Gets On Soapbox.

And Sherman Alexie Just Got Pushed To The Top Of My Reading List
This is a fantastic illustration of my opinion on the issue covered in the previous post. Because it's not that the dark YA/YF/Paranormal novels are all full of darkness and bleakness and horror. Not at all - they reflect a reality, a struggle that so many teenagers deal with every day.

I was raped when I was twelve. There's a book by Tamora Pierce (specifically the Lady Knight books) that helped me come to terms with the fact that it wasn't my fault. I struggled with an eating disorder and you know, Killing Aurora didn't encourage it - it made me feel I wasn't alone. Books that deal with these things shine a light in dark places and they say, this? This is nothing to be ashamed of. You are not alone. It is those who hurt you that should be ashamed.

My very favourite book in the world (<i>The Lord of the Rings</i> by JRR Tolkien) taught me in many ways, to understand my depression and PTSD. To understand what it is to be broken and to keep going. And that, that is an incredibly important thing, to know you are not alone.