Tanushree Singh is an author, professor of psychology, and the iron-fisted admin of two Facebook groups devoted to reading and books. I had some questions for her when I was writing Adulting with YA books for The Hindu Weekend. I wanted to know if and why YA books published in India tended to be a little more tentative when writing about certain themes, and how she managed parental fears around their children reading about these things in books. Thank you Tanushree!

1. When you compare YA books published in India and internationally, do you feel there's a certain hesitancy in our books to write about sex, drugs and sexuality? If yes, why do you think that is? 

A: I think somewhere we hesitate because of parents, the gatekeepers. As a society we are a happy flock of ostriches who love to bury their heads in the sand. The poor ostrich of course has a higher purpose that has nothing to do with wishing away adolescence. But we  like to keep our children ‘innocent’ and so a mere mention of a kiss or an infatuation makes us fidget. 

2. Why do you think it's important for YA books to explore these topics and for young people to have access to them? 

Young people go through a spectrum of emotions and a sea of turmoil with barely any protective gear. As they navigate the troubled waters alone, a little help would be nice.

The books can be the much needed life-jacket, something that keeps them afloat, validates their feelings and understands the upheaval.

We need to talk about gender indentity, sex, drugs, rebellion, anger and more such words that have been put in the banned list. 

3. As the moderator of a facebook group that celebrates children's books and reading, how do you feel when you see parent's 'concerned' that their pre-teens and young teenagers are reading books with kissing/sex/drugs? What are their most common fears? As a moderator, how do you try to subtly (or not so subtly) shift their perceptions?

It does get difficult sometimes. I want to reach out across the screen and shake the living daylight sometimes. But mostly, I do understand the fears. No one talked to them about it and hence they get jitters about breaking the cycle. They grew up with subjects like sex and drugs firmly stitched under the carpet. So when any such post comes up, I don the psychologist hat and gently break it to them that they would be doing a great service to themselves and the child by letting the guards down. 

4. A recent YA book you read (Indian or International) that you recently loved and why?

I am currently reading Postbox Kashmir by Divya Arya and with each page I turn, I want to get hold of every young adult ( and the younger lot. And the older ones.) and hand  them this gem. Postbox Kashmir talks about the complexity that we all grew up with but never bothered to understand. The young adults today need to form their own opinions, need to regain interest in Kashmir and absolutely have to understand the human face, pain and dilemmas of the region.