Darkness is Just the Same

What parents call depressing young adult literature now, is what we have grown up our
whole lives. To insult our past reading lives is a lack of understanding. These books help 
us understand that this has happened before like Maureen Johnson says in the article "Yes, teen fiction can be dark – but it shows teenagers they aren't alone".

This darkness that has been around in books for as long as we can remember has not been appearing more and more but has been appearing in different forms. The books are different portrayals of life that reflect the youth of today. In the article, Johnson argues that "There isn't a YA writer alive who is out writing books to corrupt youth". For example, like stated in the article, no author who writes about self-harm is teaching self-harm. I agree with this because we don't read about these things easily. They provide information about the teenage life.

Personally, I think that teen literature is fascinating. The complexity and depth that the authors provide engages the reader and also helps them understand more in life. “If subjects like these are in YA books, it's to show that they are real, they have happened to others, and they can be survived." This quote represents the entirety of the subject. This is because almost all of the themes in YA books relate to a current day teenage problem.

Overall, all teen books are represented badly by the label of "dark" or "gruesome". We are familiar with all the topics in the books so to us, the most common readers of his genre, it is no surprise. The article really represented that idea and spoke for those who are afraid to defend our generation’s books.