librarians alike are threatened with fines of up to $10,000, or imprisonment. When looking into these laws, the vague wording around what constitutes “obscene material” leaves the interpretation up to whatever power is in office and becomes subjected to political fluctuations. The most at risk topics include sex positivity, LGBTQIA+, social justice, and more. Publishers have also suffered backlash, reprimanded for not being responsible with the audience age they publish a book under.

In Texas, we have an opt-in (not an opt-out) policy for sexual education. This means that any book—even nonfiction—that speaks to sex-ed can be found in violation of the Texas PENAL code and labeled as pornographic. Say goodbye to anything that covers safe sex, consent, and more. Having a book on these topics could result in the end of a librarian’s career.

As groups like Moms for Liberty become more vocal, libraries and librarians face challenges advocating for books that represent sex positivity, LGBTQIA+, social justice, and more, because the trend of “spice” in young adult novels blurs lines in a way that these groups can weaponize. And in the end, we could face career-ending repercussions.

My Take

As the inclusion of spice in YA increases due to the demand of adult women, the consequences shift onto the teens who should be able to seek identity in those novels, and the librarians desperate to provide safe and equitable spaces for this age group.

Personally? I don’t think “spice” and “YA” have any business being used in conjunction with one another.

Does this mean I think teens should be banned from reading any book that contains explicit sexual content? Not at all. I read anything and everything growing up. (My mom was terrible at hiding her werewolf shifter smut.) I also know plenty of students who are the same. But they should be able to trust the novel they choose to represent the age group it’s published for. If a teen wants to read up, that’s a discussion between themselves and their guardian. (And, to be frank, if they really want to read that book, they’ll find it. Teens are savvy little creatures.)

Intimacy in YA labeled as romance, or that incorporates romance, should focus on healthy relationships. It needs to emphasize the mental/emotional connection between characters. And it can contain non-explicit physical scenes that center on the experience and personal growth of the character. Maybe this comes across in flowery prose or sophisticated figurative language that eliminates graphic bodily functions. Or maybe it’s a cut-scene. But it prioritizes the arc of the character, NOT the pleasure of the reader.

Teens should be able to trust the content in the novels targeting them as an audience. And if they want to snag an Emily Henry or an Ali Hazelwood, at least they know what to expect in reading an adult novel. SPICE.