Hide & Seek

In an article written by the acclaimed author of "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian", Sherman Alexie declares his case against the nay-sayers who find his work (and many others) a bit too dark for their literary audience. Works of fiction that feel devastatingly real are filling the shelves of teen sections all over the nation and people are taking notice. Although adults show concern, teens have fled to the Alexie's inbox with remarks of gratitude and relief for his unapologetic stories of adversity and hardship faced by many teens today. Alexie, like his admirers, uses his personal experiences as a young person in the face of adversity to connect with his audience and to provide an authentic way of saying "I hear you, I see you, and I understand." which, if we're all honest, is exactly what every teen desires to hear. His stories may be dark but Alexie is convinced that hiding young adults from hardship doesn't protect them from it, it only robs them a chance of being understood when they are facing it, saying "I write books for teenagers because I vividly remember what it felt like to be a teen facing everyday and epic dangers. I don’t write to protect them. It’s far too late for that. I write to give them weapons–in the form of words and ideas-that will help them fight their monsters. I write in blood because I remember what it felt like to bleed."

On the other hand, some seek to bring light to teen bookshelves, claiming that the rows of horrifyingly dark literature is becoming far too common and increasingly twisted. Meghan Cox Gurden, in particular, feels especially strong about the consequences we might face if the problem isn't addressed. In her article "Darkness too Visible", Gurden describes YA books with an intensity that would trigger most adults. Her fear is that literature made for teens with this kind of violence and psychological turmoil is tainting minds and creating a generation of rapists and self-harmers, saying: "Yet it is also possible—indeed, likely—that books focusing on pathologies help normalize them and, in the case of self-harm, may even spread their plausibility and likelihood to young people who might otherwise never have imagined such extreme measures. Self-destructive adolescent behaviors are observably infectious and have periods of vogue. That is not to discount the real suffering that some young people endure; it is an argument for taking care."

When I read Sherman Alexie's view, I immediately agreed with his perspective. Young people want  to feel understood, and protecting or hiding them from the pains of this world will never be the answer. However, when I read some of the examples that Gurden used for her argument against books of this dark nature, I was appalled. I certainly wouldn't want my teen child reading things so overtly heinous. Then I think back to what I read when I was a teen...and sure enough, Alexie is spot on. When I was in High School, my most favored books involved suicide, drug addiction, gang violence, abduction, and self harm. No kidding, they were my FAVORITE. They weren't my favorite because I loved doing drugs and I was part of a gang. I read them because I was in love with reading about people who made different decisions than I would have. Because it taught me how to think twice about the decisions I made, and made me think twice about judging my neighbor for the choices they made. I didn't face some of those dangers in real life, but reading about them opened my heart to people who DO face those challenges, and my sense of empathy and decision-making improved because of it.  

Overall, I think this fight is less about whether dark stories should be written or not, and more about addressing where they should be placed. Should some of these books really be in the teen section, geared towards 12-18 year olds? I don't know. But do books of this nature deserve to be on shelves? Absolutely. The choice is, ultimately, up to the reader. 

-MJ

Sources:

Sherman, Alexi. Why The Best Kids Books are Written in Blood. Speakeasy, 2011

Gurden, Meghan Cox. Darkness Too Visible. Dow Jones & Company Inc., 2011