M for You, T for Me

I was really glad to see the new line of Kimani Tru books aimed at African American teens. The covers are attractive, the dialogue is realistic, and my high school girls, especially the ones who are heavy readers, are coming back for more.

I was leafing through some of the newer titles that have arrived at the branch and I was surprised to find a small sticker on the back cover, "M-Mature".

After prying the sticker off and throwing it out I couldn't help but ask "What on earth does that mean?"

I haven't been able to read all these titles, but the ones I have read are not especially graphic in any way. I also know that the girls reading these would be reading Triple Crown otherwise, so I doubt they would consider these especially mature.

That is the essential problem with ratings isn't it? What is mature for you might be teen appropriate to me.