aprilhenry

Yes. And no, I don't want to write it or read it. I have to deal with the adult results in my husband's issues daily. His stories would...injure you, April. Seriously.

I didn't really get offended by the WSJ article - in many ways I agreed. I don't ACTUALLY think the YA readers need to be "protected" from life....and there are libraries full of Literature out there in which no protection whatsoever is provided. My issue is with the crap quality of YA, the ridiculous amount of it on the shelves now (the crap), and the reality that at my B&N the ONLY things in the YA section are paranormal. Your amazing "Girl Stolen" is NOT in my local brick-and-mortar but there are five outward facing copies of the old Vampire Diaries. WTF?

Oh the stories I could tell you....

Marla (child welfare employee)

I'll bet you could!!

I agree that for many teens, life isn't all that. Mine certainly wasn't. Granted, we didn't live in the best part of town, but only one of my friends had what we would consider a 'normal' life. Because of that, I grew up craving humorous, kind, light fiction. More than anything, I needed to know there was a better life out there to aspire to. What was the point of escaping into a world that was all too familiar to me already?

I guess if you feel like you're alone, and no one else has the same problems. Or if the book ends with hope.

I had pretty happy childhood if you take out the sexually abusive babysitter....

In that way (feeling alone, I mean,) that wasn't a problem. Everyone around us had struggles. Maybe not the same as mine, but equally painful to them, and even then I knew that. My comment was geared more toward an explanation as to why I wouldn't read books that mirrored my own experiences at that age. To me, it was all about 'anywhere but here!' Preferably some other planet.

Although I might have if it was done in a humorous way. Now that would be a challenge.

I saw a similar story in Oregon last year. Only I think it was a mom.