It does sound like Mr Jacques (and I loved the first 2 Redwall books when I was a kid) has been mis-sold by publishers. His writing style isn't for younger readers; his themes are - rather than for "YA" (which is a label I'll rant about another time ;)
I think my problem with watering down peril and moral challenge is that my favourite (fantasy) books as a child - the ones I still have on my shelf now - didn't shy away from scaring the socks off me and challenging my views on "fair". That's not necessarily the same as moral ambiguity, but it's a good start when you're 8.
There's nothing wrong with truly frightening, although you do have to relieve or balance it with something else (but that's not only true for a YA audience ;)
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I think my problem with watering down peril and moral challenge is that my favourite (fantasy) books as a child - the ones I still have on my shelf now - didn't shy away from scaring the socks off me and challenging my views on "fair". That's not necessarily the same as moral ambiguity, but it's a good start when you're 8.
There's nothing wrong with truly frightening, although you do have to relieve or balance it with something else (but that's not only true for a YA audience ;)