YA is for Lovers

I am not a romance reader. Never have been. There's nothing WRONG with romance, it's just not my thing. Until I started reading YA Fiction, that is. Now I can't stop myself from splitting up into Teams. (Team Edward, Team Ash, Team Rob... Wait, that's not a team... *wink*)

A good female heroine with a charming suitor is half of the draw for me. And it occurred to me that as an adult I long for that excitement of a first love or the fantasy of a bad boy. Grown women know better than the run after the sexy miscreant (usually), and we realize that passion doesn't always mean a lasting love. I love young love.

But then I started to wonder... while this escapism is great for those of us who've already survived high school, what about the intended readers? Does my love perpetuate the allure of the bad boy and encourage young girls? Or does it give them a chance to explore that in a safe environment? What do you think?

I agree with you on the draw of the "First Love" aspect of YA romance, because who doesn't want to relive those moments of falling in love? I think the other great thing about a lot of YA romance books is the whole Forbidden Love, Star-Crossed Lovers thing. When you're finally settle down for marriage and kids, it's usually with someone safe. Or at least someone who doesn't turn out to be a vampire or a werewolf. I think the star-crossed lovers theme is fun to read as an adult, since we've already settled into our relatively safe lives.

It's being kind of presumptuous of us oldies to think that these books will influence young girls to the point that they will run out looking for Edward. (Okay, well maybe we all have a little bit.) It's like Marilyn Manson back in the day (I'm dating myself)...People blamed his music for things that couldn't possibly be the music's fault (imo). Books can't make girls fall in love with the wrong boy. Right?

Okay, first of all, I don't know who you're calling an "oldie". Secondly, I agree that books don't MAKE people do things. I think that YA literature tends to romanticize the "bad boy" because this is the only period in life where falling in love with him seems acceptable. We all have that "but only I can see the good in him" fantasy, and YA loves to let us live that.

My only point was that I think we should be careful, as adults who can see the futility in that exercise, to not over-glorify it. I think for every Jace we put on a pedestal, there should be a Simon that we express similar love for.

Agreed. Because I think we've all dated the Potential in a Boy, rather than the actual Boy. I think that was part of the draw of Twilight. Edward was already perfect - he wasn't the Bad Boy at all, and he offered Bella complete safety. But, he offered it within the context of danger - being a vampire. So, basically, the best of both worlds. Let's face it, we all want to feel safe, but we don't want boring. A lot of YA books give us exactly that by placing them in a fantasy setting. I think the supernatural romance books are best for the "exploration" because the things that occur (falling in love with a vampire, werewolf, shadowhunter, etc.) could never truly happen. Well, so far as I know.

*stunned look* Wait, you mean Edward isn't real?

So, readers, do you agree? Are we over-thinking the whole "bad-boy" allure? Tell us what draws YOU in to a good YA Romance.

Walking the Walk

So girls, I was reading a post the other day by the ever-amusing Merry Sisters of Fate. They were discussing why it is okay for us old folks to watch teen movies, but not read teen books. Tess brought up the "walk of shame into the YA section," (been there) and Maggie mentioned how women come to her signings and apologize for not being a teen.

At first I was thinking that I don't feel bad about reading YA. I mean, I LOVE it (obviously), but then I realized that to my non-YA-reading friends I often qualify my reading choices by saying, "It's all my mama brain can handle these days." Ouch. I've said that a lot. And really, it takes away from the complexity that is YA lit these days. Sometimes I find myself re-reading certain passages a few times to make sure I *get* what just happened. Other times I am blown away by a surprise twist that the author throws out. YA Lit doesn't mean easy, but I myself am guilty of shamefully bowing my head and pretending that it is just that - easy and fluffy.

The sisters do ask a good question - WHY do we do this?

I'm completely ashamed to admit this, but I'm guilty of having just done the "closet read" last weekend. You know what I'm talking about, ladies. When you're sitting on the airplane and you position the book on your lap so that the only way anyone can see the cover is to pry it out of your dead, cold hands.

Of course, I am an equal opportunity offender. I've taken more dust jackets off Charlaine Harris novels than I have YA books. Maybe that's because I always default to the "I'm a teacher" line if anyone questions my YA selections. Ew, I'm cringing as I'm typing that. After all, the only excuse we should need for reading what we read is because we like it, right?

Exacty! I regularly find myself saying, "I have a degree in English Lit, so I've read all the classics. It's okay for me to read this stuff right now." I'm cringing too. "This stuff," however, also includes the Charlaine Harris books . My Walk of Shame is not limited to the YA section. Before True Blood mania hit, I would take my Southern Vampire Series books up to the front of the store quite quickly and place it face down at the register. But, you're right - these books are what we like - what's the shame in that? And, they're good.


Okay, I have to admit that I don't actually feel shame. I mean, I'm sure I'm CAPABLE of being shamed, but not by my reading choices. I love to read, and I read a lot. I refuse to hide what I'm reading because it doesn't fit into the genre society has decided a 30ish mom should be reading.

Of course, I also refuse to hide the fact that I'm a video game girl, and I was known to wear green nail polish and anime tee shirts all through college. So, yeah. Maybe you should just continue this conversation without me. *runs off to teach her kids what a Moogle is*

When I was reading and swooning about Twilight, a lot of my friends razzed me about it. Then the movie came out, and suddenly all the naysayers were Facebooking about how tired they were because they had stayed up all night to finish reading the book. It's as though they needed validation to read it, and the movie franchise gave them the excuse they needed.


Well, that's a sort of group mentality that affects all of society. It's like if all the popular girls in school started playing Dungeons and Dragons, then suddenly it'd be "acceptable" to play it too. And who, in today's culture, represents the popular girls better than Hollywood?



*going into shock* You mean it wasn't acceptable to play Dungeons and Dragons? Does this mean I wasn't as popular as I thought I was?!

But it was cool to play Cthulu, right? RIGHT?!



*confused face* Cthulu? Dungeons and Dragons? What the hell are you guys talking about? *smirk*

But you do make a good point. Once Twilight became a major phEEEnomenon (Thank you Oprah for ruining that word forEVAH), it did seem more socially acceptable to read and love those books. And, I think it's also more acceptable to read YA in general after Twilight. The girls in my book sharing club don't give me too much trouble about me only sharing YA books. In fact, they love them too. They just don't have to walk into the YA section - they all borrow mine. Cheaters.

So, what about you all? Do you do the Walk of Shame into the YA section at your local bookstore? Do you order online to avoid The Shame? Do you make up excuses like Cher and I, or do you flounce The Shame like Leigh? Do tell!