Many books written for adolescents allow the reader to watch a character coming to consciousness of who they are in the world and the opportunities and barriers they will encounter. Rather than imitating destructive behavior of fictional characters, young people understand that these stories are cautionary tales, showing the consequences that flow from decisions people make—both good and bad.
As a young adult, it often struck me that so much of the available literature was enormously ponderous stuff about young people battling abuse, depression, drugs, abandonment, bullying, and other such pleasant topics. It would of course be profoundly silly to say that these books should be banned, and goodness knows I was fortunate to largely escape such things myself, but lighter fare seemed to be in very short supply. Thank goodness for Gordon Korman.
