There's A Book With Necrophilia And Rape Being Recommended To Tweens And GMA Called It A Must-Read

It is a widely known fact that as our world progresses movies, music, television, and the internet have gotten drastically more violent and sexual. As parents and educators in this modern world, we do our absolute best to give our children appropriate content specifically made for children. With that being said, what if I told you authors are sneaking subjects like rape and necrophilia into the “Young Adult” genre meant specifically for readers aged 11-17 years old?

“No way!” You might say, “I only make sure my kids read appropriate books by well-known, Young Adult authors from our local library.” Try as you might, it’s still being hidden and promoted right beneath your nose.

The book in question, causing waves of controversy online, is none other than Sibylline by Melissa De La Cruz, Good Morning America’s Young Adult pick for their book club for February 2026. Does the author sound familiar? Well, Melissa De La Cruz also happens to be the author of The Isle of The Lost (Descendants) book series which turned into the ultra-famous Descendants movies made by Disney/Disney Channel.

The book Sibylline was published a little over a month ago on February 3rd, 2026, but the novel faced massive negative backlash before it was even published. ARC readers (readers who received advanced copies of the book before publication) took to Goodreads right away to speak out about the inappropriate content, but it seems that, despite the feedback, no changes were made by the author or publisher, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers.

You might be thinking by now, “I doubt this is actually true; no author nor publisher would ever approve of something that terrible,” in which case you’d be wrong. In Sibylline’s Chapter 40 a character named Atticus dies, and his death is explicitly stated and implied over ten times within the three page chapter by the accompanying characters Raven and Dorian. To quote the exact text in Chapter 40: “He’s not breathing, he’s not moving.”(Page 281), “He’s dead–Atticus is dead.”(Page 281), “Atticus isn’t breathing,”(Page 281), “But he doesn’t move. Doesn’t wake.”(Page 282), “He’s dead.”(Page 282), and “‘he’s gone.’” (Page 282).

The characters not only engage in oral sex, vaginal sex, anal sex, and ejaculation, but they do all of it non-consensually with Atticus’s dead body.

With the characters Raven and Dorian fully under the assumption and understanding that Atticus is dead, in Chapter 41 they proceed to sexually assault and rape Atticus to bring him back to life. Chapter 41 is in Atticus’s perspective, and the quotes from the chapter are the following: “Someone is undressing me,”(Page 284), “they are undressing themselves as well.” (Page 284), “Now Raven’s breast is against my mouth,”(Page 284), “Dorian presses his erection against my back.”(Page 284), “Raven’s hands are on my shaft, guiding me, and as I plunge into her, Dorian’s thrusting into me. And the three of us are making love with each other,”(Page 285), and “Raven shudders first, then me, then Dorian.”(Page 285).

While it is mentioned that the characters are over eighteen years of age, this book is intentionally published for readers that are not. The characters not only engage in oral sex, vaginal sex, anal sex, and ejaculation, but they do all of it non-consensually with Atticus’s dead body.

As of right now, Sibylline by Melissa De La Cruz has 2.52 stars on Goodreads and continues to drop every day with 1-star reviews. Despite this, the controversial novel still remains in the Teen/Young Adult sections of public libraries and schools nationally.

As a 23-year-old woman and mother myself, I only discovered the horrors of this book when I borrowed it from my local public library and went to read it for my own enjoyment. Upon discovering the undisclosed assault scenes, I immediately contacted all of my local public libraries and schools urging them to immediately remove this from the “Teen/Young Adult” sections and instead be moved to “Adult” sections. Within hours of my emails and calls, everyone I contacted viewed the graphic content in question, profusely agreed, and began the switch or removal effective immediately.

Despite this, the controversial novel still remains in the Teen/Young Adult sections of public libraries and schools nationally.

It is extremely concerning that this book does not have any trigger warnings nor content warnings regarding the explicit scenes and implications directed towards minors. As time has gone on, the line between books meant for pre-teens, teens, and adults has blurred into the questionable and undefined age rating of “Young Adult.” The blatant sexualization of teen literature presents much darker and inappropriate themes than what should be categorized in the broad and often misleading “Young Adult” genre. Publishing companies, as well as authors, should absolutely be held responsible for this clear distinction before a novel is released for public consumption. Without content warnings, parents, guardians, educators, and libraries could easily and unknowingly provide children and/or teens with a book that is not actually appropriate for their age range.

It is our responsibility as parents, guardians, educators, and adults to fiercely protect the innocence of children and teens from grooming and pedophilia in all media. Minors should never be subjected to sexualized content, and its normalization only deepens a crisis that is already devastating the United States and the rest of the world.