I was thinking about risk-taking the other day when I started reading a YA novel that some Christian parents in the United States have started to try to get banned from high school libraries.

When I started reading the book, I expected it to be at least little sexually explicit, because some conservative Christian parents on Goodreads were describing it as a book that promoted pedophilia and child sexuality. They claimed teenagers reading the book are likely to risk becoming over sexualized.

I was surprised to instead find a pretty sweet story narrated by a 23-year-old young man living on an Indian reservation in the Western United States. He tells the story about being a primary caregiver for his mentally disabled older brother, about overcoming the obstacles presented by his poverty, and about sticking up for the underdog.

He’s considerate, kind, and almost a virgin.

Much of the story revolves around his wooing a young woman who his friends think is not particularly attractive.

Anyway, I’m not going to give it all away, because I’m probably going to do a review, but I came away thinking that if Christian parents wanted their child to read any book, it would be a book like this. This kid is awesome.

Yes, he does pretty dryly relate a sexual experience he had as a child, one incident of sexual experimentation when he was in elementary school, initiated by another boy. He relates the experience very dryly, with no detail at all, and really only because he was trying to tell his best friend to stop being homophobic.

He also relates, very dryly and equally without detail, the time he lost his virginity with a girl when he was 18.

As far as sex goes, that’s it that’s all. I came away wondering what sort of risk conservative Christian parents are thinking might be attached to their children reading this. It’s not graphic. It doesn’t glorify sex, which is a very minor plot element. (Like almost unrealistically minor for an unmarried 23-year-old?)

I was a country kid when I was little, and I rode around in the backs of pickup trucks when I was seven, eight, and nine years old. I’m pretty sure my dad thought that whatever minor risk attached to that was worth the experiences I was getting.

I suggest that parents who object to their teenagers reading books with even a minor bit of sexuality in them could look at risk in something like the same way.