“Creative Cussing”: The Sacred and the Profane in Rick Riordan’s Mythical Middle Grade Novels

Ideologically, childhood is viewed pervasively as a sacred, idealized, timeless, innocent, even mythic space. This social construct is reflected in the ways that gatekeepers often maintain boundaries around what is considered acceptable content for younger readers (e.g., Coyne, Stockdale, Nelson, & Fraser, 2011 ; Shanahan, 2007 ). In contrast, adolescence and young adult literature has traditionally been the place where those boundaries are tested, where risqué language and content may be deemed an important part of the maturation process as the teenager struggles with authority ( Trites, 2004 ). However, arguments about whether YA is becoming too dark for the average adolescent (see Alexie, 2011 ; Gurdon, 2011 ) and debates in the media surrounding frequent adult readers of adolescent novels (see Graham, 2014 ; Howlett, 2015 ; Rosenberg, 2014 ; Wolitzer, 2014 ) intimate that young adult literature may be becoming even more adult in content. Current YA literature generally does not buffer readers from taboo topics, if it ever did, and it may present readers with realistic, sometimes vivid portrayals of profanity, sex, abuse, death, drugs, and rebellion against authority ( Campbell, 2007 ; McClung, 2012 ).

Readers do not usually transition immediately from books that avoid taboo topics to those which revel in them. The middle grade novel, therefore, exists as a critical limbo space where adult topics are mentioned, yet are handled with delicacy, evasion, and circumlocution. For middle grade writers and publishers, this requires balancing the demands of verisimilitude and the anxieties of age appropriateness ( Birdsall, 2013 ; Rosen, 2014 ). Middle grade novels carve a plot between the sacral space of childhood and the boundary-testing, authority-challenging blasphemy of young adulthood. This article will look at examples from one of the most successful middle grade novelists, Rick Riordan. By creating humorous pseudo-profanity, Riordan appeals to what he sometimes calls the “immature” humor of his young readers and manages to capture what seems to be one of the most important developmental tasks of this age: learning to balance self-expression and freedom of speech with personal responsibility and social awareness.

The Contexts of Code-Switching and Cursing Avoidance

In an essay about the importance of knowing your audience, Riordan blogged that after writing adult mysteries for ten years, the main stylistic choice that shifted when he debuted writing for middle grades with The Lightning Thief ( 2005 ) was that he left out profanity. He says:

While it is debatable whether Riordan did or did not make other linguistic and content switches when imagining a new, younger audience, what is salient here is the question of cursing, or rather, the creative avoidance thereof in books for middle school readers. Just as writing for children is conceived simultaneously, almost subconsciously, as a sacred trust and a subversive medium, Riordan approaches the sacred stories of various cultures with both mild irreverence and a deep respect, and he treats his middle grade subjects the same way. The use of offensive language in middle grade novels remains more controversial than that in novels for teenagers; therefore, authors often self-censor, drawing upon ideologies that assume that children and middle readers need at least a modicum of protection from “adult” subjects and language. Even though in some linguistic contexts using profanity is normative, in order to be considered full members of society, teens of all ages must learn the appropriate contexts for their expressive vocabulary. They need to learn to code-switch between formal and informal uses of language, and skillful novelists such as Riordan may provide models of ways to communicate in officially sanctioned and formal ways while amply allowing for humor, creativity, and self-expression.

The use of profanity by adolescents, although common, is still a behavior that especially younger teens need to learn to control and use in suitable contexts. Aitchison ( 2006 ) argues that as early teens experience a surge in vocabulary size, they “are learning how to adjust their language to the world(s) they live in.” Aitchison calls the skill of adapting language to differing linguistic contexts “appropriacy” (p. 20–21). Coyne, Callister, Nelson, Stockdale, and Wells ( 2012 ) investigated profanity in adolescent literature and state that most uses of profane language by adolescents are considered a socially unacceptable problem behavior. This reminds readers of YA novels that “profanity is included in several child or adolescent problem behavior checklists” and that when profanity is utilized “with the intent to hurt others it has been identified as a form of verbal aggression” (p. 361).

