forum Is There an all-encompassing Book Rating System?

Started September 18, 2018 by Deleted user

tune

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I like to read a lot of manga, call me a weeb if you want to. A particular manga series I am a big fan of 'Pokemon Adventures' is infamous because of its many instances of sexual references and violence. VIZ, the company that publishes the series around where I live gave the book a rating of 'A' for all ages, based off of its own rating system. This made me think of how books are allowed to get away with more things than the average movie or TV show, and I began to wonder if there was a limit to just how inappropriate a book could get while still getting a wide release. So, I ask this: Is there a universal rating system all books are placed under, like the ESRB or movie rating systems? Or can a book, hypothetically more horrid and disgusting than Fifty Shades of Grey, be published in stores without anything age-related keeping it from selling?

Huh. That's a really good question and something I was wondering, too. I mean, Harry Potter's later installments are definently something I'd classify as 'teen', but most places have it it 'children'. Plenty of most likely inappropriate books are sold in big-box stores, including 50 Shades. Just go to a Walmart or Target and count how many books have half-naked buff guys on them. My Walmart in particular has Teen, Children, and Adult books all together, so a poor 12 year old could accidentally buy an erotica instead of a cute romance like they'd hoped. And age groups for books are lax anyway. Look at SJM's Court of Thorns and Roses. Amazon says they're loaded with sexual scenes, which I will skip because aceness, and has A Court of Frost and Starlight ranked as Ages 17+, yet the book is in the Teen section at my local library.