Both Sides of the YA Fiction Argument

There has been an on-going argument in the literature world about YA Fiction. Sherman Alexie and Meghan Cox Gourdon both wrote articles addressing this argument. They have opposing views on this argument. 

Meghan Cox Gurdon wrote an article for The Wall Street Journal  titled Darkness To Visible. Gurdon states in her article that she feels young adult fiction nowadays is too dark for its audience. "How dark is contemporary fiction for teens? Darker than when you were a child, my dear: So dark that kidnapping and pederasty and incest and brutal beatings are now just part o the run of things in novels directed, broadly speaking, at children from the ages of 12 to 18." She feels that books are sending the wrong message to today's teens. There are parental warnings on movies, why not books? In Gurdons article, she states the counterpoint of her argument. She quotes an editor on his outlook on the argument, which is very different from hers.

Sherman Alexie also wrote an article for The Wall Street Journal, his article was titled Why the Best Books Are Written in Blood. Alexie has the opposing view of Gurdon. In his article, Alexie discusses Gurdons article and views. Sherman Alexie knows about addiction and mental illness firsthand. Some authors of young adult fiction, such as Sherman Alexie, write as if they were writing to their younger selves. Cultural critics are "simply trying to protect their privileged notions of what literature is and should be. They are trying to protect privileged children. Or the seemingly privileged." When Alexie read as a child, he got into his books as if he was there.

My own experience with young adult fiction is nothing like described in Gurdon's article. Gurdon feels it is dark and un-realistic, but it seems more to be realistic. Young adult fiction is about everyday life and things that teens go through on a day to day basis. Young adult fiction should not be seen as gruesome or dark just because suicide, sex, drugs, alcohol, self-hurt, etc. are mention in them. All of these things and many more are things that young adults go through each and every day.

If I was to choose a side of this argument, i would most definitely choose the side that Sherman Alexie is on. Alexie writes about everyday tragedies and life of young adults. Gurdon sees writing such as Alexie's and other young adult authors as gruesome and dark but i would strongly disagree. I would say Alexie and other such authors write about day-to-day life and tragedies that a lot of young adults face today and every day of their lives. I also feel that Gurdon's view on what age group reads young adult fiction is wrong. She sees the age range as being 12-18 years of age. I would say young adult fiction is more for the age range of 15-21 years of age. Twelve and thirteen year olds shouldn't be reading some of what is in many young adult fiction books, because they weren't written for them to read anyway.