In the end....everything matters.

That is all that happened. Why did you hear something else?

There are also the people too bizarre to ignore, like Kyle Simpson. Future male stripper.

My breathing begins to slow. The tension in my muscles starts to relax. Then, a click in the headphones. A slow breath of air. I open my eyes to bright moonlight. And Hannah, with warmth. Thank you.

Every reader is different. There's no book that's inappropriate for every person, but there are people who cannot handle everything.

I felt I had a very innocent childhood and I feel privileged by that. But as an adult, I know that there were people who didn't have that. There are a lot of teens who haven't had as easy a childhood as me, and having literature that explores these "darker" parts helps relieve the burden and stress they may be feeling. As a writer, there is often a temptation to draw back when we write for teens - to preserve their innocence. But the reality is, if someone has already had that innocence taken in their life, then not writing about it is just brushing it under the rug.

Maybe it's not as important to you as it was for me, but that's not for you to decide.