That's why this isn't PG 13

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article about the violence and dark subject matter portrayed in young adult novels. The author clearly thought there was something wrong with this and many YA authors wrote their own replies objecting to this story. I, for one, also disagree with the point of view of the story.
First of all, the topics discussed in this article such as depression, suicide, murder, rape, cutting, are all real issues for teens. We not only know that these things happen, but we've witnessed our friends and maybe even ourselves go through it. We read these books to relate, to get informed, to satisfy our curiosity, and to also entertain. It doesn't even matter whether it has a happy ending for the conflicted main character. What matters is the things we can take away from the book. The themes about the importance of family and forgiveness, loss and life, sadness and happiness.
Teenagers are very aware of what goes on in the real world. So why should we read books about ponies and rainbows? I certainly don't think there's any shame in reading what we want.
Decide for yourself. Read the original article at:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303657404576357622592697038.html