Illness in YA fiction – do authors go too far, or not far enough?

More and more YA authors are featuring teens with serious illnesses in their books. But is this a help or a hindrance for readers who are ill themselves - and how about featuring a few survivor characters, too ?

Related: Dystopia is done, fantasy is finished: why realism is on the rise in YA fiction

My best friend is undergoing treatment for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and she finds YA fiction to be a godsend as she reads her way through the endless hours in hospital. But what about the YA books dealing with cancer which could be a bit too close to home?

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