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posts about #thewhysofya more →
Young Adult Fiction Is Dark For A Reason
| posts about #thewhysofya more → |
Young Adult Fiction Is Dark For A Reason |
06/09/09
I just read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian last week and wished it had been around when I was a kid -- it was the perfect combination of dark and hilarious...
06/09/09
06/09/09
But ends the book by having her give up cutting after she has sex with her dream guy.
That's quite a burden on real dream guy boyfriends of cutters and the cutters themselves. I gave the book a million thumbs down in my head.
06/08/09
I also remember reading a book about a girl whose father (?) was abusive. they had a pregnant hamster (?) which the girl finds in the bathtub dead with the babies all cut out. Not too pleasant.
And the one where homeless teenagers are put into a building full of stairs in an experiment to see who will do what for food, for safety, etc? That wasn't a recent book, either.
Dark themes appeal to teenagers. Always have, always will. Good literature exposes people to themes and concepts that will help them make sense out of the world.
Jessica and Elizabeth WAkefield and thier perfect size 6 bodies would be totally fat and made fun of now.
Christopher Pike was my favorite for a long, long time. Most of his stories still stay with me.
06/09/09
I agree that dark themes appeal, but I liked twist-of-the-knife dark, like the story you mentioned - it's not pure gore and darkness, but poignant, and made so by the possibility of light.
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Water Babies.
06/08/09
and Christopher Pike (sexier!)
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06/09/09
Even Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is really damn dark. I remember reading it when I was eight and really appreciating that (though I probably couldn't have articulated it at that age).
06/08/09
Now, at age 33, I have a thing for Taylor Swift.
I think I'm doing it wrong.
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How I remember reveling in the angst of Romeo and Juliet!
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Hunger Games is fantastic...everything Twilight wishes it could be, with a much more empowered heroine.
I don't always agree with Roiphe, but I like her opinions on this topic.
06/08/09
I'm not that familiar with Francesca Lia Block, but anyone who writes a YA book about an incestuous love affair has to be cool.
06/09/09
If you like it, try her other stuff--I've never read an FLB book I didn't at least really like, if not love. Violet and Claire is another one of my faves.
06/08/09
Hell yeah, she's off-base. Says Regina Morrow of Sweet Valley High fame- "Bitch, I'm DEAD. And before that I was deaf & kidnapped. That's not "dark" & "troubled" enough for you?"
And you know what else is "dark"? Tricia Martin dying of leukemia. Or even worse, Lila Fowler making fun of your shoes! Jessica with her aquamarine eyes and perfect size 6 figure deciding she wants your boyfriend!That is hardcore. Kids nowadays think they're all hard & shit. Please.
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06/08/09
It's a safe way for kids to experience big, scary, enormous things in a very visceral way. When they encounter something like it in the real world later, in a much more remote way usually, they've got a template for it.
'Course, I also inexplicably found out about Sylvia Likens at a pretty young age. Which was scary in an entirely different way.