In her controversial essay about YA literature, “Darkness Too Visible,” Meghan Cox Gurdon ( 2011 ) theorized that “foul language is widely regarded among librarians, reviewers, and booksellers as perfectly OK, provided it emerges organically from the characters and setting rather than being tacked on for sensation . . . . But whether it’s language that parents want their children reading is another question” (para. 19–20). Two decades ago, Caroline Hunt ( 1996 ) contended, “Many books that speak directly to the adolescent experience use language that some adults do not like . . . . children’s books do not always involve obvious taboos, but the YA ones generally do” (p. 228). Undoubtedly, the issue of whether or not those subjects labeled taboo by critics, educators, politicians, and sociolinguists are allowable in books for adolescents is not as simple as either Gurdon or Hunt would paint it, and the use of more explicit content in schools still causes raging censorship battles. The Supreme Court wrote in Bethel School District no. 403 vs. Fraser , “It is a highly appropriate function of public school education to prohibit the use of vulgar and offensive terms in public discourse” ( First Amendment Center, 2015 ). Most schools have policies about the use of offensive language, although these policies are not always practicable to consistently enforce in hallways, and although teens are likely to hear and employ a wide variety of offensive language between classes, school texts are always liable to scrutiny (see National Coalition Against Censorship, n. d. ; Center for Public Education, 2006 ).

Timothy Jay ( 2007 ), a premier psycholinguistics researcher on cursing, believes that the ability to assess situations in which to use language that society considers profane is a maturation skill. Since “language values clearly vary from one community to another” (para. 1), it is difficult to gauge how well middle school students understand “the etiquette of swearing.” In a related work, Jay and Jay ( 2013 ) say that preteens are still learning the necessary sensitivity “to contextual or pragmatic variables (e.g. gender, age, ethnicity, social status or occupation of listener, social occasion, physical location) that constrain taboo word use” for adults (p. 473). It isn’t until children learn to “intellectually appreciate the impact of language on listeners and can empathize with them” ( 2007, para. 8 ) that they learn to evaluate which situations are appropriate for the use of taboo words.

Teachers often become the arbiters of district and school policies regarding profanity and may be caught in the crossfire in episodes of profane language usage in textbook selections, student written work, or classroom discussions. According to Jay’s ( 2007 ) research, it is useful for educators and anyone who deals with children’s media to be aware of these categories of offensive speech and the various situations they might encounter. He delineates these different categories of offensive language and demonstrates that each type of language “represents a different speaker intention”: “name calling, insulting, profanity, slang, vulgarity, obscenity, epithets, slurs, and scatology” (para. 4). Developing the language skills to appropriately navigate various social and academic settings while preparing for adult roles can be challenging. This involves continually increasing demands on a person’s vocabulary, but it also involves learning the contexts in which to use certain types of language. Jay ( 2009 ) reminds us, “We all grow up in a culture in which we have to learn which speech is appropriate and which is offensive in a given situation” (p. 91).

When it comes to profanity, this need for awareness of socially acceptable behaviors becomes even more apparent. Early adolescents may struggle to find ways to express themselves, but they might find models in fiction. Bandura and Walters ( 1963 ) theorized the importance of imitative models in the influencing of behavior and include textual models such as books. They argue that “the provision of models in actual or symbolic form is an exceedingly effective procedure for transmitting and controlling behavior” (p. 51). This influential social learning theory argues that the media children and teens consume likely affects their behaviors. Middle grade writers have the potential to influence their readers by modeling appropriate contexts for profanity use.

