First off, I'm not against romance in YA. I do think it's a relevant issue. Many teenagers are experiencing their first relationships in high school and reading romance gives them something to relate to. It's one of the most fascinating things in the world to many teenagers, especially girls, so it doesn't surprise me that a lot of books focus on it.
But that being said, I've always have had issues with this genre and how it speaks to teenage girls. So I'm going to outline a few of these in today's post.
1. He's hot... and that's about all I've got
A lot of YA romances that I've read are based solely on attraction. On the beauty of the man's eyes and hair and face and abs and sparkling skin. And that's fine as an initial spark. Teenagers are often first attracted by the appearance. Which is why a lot of nice guys get snubbed. But then these relationships based soely on attraction continue and the books tend to mistake them for true love. Case in point: Twilight.
I hate to reference Twilight. Everyone has. But it's just so hard not to, especially when talking about YA romance. So do forgive me for bringing it up here.
In Twilight, paragraphs (Long paragraphs) are used to describe Edward, the gorgeous and sparkly vampire, over and over again. But no amount of brilliant golden eyes or gorgeous pale skin can hide one obvious fact: He has the personality of this sentence.
2. Different does not make interesting:
Sure Edward has cultured hobbies and is protective but that doesn't really make a personality. It makes him "different" but not interesting (Which was the same problem with Bella but that's a post for another time). He was, in fact, perfect. Which doesn't exist. It really doesn't.
Contrast our vampire with Jacob, the werewolf. This boy had tons of personality. He was supportive and kind and a good friend yet he still had flaws. He had anger issues, he got jealous, sometimes he was selfish. But that's teenage boys. And personality comes with flaws, not just the good things. It's a combination of strengths and weaknesses that make a character interesting and makes us want to root for them even when they make bad decisions. (And yet Jacob still gets the shaft. So obnoxious)
So you can't just add "different" qualities and expect them to translate into personality in your writing.
3. True love... in high school
Yeah, this one especially irks me. Because 99 times out of 100, you do not find your true love in high school. Sure you hear those stories about the childhood sweethearts who married and lived happily but those are few and far between, especially in today's society. (I knew a girl in high school who had thirteen boyfriends in one year. That shouldn't even be possible).
Most girls and boys aren't mature enough to handle a serious relationship in high school. They still have a lot to learn and a lot of room to grow in who they are before they can actually commit themselves to another person. The reason you see a lot of couples get married in college or shortly after is that they have grown up and become comfortable with themselves as a person. That makes for a healthier relationship.
So romantic advice aside, it's obvious why it really irks me when Bella and Edward get married right out of high school because of "true love". Because you never made a stupid decision when you were that age did you? The reason this bothers me is this was a relationship based solely on attraction. I never really saw any chemistry between the two. It's not like they ever had moments where they were just having fun and laughing with each other, fixing a motorcycle instead of gazing into each others eyes (Like what her and Jacob did... I should probably stop talking about him)
Initial attraction does not equal true love, especially not in high school. I don't care if the guy is a vampire, it just doesn't happen.
So yeah, those are my three main problems with romance. But have I seen YA romances that do it right?
Yes.
Funny enough, they're usually dystopian too. Hunger Games I thought handled the romance well in the fact that the whole thing wasn't really love at first sight. Katniss was mostly playing it up for the camera to stay alive. That's awesome. Plus she still had a reason to like him outside of his looks. He kind of saved her life when she was starving. That gets him points. It's mostly his generosity and kindness that attracts her.
Second example is Matched. This is sort of a forbidden love type story since you're arranged to marry someone based on logic. However, big shock, the main character starts falling for another boy, even though the person she's matched with has been her best friend. And I can see why she falls for the other boy.
Initially it's not because of his looks, but just because he's mysterious. Which teenage girls definitely go for. But she starts falling for him because of his personality, which is also quite interesting. This is an example of a character with different hobbies, who actually is done right (Like Edward could have been). And I loved this character. I actually got into the romance in this book and I don't do that very often because romance isn't my genre.
So that's my post on YA romance today. Wow... long post. Thanks for reading if you're even still here!
-Authoress Anonymous
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