Many of you have probably already heard about the article in the Wall Street Journal last week by Meghan Cox Gurdon, Darkness Too Visible. It seems that every few years, there is an influential op-ed piece that decries the horrors of current YA literature, and this article is the most recent. In it, the author expresses dismay that the current crop of literature for teens is unrelentingly dark, with themes of abuse, mental illness, vampires, self-mutilation, with nothing for teens (or more likely parents) who don’t want this sort of thing. The article starts by describing a mother’s experience in a Barnes and Noble, where she was unable to find anything that isn’t depressing or violent or filled with other objectionable content.

Obviously, this woman should have gone to a library, where any of you could have pulled out 10-20 books on the spot that would have fit her needs. But I feel sorry for her daughter–what if the right book at the right time for her is not sweet enough for her mother’s taste? Cecil Castellucci has a great response in the LA Times, where, among other things, she points out that giving a kid a book that grabs them “is kind of like giving that kid superpowers. Because one book leads to the next book and the next book and the next book and that is how a world-view grows. That is how you nourish thought.”

Or the NPR Monkey See Monkey Do post by Linda Holmes, who said, among other things: “It’s difficult to say to a teenager, ‘We don’t even let you read about anyone who cuts herself; it’s that much of a taboo. But by all means, if you’re cutting yourself, feel free to tell a trusted adult.'”

I had the pleasure of spending some time this weekend with some smart, witty, and very well read teens who had read Gurdon’s article and a few of the responses to it. They were irritated by the article, and enjoyed the responses. Many jokes about the depravity that YA literature has inspired in them were made (accidentally poked the dog? Must be all those dark YA books you read!)

I have found the discussion interesting, and I wonder if you do too? What do you think about all of this? Do you have enough on your shelf to offer to kids who aren’t interested in dark and gritty themes? Do you see the positive impact of books of all types on the kids you work with? What else? What else??