so many topics, so little time.

I think my brain's been trying to explode on me for the last few hours between the few things I wanted to cover in my next post on my blog, and it's really taken about two days for me to finally straighten it out and say, "Okay, I think I got this now. Quick, write it before it changes its mind."

The first thing I wanted to talk about was the whole post here from WSJ (@wsj via twitter). Being a little new to the whole Twitter network and blogging lifestyle as a whole, I turned on my iPad Sunday morning to find my newsfeed in the process of a nuclear warhead explosion. Some of my favorite writers were sounding of on the article. So what did I do? Well, I went and read it, and I have to tell you, it made perfect sense why every one of my favorite authors were frothing at the mouth over it. Saying that a YA book is 'too gruesome, scary, or destructive for children to read' made me want to start spamming my own little 160 character attacks right back at WSJ.

Did anyone ever stop to think what kind of world we live in today? Welcome to 2011, home of murder every day, robberies closer than you know, drug addictions around every corner, and abductions if a child isn't careful enough. If parents think that just because you can shun a child through some books that accurately tell close-to-home tales like a girl cutting herself or another one refusing to eat to stay in her comfort zone, people need to open their eyes. Kids are exposed to this way earlier than when a kid can pick up a book and read it front to back without using a dictionary or asking a friend what something means. School, the internet, and their own parents are just as destructive as a book can be to the hands of the wrong child.

Then you have to contend with the other part. You know, no one ever forces a kid to read Harry Potter or Twilight. The books on YA shelves weren't put there to complete a summer reading list or made a parent happy that they'll be ahead of their class by reading something advanced. They're there for a reason; it's what they want to read. And kids pick them up for a reason too; they want to read it. I'm not going to say that peers don't factor into it, because I know first-hand that they do, but it certainly isn't the whole iceberg.

Overall, it really boils down to an individual basis. Not all kids are going to digest Fallen the same way, just like not all kids are going to read the Blue Bloods series and not take the same thing away from it. Each child, teenager, young adult, adult or what have you, is different, and will read and interpret everything different too. So for WSJ to say that we need to watch out for those 'Darkness Too Visible' books, shame on them. I can't tell you how many books I read longing to feel like I held self-worth or value, or that it was normal to be weird and not fit in. Reading those fantasy and paranormal books that gave me a new world to dive into provided me with that escape that kept my sanity in check and left me feeling better than ever.

What about you? Sound off on the #YAsaves hashtag either on Twitter (you can follow me on the right side of the screen) or post something in the comments!