I just read the post, and I actually identified with it a lot! I'm a teen, and good YA is so much fun for me to read because it feels real to me. That's why I meshed with the first point the most. I don't want to read stories about protagonists who always succeed or who don't cuss, because that's not being a teenager. Cuss words is actually a really interesting point - cussing, as a kid for me, was never allowed in my house, and it still isn't. That's why it feels like a form of freedom for me, to be able to say whatever I want, and that's why I have my teen protagonist cuss as much as she does, that and other reasons (backstory...it's complicated lol).
Then of course there's the fourth point, the point about giving hope. This is really important to me, because it's so vital in the world today. As hard as it is to read the news for adults, it's hard for teens too, I know that from what the kids at my school talk about. We need hope, and reading is the way some of us get it. It lets us know that things are going to get better!
I loved this post!! It's great to see that adults know what us teens like to see.