"Darkness Too Visible" Megan Cox Gurdon

              The article "Darkness Too Visible" by Megan Cox Gurdon is a very intriguing article based on one view of the "darkness" in young adult literature today. The author Megan Cox Gurdon is very biased when she explains that young adult books, these days, have a high level of dark content and should not be exposed to teen readers. She gives explicit detail on how parents feel about their children reading such horrendous books filled with dark topics no parent can ever imagine giving to their teen. Additionally, Megan feels that is inappropriate for young readers to be reading books about suicide, self mutilation, and more lurid topics.

              In the article Megan used loaded words like despoliation, ugliness, smut, and crude to get out her points to parents world-wide. These words make you feel as if young adult books are filled with horrible topics that are not appropriate for young readers. Megan states "...a careless young reader - or one. Who seeks out depravity - will find himself surrounded by images not of joy or beauty but damage, brutality and losses of the most horrendous kinds." Clearly, Megan has made her point.She wants you to understand that books like "Scars" or "Diary of a Part Time Indian" are not right for teens age 12 through 18. Megan includes the prospective of parents who go unnoticed to these lurid books, stacked in every book store, and on the shelves of your local library. Megan C. Gurdon speaks for the parents of teens who do not want their child exposed to the dark side of reality. She rarely uses words like 'happiness, purity, or virtue' to describe young adult books of these topics. Furthermore, Megan C. Gurdon believes, and  makes others believe, that young adult literature is darker that it has ever been before. 

            Megan C. Gurdon talks about the brutality and horrendous sides of young adult books. However, I disagree with her. As a young adult reader I know that there is more to these "dark" and "brutal" sides in books. Megan uses the perspectives of parents and of course no parent wants there child to be affected by such horrendous things. Even so, I think whether or not a book affects or changes a young reader depends completely on the the reader. If readers interpret the "dark" sides of books in negative ways, of course the impact the book had on the reader will also be negative. Books like "Scars" by Cheryl Rainfield are books that can teach a lesson. It can teach that self harm is erroneous, the same goes for books that teach lessons about the consequences of taking drugs, or suicide. It shows teen that they aren't alone and gives them an insight on the reality that is hidden from them by their parents and by people like Megan Cox Gurdon. Furthermore, taking away young adult literature from teen readers is like taking away their source of hope, maybe even there savior. Also, when taking away such books from young readers you are trapping them in a indestructible bubble, keeping them from viewing the world how it actually is; your trapping them from reality. It's like taking away candy from a baby: It's easy to do, but the consequence is a long period of crying nagging at you, and it is only natural to feel guilty.