A number of writers have reflected on the issue of profanity in their blogs or have spoken out in interviews, but few have systematically described their thought and writing processes. Parry ( 2013 ) categorized the options that writers have in her essay, “To #%&* or Not to #%&* : Profanity in Fiction.” She considers the question, “Do you need swearing to sound authentic when writing for teens and adults?” She determined that:

Parry gives an example of ways that offensive language may affect reception, stating that middle grade books that include profanity will get shelved with the young adult titles. “On the other hand,” she says, “excessive swearing in any adult or YA books can come across as clichéd or amateurish” (para. 2). She reflects on the five different ways she deals with “an opportunity to use a swear word” (para. 2) in her novels. She may: 1) omit the word altogether; 2) reduce the amount of swearing a character may use; 3) evade using profanity; 4) substitute creative insults instead; and occasionally 5) commit to using profanity “when the first four choices are wrong for the voice of the character or the gravity of the situation” (para. 3–7). Musing on the same subject, Russell-Williams ( 2010 ) argues that swearing in children’s and young adult books “used to be pure anathema,” but now “it’s probably easier to get away with a cuss word in a children’s book than it is on the news.” She points out that going at rudeness obliquely, while being cautious about using invented profanity, is still probably the best way to go. That’s where creative avoidance of profanity becomes effective.

Riordan Models “Creative Cussing” Avoidance

Rick Riordan’s avoidance of most types of offensive language in his middle grade novels offers an interesting case study. A former teacher, he is cognizant of both the various ideologies used to define his readers and the adults who select, promote, or challenge his books. He has repeatedly claimed a pedagogical purpose in the instigation and continuation of his Percy Jackson series ( 2005–2009 ), which began as a way to motivate his son, who has ADHD and dyslexia, to engage with reading, and which Riordan also utilizes as a forum to teach readers about the myths from Greek, Egyptian, Roman, and Norse mythology. His interest in the welfare of his readers elucidates much of his motivation for self-censorship.

At the same time, if Riordan completely avoided taboo language, it might restrict his characterizations and realism (verisimilitude being one of the main arguments behind including controversial elements in books for middle grade or teen readers). Instead, he has turned this self-restriction into an asset. Like many other middle grade writers, Riordan exercises a modicum of self-censorship due to audience concerns. He models for his readers some ways to expertly avoid cursing while occasionally finding humor in skillfully manipulating language; this generally results in avoiding offensive language as a weapon against peers, but inserting it during life-and-death moments of extreme duress. He scaffolds methods of using language in socially acceptable ways by demonstrating often humorous and skillful ways not to curse (see Bright, 2013 ).

Language Has Nearly Divine Power
Riordan portrays early adolescents as heroic, powerful, yet self-conscious and awkward individuals who accomplish super-human tasks, including gaining linguistic maturity. He clearly expects his readers to be capable individuals and to accomplish their own super-human tasks along with the characters, such as recalling the names of dozens of mythical monsters, heroes, and gods. Along the way, he successfully balances ideas of the sacred and the profane, of reverence and irreverence, of prayer and sacrifice employed by his most heroic characters, contrasted with the blasphemy and curses in which the more negative characters indulge. This is true in both the mythic sense and the linguistic sense. There is a playful attitude toward modern profanity, as well as blasphemy against the Hellenic and Egyptian pantheons; however, boundaries are drawn. Disrespect is dangerous when those you are disrespecting are godly beings (and, in some cases, teachers at school).

Also, in Riordan’s tales, oaths aren’t just flippant phrases; they may be solemn promises made to the powers that be. In fact, curses may be more than just taboo language that sometimes causes listeners emotional harm; they may also be magical incantations that can cause bodily harm. Riordan’s first book, The Lightning Thief ( 2005 ), includes a caveat that it won’t deal with the religious or spiritual directly: “God—capital G, God. That’s a different matter altogether. We shan’t deal with the metaphysical” (p. 67). However, Riordan’s characters do learn to deal with the existence of “great beings that control the forces of nature and human endeavors: the immortal gods of Olympus” (p. 67). Language in Riordan’s novels literally has power to invoke the wrath or the blessings of the gods (or the junior high school principal) and is far more than a symbolic representation; Riordan’s version of potent cursing originates in the power of language to curse or bless in ancient Greco-Roman and Egyptian religious ritual and myth (see Faraone, 2005 ; Frankfurter, 2005 ).

