Controversial Themes In Young Adult Fiction

Young adult fiction has become a popular and often controversial genre in recent media. The genre encompasses fiction published for readers from 12 to 18 years of age, yet can contain sensitive and complex topics such as suicide, self-harm and death. Such novels have been widely criticised by parents and primary care givers in an attempt to protect their children from the seemingly macabre subject matter contained within. In spite or because of that, it is posited that adolescents should indeed be exposed to these controversial topics in young adult fiction, so that they may safely be exposed to such themes which facilitate the learning of important life lessons from the safety of their bedroom, enabling them to develop mental resilience and …show more content…
‘The sense of foreboding has resulted in greater parental pressure to shield the young.’ Legge (1997, p.14). This implies that prohibiting young adults to read these types of books is refusing young adults the opportunity to grow mentally in a safe environment. Conversely, young adults do not need to be shielded, they can benefit from (or seek to) experience as much as they can, in order to build their own coping skills and mental resilience which will allow them to adapt when affected by negative events. As stated by the American Psychological Association APA (2016): ‘Resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or significant sources of stress… It means "bouncing back" from difficult experiences.’ This is particularly important, as these novels are filled with difficult experiences. While developing mental resilience will not stop negative events from occurring, it can allow for better coping skills when they do occur. Mental resilience is a learned process, therefore anyone can develop it over time and use it to cope better under stress. The APA further explains (2016) ‘Resilience is not a trait that people either have or do not have. It involves behaviors, thoughts and actions that can be learned and developed in anyone.’ The controversial topics contained within young adult fiction novels are usually rife with stressful situations for the main character, and subsequently the reader. This is highly relatable for young adults due to the authenticity of situations and characters that teenagers connect with. This gives the reader a creative outlet to experience small amounts of stress safely, leading to the fabrication of mental health