Alas, have I been influenced by Disney too much...

I have read a lot of young adult novels the past year. Many of them are pretty dark in nature. Even if they aren't scary, they still have vampires, dream-readers, or ghosts in them. Perhaps I have been too influenced by Disney and other more "happy" stories. Or, maybe I am still influenced by the middle school books I read growing up - like the Judy Blume books that had some humor woven into them. I do think it is possible to have a good story and some mystery in a book without it being dark but will those be accepted by agents today and the target age group.

Although my main character is a high-schooler, perhaps I should look for agents that do cross-over work with middle school/young adult books. In other words, maybe I need to acknowledge the lighter aspect of my book and play it up in the query letter. Or, should I look for ways to increase the struggles in them to make them darker. Hmmm. (Maybe I should stop stressing about it and just send in more query letters before I further contemplate how I need to change the book.) ;)