Critical Analysis

      In "Teen Fiction Plots Are Darker And Starker," by William Porter, Porter wants readers to know that YA books and teen fiction have developed into darker and more mature plots. Porter also explains that even though the plots are indeed dark, they can have a value to a teens life. Porter quotes many sources on why they also think YA books affect teens lives as well. "The genre has the ability to change with the times and always seems to have a pulse on the teen heartbeat. It reflects what's going on in their lives." says Jill Adams, who teaches young-adult literature at Metropolitan State College of Denver.It takes this fearful thing and makes it approachable. Teens can explore these themes and use them to deal with issues in their own lives." sad David Levithan. "As kids, they want fantasy, but when they enter their teens, they want more realistic and darker books because they're struggling with those issues and ideas." said Shelly Wilhelm of the Bookies, a Denver bookseller. All of these sources and their quotes obviously tie together because they are all saying that teens have issues in their lives and books help them in a way, the topics in YA books relate to teens and that can be comforting.

      Porter hopes to inform and persuade readers that YA plots have become darker and mature overtime, and how they help teens. He wants people to agree that teens do benefit from the books.Porter uses specific words to try to inform and convince but in a more complex way. "An anorexic girl watches her best friend die from the same illness. A sexually abusive dad is turned in by his daughter's classmate." The vocabulary he uses makes the statement more complicated. "Young-adult fiction has always touched on themes teens find compelling." He also cites Patricia McCormick's novel, "Cut."...Compulsive self-mutilation, a disorder found in some adolescents. Dark as books can be, they tend to be leavened by redemptive endings.There are many other examples in which Porter uses certain words to elaborate his statements.

    After reading, "Teen Fiction Plots Are Darker And Starker,' I can conclude that I agree with Porter. I agree that YA books can help teens through their own issues. I feel that if a teen reads about a character who is having the same problems as they are, they're going to feel comfort in a way. If teens see the way a character resolves the problem they have, they might find a way to resolve their own problem as well because the book inspired them. Overall, I can understand how Porter was trying to inform us about teen plots, and I can understand and agree with his point about the value YA books have.