This weekend twitter hosted a feud on the subject of young adult fiction, spurred by Meghan Cox Gurdon’s article in the Wall Street Journal, detailing the perils of contemporary young adult fiction.
According to Gurdon, young adult fiction “can be like a hall of fun-house mirrors, constantly reflecting back hideously distorted portrayals of what life is.” Gurdon’s article ignited a slew of responses in the form of blog posts and hashtagged-tweets, defending the current trends of the genre, which in turn invited an onslaught of retaliation from Gurdon supporters. The #YAsaves tweeters suggested that young adult books are beneficial to teens, providing a much needed you-are-not-alone voice, bringing up the subject of censorship and insisting that “a good book is never bad for you.”
