Ariel Silverstein asked Huntley Fitzpatrick:

I am a student currently writing my EPQ on realistic fiction and young adult novels. I was wondering what is your opinion on whether realistic fiction and young adult novels sometimes romanticise topics such as mental health, terminal illness and addiction? As you are a highly skilled author, I would love to hear your ideas on the topic. Thank you for your time!

Huntley Fitzpatrick Dear Ariel,

Oh my goodness, my answer to your question is so belated.

I put this aside because I wanted to write a really thoughtful response and life caught up to me. I know it's no use to your EPQ now, but I still wanted to answer.

I think it depends on the author and the book. I'm not sure those genres romanticize mental health, terminal illness and addiction, but I do know that given the time constraints of a short book and the need to give some kind of closure, and often to avoid the clinical, messy details, we tend to make all three much simpler and "cleaner" than they are.

I work on this all the time!

Thank you for your interesting question and taking the time to ask it.

Appreciatively,

Huntley

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