Books in 8th grade

As an 8th grader who loves to read, I have tried to read as many books as possible throughout this past year. Since I also struggle with the concept of picking out books that I feel would be very interesting and fun to read, I have depended on other peoples' blog posts, the class library and the Goodreads choice list to help me. I've followed all three references and discovered that most books for 8th graders seem to be intense or depressing. You may have either noticed or not noticed the staggering amount of books based upon self harm, depression, losing a loved one, heart wrenching love stories or the completely realistic books about what it is like to go through teenage years (which is definitely not pretty). 

One of the main books I read this year that still haunts my memory is "Looking For Alaska" by John Green. This book is about a bunch of kids who go to a boarding school who soon become obsessed with cigarettes, alcohol and breaking the rules. It seems that the book would not be depressing at all but suddenly one of the characters dies and it changes the entire mood and lesson of the story. When I read this book I cried for about ten minutes because I could not handle the death. I mean, who wants to read a book that makes you uncontrollably sob when you're surrounded by all your peers? Nobody. I obviously became attached to the book and learned a lot, but I'd rather not have been so shocked by what occurred in the story. 

I also tried to read a classified mystery, "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak. I thought reading a book about a man who receives mysterious notes and does good things for people would not find a way to give me a depressing message. Somehow though Markus Zusak was able to slip the message behind the writing that the main character was truly suffering from being poor, alone and actually quite depressed. When I finally got to the climax of the story, I was surprised of course, but my after thought is still a question for why this was suggested as an eighth grade book. We obviously have no experience of not having a good job, not going to college or not being in the relationship with the girl you love. This just puts added pressure on the reader because I was terrified after I read the book that I would turn up all alone as an adult. 

I think that authors are predicting that teenagers are starting to experience some of the emotions they feel at their age. Teenagers only get a slight taste of what it would be like to be an adult when they are going through the changes. By writing books such as the two I listed above, that show emotions and experiences we may not understand leads to a sense of discomfort and fear about growing older. I also feel that the books should be open to grade levels above us because I feel it is unfair to let eighth graders deal with unnecessary pressure.