attackfish

I wrote one of those essays, and believe you me when I say I agree. On the other hand, kids also tend to have some kind of idea of what they can handle. I had to read this for class when I was twelve, so I din't get to make the choice. It's one thing to say "keep the dark books, because they can save" and another to tell a kid they have to read a certain dark book. Though I didn't have the words for it at the time, that book was triggering for me. So I don't like hearing that a book like that is essential to read to be well versed in a genre. It's a good, valuable book, but there should be no shame in not being able to read it.

I'm not sure how I should say this, given that I know I didn't express myself as well as I would like in the previous paragraph, but given what I have written on this blog about dark YA, I find parts of your reply incredibly condescending.

Thank you for counting addiction as an illness, by the way. So many people try to deny this, and denying it is the only way our legal system continues to justify putting addicts in prison instead of treatment.

I agree with you about warning labels, though I worry they'll be used more by adults trying to screen what their kids are reading than by kids themselves.

My essay, if you want to read it, is here: http://attackfish.livejournal.com/78197.html