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Young Adult Fiction Is Dark For A Reason

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Sunflowercat
06/09/09

In reply to Young Adult Fiction Is Dark For A Reason
I read a few of the SVH books, but stuff like Second Star to the Right, Z for Zachariah (I grew up in the Reagan years and was sure every day was going to end in nuclear war), The Girl in the Box, and The Late Great Me were much more my speed. I think they still live in boxes at my dad's house, while I distinctly remember Jessica, Elizabeth, Bruce et. al. got hauled to a used bookstore while I was in college.

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...
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maybeimamazed02
06/09/09

@Sunflowercat: Sherman Alexie spoke at my then-boyfriend's brother's graduation about ten years ago. He was amazing.
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Tart of Darkness
06/09/09

In reply to Young Adult Fiction Is Dark For A Reason
I just read a YA book called "Willow". It is very dark -- about a girl (Willow) who caused the car accident that killed her parents. Her way of dealing with her feelings is to cut. The author does an okay job of describing cutting and her feelings.

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.
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millelilly
06/08/09

In reply to Young Adult Fiction Is Dark For A Reason
Anyone read the book "THe Scarlet Ibis"? I think it was a short story, but it dealt with a boy who didn't like his brother because he was disabled, and the disabled boy dies and the first boy has to deal with his feelings of guilt at possibly contributing to his death. Deep and dark. I read it in high school in the early nineties.

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.
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queen sara saturday
06/09/09

@millelilly: I read "The Scarlet Ibis" in ninth grade and remember needing to sit down in a warm, safe corner for a little while after reading it. Very heavy stuff, but obviously memorable.

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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maybeimamazed02
06/09/09

@queen sara saturday: Scarlet Ibis in ninth grade almost killed me. I was so freaked out, disturbed and saddened by it. Excellent story.
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Elmo
06/08/09

In reply to Young Adult Fiction Is Dark For A Reason
I must say, The Hunger Games was awesome. You could not pull that book out of my hands until I was done.
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taranwanderer
06/08/09

@Pterodactyl: Just wait until you read the sequel, Catching Fire. Holy shit amazing!!
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maybeimamazed02
06/09/09

@Pterodactyl: Hunger Games was friggin' awesome. It's in development for a film, which could kick ass IF they do it right.
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cuckoobananapants
06/08/09

In reply to Young Adult Fiction Is Dark For A Reason
I remember wanting there to be fun, light escapist reading about teens when I was a teen, but it seemed like there was nothing, only books like the ones described in this article. If you're actually going through the things the teens in these books are going through (sexual molestation, abusive parents), those are the last things you want to read about. All I wanted as a teen were stories about girls having great, happy lives, since that seemed like something I'd never, ever have. I never understood why all my friends with "satisfactory home lives" loved these sad books. I'm so happy there are funny books for teens now, so girls who went through what I went through as a kid can escape to a happy place. Thank God for Paula Danziger. She was my life line.
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Tart of Darkness
06/09/09

@cuckoobananapants: I personally think this is why Harry Potter became so wildly popular -- preteens and teens were sick to death of issues driven books and prefer to read something with a real story to it.
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anibundel
06/08/09

In reply to Young Adult Fiction Is Dark For A Reason
One Title:

Water Babies.
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meritxell: an erotic life
06/08/09

In reply to Young Adult Fiction Is Dark For A Reason
I'm pretty sure I read every Fear Street book:

and Christopher Pike (sexier!)

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scubachick
06/08/09

In reply to Young Adult Fiction Is Dark For A Reason
I think Many books by Roald Dahl belong in the category of dark young adult fiction (although some definitely skew younger than many of the books being discussed in this thread). I read everything he wrote as a child, and recall liking that they were more complex than other books available for that age range. Looking back, I can see that most of the appeal was in the fact that Dahl didn't talk down to kids, and allowed for his child characters to have nuanced lives and personalities, much like actual children. In a time when many authors avoided any hint of darkness in children's books, Dahl did his readers a favor in embracing the dark and light sides to life. The stories he created, with all their fancy, would not have had the decades long impact they have had if not for the darkness of some of the issues they tackled.
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maybeimamazed02
06/09/09

@scubachick: I remember when we were 12, my best guy friend at the time told me to read Matilda because "it's the first book that made me cry." Loved it.

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).
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la.donna.pietra
06/08/09

In reply to Young Adult Fiction Is Dark For A Reason
I was also hugely into the most depressing music I could lay hands on (thank you, Skinny Puppy, Bauhaus, Robert Smith and Co., etc.) as a teenager.

Now, at age 33, I have a thing for Taylor Swift.

I think I'm doing it wrong.
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Maulleigh
06/08/09

In reply to Young Adult Fiction Is Dark For A Reason
When I was a kid, Forever was about the hottest book in town. That screwed me up royalty. I'd be in a nunnery now if it weren't for that book.
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madamequeen will not let you sleep on the couch
06/08/09

In reply to Young Adult Fiction Is Dark For A Reason
Well, in high school they assigned books that were about angsty- ish teens and difficult issues, like A Separate Peace and All Quiet on the Western Front, and The Scarlett Letter. A lot of the classics kids start reading in 8th or 9th grade have more sophisticated themes.

How I remember reveling in the angst of Romeo and Juliet!
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la.donna.pietra
06/08/09

@madamequeen will not let you sleep on the couch: I don't think I was assigned to read anything funny or non-tragic in high school at all. Shakespeare's comedies had too much sex to be taught in class--we got the tragedies instead. The closest we may have come was Kurt Vonnegut.
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maybeimamazed02
06/09/09

@madamequeen will not let you sleep on the couch: I went to a jock school and most of my classmates were not readers. That said, everyone LOVED R&J and To Kill a Mockingbird.
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eve804
06/08/09

In reply to Young Adult Fiction Is Dark For A Reason
Speaking of dark: I LIVED on Christopher Pike from about 11-14. I read and re-read all of his books, which were awesomely dark, full of murder and sex among teenagers. God, I loved those books.
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meritxell: an erotic life
06/08/09

@eve804: OMG - I know. So much more "edgy" than R.L. Stine.
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maybeimamazed02
06/09/09

@eve804: His adult books rock, too. He's kind of a weird person, but a really interesting writer.
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maybeimamazed02
06/08/09

In reply to Young Adult Fiction Is Dark For A Reason
I've recommended this particular novel several times, but Francesca Lia Block's Wasteland is one of the best YA novels out there--and it deals with one of the most taboo topics out there.

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.
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AprilLayne
06/08/09

@maybeimamazed02: Thanks for mentioning "Wasteland". I just looked it up on Amazon, and it looks fascinating. I hadn't heard of it before.

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.
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maybeimamazed02
06/09/09

@AprilLayne: As Weetzie said below, Wasteland is very hard to read at times. Then again, some of the best books/movies/TV shows can be very difficult to witness.

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.
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YourScreenplaySucks
06/08/09

In reply to Young Adult Fiction Is Dark For A Reason
Roiphe may be a little off-base with her claim that "until recently, the young-adult fiction section at your local bookstore was a sea of nubile midriffs set against pink and turquoise background

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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Shamrockette
06/08/09

In reply to Young Adult Fiction Is Dark For A Reason
This definitely explains why The Giver is one of my all-time favorite books. It was so dark and mysterious, plus it dealt with young adolescent feelings and not being allowed to feel. But it also had a sense of hope to it and I cheered on Jonas.
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limber
06/08/09

@Shamrockette: I read "The Beach" as a teenager, and man, that did quite a lot for my worldview.

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.
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