The author of  "Darkness Too Visible," Megan Cox Gurden of the Wall Street Journal, wants us to think that there are too many crude themes in today's young adult literature. this idea is supported throughout the article with loaded words and quotations from real (live) people. The author is trying to say that the books people my age are reading have too many dark themes such as incest, rape, suicide, self-mutilation, pederasty, kidnapping, brutal beatings, and homicide.

     The author wants us to feel the way she feels, critically opposed to these themes. she shows this with loaded words such as rape and incest (I only took these out because they seem to be the most horrifying). These words are loaded words because they can spark an even bigger argument about the themes in young adult literature. She also uses quotes from the 46 year old mother of 3, Amy Freeman. Freeman says that she had popped into a bookstore to pick up her 13 year old daughter, but could not find anything that wasn't extremely terrifying. However, the author does not have the teen's opinions on this topic which is most heinous because the books she is talking about are marketed towards teenagers.

     I both disagree and agree with the author on this topic. I disagree with the fact that books have been banned for bad content, they can just censor the words, or rewrite a child friendly version. Also, she only lists the bad sides of books, there is not one single positive thing about a book in that article. However, I still agree with the fact that people my age should be reading something really dark, then again, we should be able to chose what we want to read.

When a group of kids take shelter in a supermarket from a hailstorm, an earthquake and a chemical spill from a testing facility called N.O.R.A.D., chaos turns to hope as brothers Dean and Alex work with twelve other kids in order to survive.  Set in the near future in Monument, Colorado, "Monument 14: Sky on Fire," by Emma Laybourne takes the reader through the trials a post apocalyptic world.

Laybourne uses symbols to convey optimistic themes.  For instance, the floodlights along the road stand for a symbol of security because it means that somebody was looking out for the kids on the bus.  Without the floodlights, the group would not have been able to see the road clearly enough to get to safety and take refuge at an airport in Denver.  The air was dingy and the windows on the bus were dirty and thick, so it would have been very very hard to see the road ahead of them.

The school bus itself is also symbol of hope because it offers the only way out of the big supermarket to the safety of the airport in Denver.  The kids need to take refuge at the airport because the air around the supermarket in Monument is contaminated with compounds from the chemical spill.  The also need to transport a badly injured kid named Brandon, who had been shot and needs proper medical attention. The fact that the bus still works is a miracle since every other type of vehicle was inoperable due to the various disasters.

    In conclusion, most of the symbols in the book were related to optimistic themes such as hope and security. These themes made me think about things in my own life (such as when I get out of my house on time to catch the bus to school).