Understanding the proper use of language is only one of the skills Riordan’s heroes demonstrate; his characters learn that names have power, and words are the language of creation. Predictably, as adolescents, the main characters aren’t always reverent about their relationships with the gods. For instance, the young Egyptian magicians use the sun disks on statues of Ra as basketball hoops, and Percy Jackson has a tendency to do impertinent things like ship Medusa’s severed head to Mt. Olympus. The relationships between Riordan’s protagonists, children of the Olympians or the Pharaohs, are reminiscent of the relationships between adolescents and any authority figures. The Greek gods in The Lightning Thief are portrayed as the ultimate deadbeat, absent parents. It’s unsurprising, then, that the demigods in the story teeter between respect for their parents’ godly powers and frustration and anger over their distance.

The creative cussing techniques that Riordan invents are part of that careful balance between reverence and irreverence. I use the term “creative cussing” in part because Riordan has been known to use the phrase himself, but also because when his characters curse, they speak in euphemisms rather than actual curses or other forms of profanity. In The Throne of Fire ( 2011 ), part of Riordan’s Kane Chronicles ( 2010–2012 ) series dealing with Egyptian mythology, the teen magicians are at the Brooklyn museum attempting to collect an artifact that could save the world from total annihilation when they encounter an obstacle in the form of a major protective enchantment. The narrator reports: “I muttered an Egyptian curse—the cussing kind, not the magic kind” (p. 21). In this case, the profanity is muted twice: first by it being in a different language, and second because the “cussing” is summarized rather than directly reported. A hint of a joke can be seen in the connection between magical curses and profanity, as well, which makes the mildness of the language function more as an intelligent choice made by the narrator, rather than an uncomfortable restriction.

Riordan’s characters already seem to understand when certain types of mild profanity might be socially acceptable and that name calling could harm others, but they allow for mildly rude nicknames as a form of middle school bonding (e.g., Seaweed Brain, Wise Girl, Chicken Man). None of the protagonists use racial epithets, and when bullies or more serious enemies use epithets, it is done off-stage. Taboo language is toned down or elided, just as some of the other “mature” content is modified to make it middle school appropriate. A striking example of this is when the riotous god of wine, Dionysus, is on probation as director of the demigod camp, and he is forced to drink Diet Coke instead of wine. This and the centaurs who get tipsy drinking root beer become a few of the many gags in the story where the bawdy Greek myths are modernized, but not exactly bowdlerized. The adult content is muted without insulting the intelligence of the middle school reader. Profanity is similarly modified to satisfy a sense of realism and propriety simultaneously.

Language Usage Reveals Character
For writers, an important part of characterization is deciding how different characters will speak as a means to distinguish them from each other. Along the way, writers must decide how these characters will react under the pressure of the plot. Much is revealed about a character’s personality, background, and choices by the language he or she uses. For instance, one of Riordan’s characters, Leo Valdez ( Mark of Athena , 2012 ), ran away from home at an early age and spent much time in the foster system. Instances where he uses mild oaths (e.g., “heck” or “dang”) or creative insults are notably higher than those of his peer Frank Zhang, who was raised in a conservative home with a strict Chinese grandmother. Another way that minor characters are painted with broad strokes is through their choice of epithets. A satyr (half-goat, half-man) traveling with the group of Greek and Roman heroes exclaims things like “Pan’s pipes!” and “Holy mother of goats!” Conversely, the son of Hades, god of the Underworld, says, “Oh, Styx” or “How in Tartarus?” (swearing by locations in the Underworld), while a Pegasus bellows, “Holy horse feed!” (a more equine oath).

Some of the most memorable creative cussing in Riordan’s books is when his heroes use ancient languages to curse. The attraction of swearing in a second language is one that many language learners are familiar with, lending this technique an air of getting away with the forbidden in a relatively safe manner. One of the first instances where Riordan uses this technique is in Lightning Thief when Percy Jackson first comes to the camp for demigods. His tour guide, Annabeth, orders a group of bullies to back off by crying, “Erre es korakas!”—literally translated as “Go to the crows!” in Greek (p. 89). Many characters invoke the Olympians by exclaiming, “Di Immortales!” (p. 125), and Percy finds himself speaking in tongues when he spontaneously shouts, “Braccas meas vescimini!” or “Eat my pants!” (p. 166).

