Dealing with the dark side

A discussion inside Wildcats 4 has touched on a topic that I thought others might want to weigh in and share their opinion.

The topic of whether a young adult novel should deal with a harsh or a gentle reality. The thought that dealing with sex, drugs, and violence should be dealt with or avoided so as not to become an influencer (love that word, BTW).

How do you approach these topics knowing full well that kids read coming of age stories and use them as bibliotherapy (look that one up)?

What responsibility does an author have when heading towards the dark side?

I'll stop there.