Are all (Rural) Canadian Teens full of Angst?

I just finished reading Saints of Big Harbour by Lynn Coady. It is the second teenager-as-protagonist Canlit novel that I have read in the recent past [the other being A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews]. Saints is the story of Guy Boucher, a hapless teenager growing up in rural Nova Scotia whose life spirals downwards in a vortex of poverty, alcoholism (not his own), violence, rumours, and strained family relations (to say the least). I seem to recall that Complicated Kindness’ Nomi also had her share of teenage angst. Aside from the serious cases of adolescent despair, the books shared several other themes including lack of opportunities for employment (particularly for youth), dysfunctional families, one main dead-end industry in each town, and boredom. Reviews of each have labeled the novels as occasionally dark, but mostly funny. Although I realise that we are talking about fiction here, I can’t help but see a trend, and it really doesn’t seem all that funny at all.