Mary Zacaroli talks to children's writer Ruth Dowley, who is not afraid to tackle tricky subjects in her books for teenagers

The poet Philip Larkin had rather a pessimistic view of families "Man hands on misery to man" says it all rather succinctly. In her books for teenagers, Wolvercote-based children's author Ruth Dowley generally takes a more sanguine view of family life. "Families are precious because they nurture us and they give us a sense of belonging," she said.

This doesn't mean that she sees families through rose-tinted spectacles, however. "Because they're so intimate, they can also be places of pain," she says. Her four novels delve into difficulties in step-families, jealousy between brothers, the loss of a parent and sexual abuse. I asked whether it would be fair to say that her books deal primarily with feelings and emotions.

"Yes," she replied. "But I also try to write exciting stories, because often I think a light touch is helpful, so I do a lot of adventure."

As an English teacher, Ruth spent years working with children, including those with special needs. I asked how she gravitated towards writing for them. "I love children because their view of the world is so fresh," she answered. "I love their spontaneity, their sense of fun."

Although she has written for younger children, her novels are aimed at young teens. "I particularly like that on-the-cusp stage, just into adolescence. I think it's the freshness a bit, the vulnerability I am also very aware that children have problems, and that's a major concern of mine too." And where did that awareness come from? "Life," she replied. Your own? Teaching? "All of it, we all have problems. We forget that the problems that children have in families are as great as the adults."

In her latest novel, Hard Rock, the problems are due to unresolved grief and the tensions between Leslie and her step-mother Gilly, young half-brother Arthur and father. "The title comes partly from the seaside, where the family are renting a holiday cottage, and there's plenty of physical hard rock in the adventure of the plot," Ruth explained. "But it also relates to a very deep grief that Leslie has at the centre of her life, which is like a piece of immovable hard rock." This is due to the suicide of Leslie's birth mother when she was a baby and the fact that her mother is a taboo subject in the family.

It's not all heavy stuff, though. Leslie starts a romance and finds a rock shaped like a woman hidden in a cave, which plays a large role in the adventure that happens. "There is such a rock, not by the seaside, but in an underground cavern," Ruth said. "When I was in the Bodleian I happened to see it and thought that would make an interesting story. I think that's probably the genesis of the whole book."

I enjoyed the novel very much. Ruth perceptively portrays the different characters through the eyes of Leslie, detailing their prejudices and foibles. Many people know a character like Gilly, who bossily strives to ensure the family eats healthy, wholesome food. Even more might recognise her husband, who munches on chocolate whenever she's not around.

At the back of the book, there's an advert for Ruth's previous novel The Ghost Person, which deals with the threat of sexual abuse. I asked Ruth why she wrote it. "I wanted to get the message across that no-one should be able to take over your body and your mind and that there is help for you if something inappropriate is happening. There needn't be shame about it."

Although Ruth has no personal experience of the topic, she has seen the great damage that it can do. "There's no point hiding it under the carpet, pretending it doesn't happen," she said. She was aware, however, that the topic had to be approached very sensitively. "I tried to write about it in a way that's not crude or titillating, in a way that might help someone experiencing that, to work his or her way through in finding help and healing afterwards," she said.

When it first came out, Ruth believes the publishers were ambivalent about promoting such a sensitive topic. "It was almost as if people were afraid to name the theme," she said. Given that it's now plainly stated, it's obvious they've changed their minds.

Ruth now teaches a creative-writing course for the Department of Continuing Education at Oxford University. I asked what she enjoyed about teaching, as opposed to writing.

She said: "I think one of the most exciting things is that a group comes in and some of them have not written anything before. By the end of the course there are stories in existence that weren't there before and I just think that's so terrific something that wasn't there at the beginning is here at the end."

Hard Rock is published by Andersen Press at £5.99.