Other times, characters make oaths casually or seriously to relieve stress in life-or-death situations or to make promises. More frequently used exclamations, such as “By the gods” or “May the fates forbid,” may be complemented with original profanity using Egyptian concepts like “By Ra’s Throne,” “Thoth’s Beak,” or “Holy Horus!” In the Greco-Roman stories, “Pluto’s Pauldron’s,” “Hephaestus’s Hand Grenades,” “Mars Almighty!” and even “Poseidon’s Underpants!” represent some of the creative phrases Riordan invented to use in his novels. Many moments of creative cussing involve humorous homophones. In one scene in Titan’s Curse ( 2007 ), a group of questing demigods reaches Hoover Dam. One character, an immortal huntress of Artemis, uses archaic language and misses the nuances of modern English. She cracks up the rest of the group when she says:

In Son of Neptune ( 2011 ), one character, Hazel, who can control precious gems and metals, uses a large outcropping of semi-precious stone to escape some small demons. She doesn’t know the name of the stone she has pulled up from the ground until her pursuers curse the stone for stopping them:

Reporting or summarizing the cursing that other characters engage in occasionally becomes an opportunity to provide a few cheap laughs. Percy of Son of Neptune ( 2011 ) can understand the speech of horses, which results in a translation of only part of what the horse snorts at the group in one particular scene:

Readers may find in Riordan’s novels subtle reminders that using strong language in front of authority figures can lead to trouble; they may also learn that while rude language can sometimes help them gain status with their peer groups, using such language in humorous ways works better than simply being crude or abrasive. They will also discover that saving taboo words for stressful situations rather than using them on a daily basis gives them more cathartic power (see also Stephens, 2011 ).

Riordan appears completely aware of the possible impact his creative cussing avoidance may have on his audience. He demonstrates that avoiding profanity while attempting to create realistic characters and situations requires a fine balance. In Mark of Athena ( 2012 ), one of his less-restrained characters, Leo Valdez, is initially scornful of his fellow quester Frank Zhang’s use of mild epithets: “‘Dang it!’ Frank barked, which Leo figured was probably severe profanity for him. No doubt Frank would’ve cursed some more—bursting out the golly gees and gosh darns —but Percy interrupted” (p. 260).

Avoiding Oath-breaking, Blasphemy, and Other Social Etiquette
When characters swear oaths, most of the time they are making solemn promises that have dire consequences if broken. For example, if someone swears by the River Styx and breaks it, the punishment can be severe. Oath-breakers, or those who are faithless to their friends, are villains. Similarly, when someone invokes a magical curse similar to those in Egyptian tombs or otherwise calls down godly wrath on someone, the curse generally gets results, as in the exploding donkey curse or the curse for summoning fruit bats. There are even mythical creatures that embody the curses of dead enemies, such as the aria in House of Hades ( 2013, p. 227 ).

It is notable that by far the most commonly used actual profanity in Riordan’s books is the use of “Oh, my gods!” as an expression of surprise, annoyance, disgust, fear, or sometimes just as a filler word or phrase. Casual blasphemy that would have been elided or eliminated in nineteenth-century novels has become a commonplace interjection, almost a nonce word. The plural is typically used to make it contextually appropriate, just as Hades replaces hell in most of the characters’ exclamations.

It is important to note that the context in which the offensive language or use of an avoidance technique appears can impact their reception. Mildly offensive language may be used to add comic relief to a situation. Insults may be used for social bonding or as weapons, depending on the way they are used. It is important for adolescents to learn the social etiquette surrounding taboo words, and Riordan’s characters model many of these avoidance techniques. Educators can have fruitful conversations talking about situations in which formal and informal language should be used, including slang or insults. However, discussions of profanity in class should be handled carefully. Riordan’s work may aid middle school or high school classes in discussions of socially acceptable contexts for various types of language and code-switching, thus helping students learn to move confidently from one language register to another.

