I claim to write wholesome books. Members of the Cast certainly meets the standard. No one cusses, has sex, or uses substances. It has been suggested that claiming Clean & Wholesome is condescending and derogatory toward books that aren’t—whatever that means. That very statement reminds me of the old lady who fired the hired hand for whistling dirty songs. I do not say my books are wholesome to put other books down. I know that kids cuss, have sex, and get high—just not in my books. I also hope there are kids who don’t do these things.
Joan Beaz’s song “Diamonds and Rust,” says “Give me another word for it, you who are so good with words and at keeping things vague.” I use the word wholesome with no thought of other books. I use the word as a signal to readers that kids in my books won’t use the F word, won’t sleep around, and won’t get drunk. If Wholesome is condescending, then “Give me another word for it, you who are so good with words…”
The Ship from Wolfskill is different from Members of the Cast. Freebooters are a terrible bunch who rob, pillage, and burn. They regard women as something to be used and disposed of with no forethought or afterthought. These are bad men and in the battle against their aggression, some die. There are times when the “heroes” come close to torture in an effort to save lives. While this may not be “Clean & Wholesome,” the violence is anything but gratuitous. It is what Laura, in the book, calls “the tragic choice.”*
So, is The Ship from Wolfskill Clean and Wholesome? I say, yes, but what do I know. By Niebuhr’s definition of the tragic choice, Will and his companions kill for “higher or equal” reasons. Without intervention, Freebooters would continue to take what is not theirs and hurt the innocent. (The book was written long before the war in Ukraine.)
* Reinhold Niebuhr
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