Helloooo Readers! Welcome back. Were you attracted to this article because of the picture with the large ax?

Sicko. But, you know, in a good way. My favorite kind of person way!

This weekend I'll be speaking about the "Dark Side of YA" at a conference. And I'm so excited!! Because I am the type of person who loves a good horror movie, a great haunted house, a terrifying ghost story. I was born on Halloween.


For real! In short? I love darkness. I LOVE IT. All kinds--paranormal, fantasy, or real.

Now, darkness in YA? Do I love that?

Yep. 

Not everyone does. And understandably so. Parents, school administrators, other gatekeepers are in charge of taking care of kids. KIDS! Kids who have it tough already, who have to navigate this really crazy, hard world. Protecting them is their job. So I get it. We want to shelter them and keep them from the hardships or the world for as long as we can. It's tough out there. 

Meghan Cox Gurdon, in her 2011 WSJ article, suggested that things have gone too far and that darkness is overrunning YA. Her article spawned a fierce debate, not the least of which was the hashtag #YASaves. And the debate is far from over. 

My favorite rebuttal to Gurdon's article was from Sherman Alexie. You can, and should in my opinion, read the article here. But just recently, because the debate is still on, I read this piece in Time by Gayle Forman. And I wholeheartedly land on the side of Alexie and Forman.

Because, see, the crux of Gurdon's article talked about protection--which is understandable--but then teetered into what I consider to be dangerous territory. And that is the idea that teens don't encounter darkness. That these books are somehow not reflective of their lives.

Few teens have been kidnapped like in THE BUNKER DIARY. Rarely, as far as I know, do we pit our kids against each other in a sadistic Mad Max-like contest that leaves one kid alive as in THE HUNGER GAMES. But that doesn't mean the themes of life and death, injustice and helplessness, systemic oppression and ruthless greed don't have purchase in teens' lives. On the contrary, to ignore these things is dangerous. To tell teens, "it's fine," when it patently isn't, does no one favors. And just isn't true. They see these things in their lives, they live them.

And what about those "dark" books that DON'T take place in a dystopic world or in a fraught premise? What about those books that deal with issues that sadly happen all too often in teens' lives? SPEAK, WINTERGIRLS, and THIRTEEN REASONS WHY. What about Forman's IF I STAY and Alexie's THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN? Or ELEANOR AND PARK or MONSTER?

These books not only allow for reflection for those teens whose lives resemble these stories, but allow insight for those blessed enough to not live these lives. And this world could use more empathy, wouldn't you agree?

In short, I understand the worry for teens. It IS hard out there. We DO want to protect them. But the fact of the matter is bad things happen and we won't always be there for them. And when we can't be, maybe a dark book will provide a place of solace and understanding that can't otherwise be provided.

There's nothing dark about that.

Thanks for reading, and as always: Read on, Readers! Dark stuff or not. :)