Categories of Creative Profanity Avoidance or “Creative Cussing”

In this section, I’ve categorized a number of ways that taboo language may be avoided in any type of novel, and I’ve included clarifying examples. It should be noted, however, that Riordan’s work does not use every one of these methods. The chart in Appendix A (which contains page numbers and book references for each of the italicized quotations below) catalogs Rick Riordan’s wide use of a variety of these profanity avoidance techniques in his first two series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians ( 2005–2009 ) and Kane Chronicles ( 2010-2012 ). (Interested parties may contact me for copies of data from Riordan’s Heroes of Olympus series [ 2011–2013 ].) In the Appendix, each type of profanity avoidance or use is organized into the following categories:

A. Character never curses; no replacement necessary

B. Swearing is summarized; e.g., she swore , he cussed

C. Grawlixes; use of a string of symbols to replace offensive language (e.g., #@$%!) is more common in graphic novels and comics than in regular novels.

D. Partial excision; some letters in the word are elided, shortened with hyphens, or turned into acronyms. (This is not a very common method in recent years, although a character who is beginning to swear may be cut off by another character in conversation, leaving just a hint of what was to come. The most modern version of this may be the texting acronym of OMG for “Oh my God.”)

E. Spelling changed to fit a dialect; e.g., dem for damn

F. Contracted phrase; e.g., helluva

G. Swearing in another language; e.g., di immortales, vlacas, bifurcum

H. Archaisms; e.g., zounds, blast

I. Minced oaths; commonly used replacement words—e.g., golly, heck, flipping, bleep

J. Euphemisms; e.g., kick you in your soft spot

K. Homophones; words that sound like profanity but aren’t (e.g., schist, dam)

L. Invented replacement words or phrases; this can be done very well or very badly. Too many middle grade fantasy books only use one replacement word ( Artemis Fowl [ Colfer, 2001 ] uses D’Arvit and nothing else). This is where Riordan’s work is above average, often using the names of mythical places or people—e.g., Hades’ gym shorts! By the twelve gates of night! Pan’s pipes! .

M. The Captain Haddock approach; in the Tintin books (1929–1986; Haddock appears first in The Adventures of Tintin, Vol. 3 , 1932), Hergé used long strings of erudite, tangential words for his hard-swearing sea captain—e.g., billions of blistering blue barnacles . (See Lopresti, 2009 .)

N. Characters curse; generally the choice of words is still mild in middle grade fiction and nearly nonexistent in writing for younger children. The terms that are found in middle grade fiction are most likely to be blasphemous (e.g., my god ) rather than execratory or sexual in nature (e.g., suck). See Ursula Vernon’s Dragonbreath ( 2009 ).

O. Miscellaneous; speech acts related to swearing, but that aren’t actually acts of profaning. These include blessings, curses, insults, invocations, oaths, and names.

Implications for Instruction

Much more research can be done on the ways that Riordan’s work and other middle grade novels differ linguistically, thematically, or materially from those marketed as children’s books or young adult books. However, it is useful for educators and other promoters of these books to realize that most middle grade authors do see their readers as qualitatively and quantitatively different from older teens or children. While these young people are beginning to find ways to articulate their own experiences, a good novel may help them learn linguistic etiquette and originality.

Instructors can benefit from initiating classroom conversations about how language is never used in isolation. The context in which certain types of language are used is as critical as the words themselves ( Jay, 2009 ). It can be valuable for language arts instruction to explore together issues of school and workplace policies of propriety, respect, selfexpression, censorship, and other related debates, such as dress codes. Students may be asked to identify creative profanity avoidance, insults, and/or slang in various novels and then comment on the contexts of usage in each instance. Studying the ways in which middle grade authors deal with the appropriateness of certain types of language may be paired with secondary materials relating to First Amendment issues or cases where a student or teacher faced censure (including suspensions and firings) due to controversies surrounding profanity (see Sutton, 1992 ). It can be useful to have students write honest reflections about the types of slang, grammar, insults, and even profanity that may be common in their home lives, perhaps contrasting that with the expectations that schools have. Students may also participate in the crafting of a classroom policy on respectful language use with an acknowledged goal that all students feel the classroom space is a safe haven, free for self-expression while free from any forms of verbal abuse.

