YA fiction is sometimes criticized for focusing on dark topics, with some worrying that intense, sometimes depressing, stories could “damage young minds.” But it could be that those young minds actually crave these more controversial, sinister storylines.

YA fiction is sometimes criticized for focusing on dark topics, with some worrying that intense, sometimes depressing, stories could “damage young minds.” But it could be that those young minds actually crave these more controversial, sinister storylines. New brain mapping research suggests that the teenage years are a time when the parts of the brain that process emotion are “more online” than they are in adulthood. These are also the years they are more likely to be in and witness danger, with 15-19-year-olds six times more likely to die by injury than 10-14-year-olds. Books covering darker themes are powerful for teen readers because they “reflect an experience and show a way out of difficult, isolating times.” (Time)