Simultaneously, it is important to be aware that students come from broadly divergent backgrounds, and how a child speaks can be closely tied to identity. Vajra M. Watson’s ( 2013 ) study deals brilliantly with the complications surrounding language use and systems of power that disenfranchise and silence many student voices. She wishes instructors to be aware that “classroom decorum is a culturally based assumption” (p. 403). One of her recommendations is that “teachers remain open to the truths students speak while offering them the tools to understand their audience, and furthermore, to code-switch when they deem it necessary and useful” (p. 403). Rick Riordan’s strategies and those used by many other professional writers who have already had to grapple with the tension between writing honestly and writing respectfully, may empower some of those students to find a way to enrich their own voices.

Genevieve Ford is an assistant professor at Utah State University’s Blanding campus, located near the Navajo and Ute reservations in southern Utah. Her doctorate specialized in children’s and young adult authorial memoirs. Her most recent publication was on the subject of cultural sensitivity in the classroom. Her areas of interest are Native American literature for children, authorship, and pedagogy. A highlight of her career was when, at an interdisciplinary conference, Jerry Spinelli mused that he hadn’t used the name Genevieve yet, and he might just have to steal her name someday.

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Russell-Williams, I. (2010, September 8). Curse of swearing in children’s books [Web log message]. The Guardian Book Blog . Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2010/sep/08/swearing-childrens-books .

Shanahan, S. (2007). Lost and found: The sociological ambivalence toward childhood. Annual Review of Sociology, 33 , 407–428.

Stephens, R. (2011). Swearing as a response to pain—effect of daily swearing frequency. The Journal of Pain, 12 , 1274–1281.

Sutton, K. D. (1992). Profanity in schools: Academic freedom and the First Amendment. Clearing House, 65 , 146–148.

Trites, R. (2004). Disturbing the universe: Power and repression in adolescent literature . Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Press.

Watson, V. M. (2013). Censoring freedom: Community-based professional development and the politics of profanity. Equity and Excellence in Education, 46 , 387–410.

Wolitzer, M. (2014, October 17). Look homeward, Reader: A not-so-young audience for young adult books. The New York Times . Retrieved from www.nytimes.com/2014/10/19/fashion/a-not-so-young-audience-for-young-adult-books.html .

Young Adult Fiction Cited

Colfer, E. (2001). Artemis Fowl . New York, NY: Hyperion Books.

Hergé. (1994–2007). The adventures of Tintin. New York, NY: Little Brown. (Originals published 1929–1986)

Riordan, R. (2005–2009). Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. New York, NY: Disney-Hyperion.

Riordan, R. (2005). Lightning thief . New York, NY: Disney-Hyperion.

Riordan, R. (2006). Sea of monsters . New York, NY: Miramax- Hyperion.

Riordan, R. (2007). Titan’s curse . New York, NY: Disney-Hyperion.

Riordan, R. (2008). Battle of the labyrinth . New York, NY: Disney-Hyperion.

Riordan, R. (2009). Last Olympian . New York, NY: Disney- Hyperion.

Riordan, R. (2010–2012). Kane Chronicles series. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Riordan, R. (2010). Red pyramid . New York, NY: Scholastic.

Riordan, R. (2011–2013). Heroes of Olympus series . New York, NY: Hyperion.

Riordan, R. (2011). Son of Neptune . New York, NY: Hyperion.

Riordan, R. (2011). Throne of fire . New York, NY: Scholastic.

Riordan, R. (2012). Mark of Athena . New York, NY: Hyperion.

Riordan, R. (2012). Serpent’s shadow . New York, NY: Scholastic.

Riordan, R. (2013). House of Hades . New York, NY: Hyperion.

Vernon, U. (2009). Dragonbreath . New York, NY: Dial Books.

Appendix A:

Profanity Usage and Creative Avoidance in Percy Jackson and the Olympians (2005–2009) and the Kane Chronicles (2010–2012)