Posted March 25th, 2011 under YA Cafe
YA Cafe: Why Romance Matters
a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FkmFQARVWK0/TYv38BFAq7I/AAAAAAAABt0/L0T4DxW6EVc/s1600/YACafe-LOGO-blue.png”img style=”float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 175px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FkmFQARVWK0/TYv38BFAq7I/AAAAAAAABt0/L0T4DxW6EVc/s200/YACafe-LOGO-blue.png” border=”0″ alt=”" id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587832373136894898″ //adiv style=”text-align: left;”emWelcome back to YA Cafe, where book lovers can gather and chat about teen literature. I’m your barista, along with Gabriela from /ema href=”http://iggiandgabi.blogspot.com/”emiggiamp;gabi/em/aem./em/divdiv style=”text-align: left; “embr //em/divdiv style=”text-align: left; “emEach Friday we pick from a menu of topics and share our thoughts on our respective blogs. We’ve also got plans brewing for interviews, events and even some exciting giveaways, so stay tuned! Join the discussion by responding in the comments, on your own blogs or on twitter using the hash tag #yacafe./em/divdiv style=”text-align: left; “i/i/divibr //idivdiv style=”text-align: left; “bspan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”color:#3366FF;”Today’s Special:/span span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: normal;”Why Does Romance Matter in YA?/span/b/div/divdiv style=”text-align: left; “bspan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: normal;”br //span/b/divdiv style=”text-align: left; “bspan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: normal;”div style=”text-align: left; “span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; “img src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2gCLbv0Ipuc/TYvvK8QHaYI/AAAAAAAABtk/G54FbOThSFQ/s400/5480794937_c94939637c.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”" id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587822733934684546″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; ” //span/divdivbspan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: normal;”div style=”display: inline !important; “br //div/span/b/divdivbspan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: normal;”div style=”display: inline !important; “I ilove/i love. I’m that girl who’s seen every cheesy romantic comedy and gets excited about weddings. So of course, i/div/span/bbspan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: normal;”div style=”display: inline !important; “bspan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: normal;”div style=”display: inline !important; “bspan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: normal;”div style=”display: inline !important; “t makes me very happy that romance is weaved into most young adult novels. Not every YA story has romance, nor does every story need it. But I never fail to feel giddy and nostalgic every time I read a good romantic YA novel. I get sucked in. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. /div/span/b/div/span/b/div/span/b/divdivbspan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: normal;”div style=”display: inline !important; “br //div/span/b/divdivbspan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: normal;”div style=”display: inline !important; “Exhibit A: ia href=”http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6936382-anna-and-the-french-kiss”Anna and the French Kiss/a/i. **SWOON**/div/span/b/divdivbspan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: normal;”div style=”display: inline !important; “br //div/span/b/divdivAre romantic stories necessary for teens? No. But are they fun? Yes! When I was in high school, I wanted romance in my life. I wanted a lot of other things too – like to rock my solo auditions in chorale and to stay on the honor roll. But I also wanted to hold a boy’s hand in a movie theater and kiss under the stars and slow dance at prom./divdivbr //divdivspan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; “img src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SUh6YArRpQM/TYvvKxje-2I/AAAAAAAABtc/2cKPEbPUx4k/s400/5431980940_79a09e7f7e_o.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”" id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587822731063130978″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; ” //span/divdivspan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; “/span/div/span/b/divspanspandivspanspanbr //span/span/divRomance matters in YA because it’s what a lot of teens think about. But I believe it also serves another purpose. It gives both YA protagonists and readers HOPE. /span/spandivbr //divdiv(Hear me out!)/divdivbr //divdivdiv style=”text-align: left; “What would ia href=”http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2767052-the-hunger-games”The Hunger Games/a/i be without the hints of romance between Katniss and Gale and then Katniss and Peeta? A VERY depressing book. The romantic relationships (especially the one between Katniss and Peeta in the first book of the trilogy) lighten the mood and provide hope that they can survive. At first the lovspanspane between them is a façade to help sa/span/spanve their lives. But then it becomes something more. Even in the most dire of situations, in the face of death, love prevails. This principal carries over to our real lives. Love ialways/i prevails. It’s cheesy, but true. 
/divdiv style=”text-align: left; “br //divdiv style=”text-align: left; “span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; “img src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zKGqIkpWz3k/TYvvA7-dU1I/AAAAAAAABtU/5BCeeOJ4zsg/s400/1zvv5mu.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”" id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587822562061931346″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; ” //span/divdivspan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; “span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”color: rgb(0, 0, 0); “div style=”text-align: left; “em/em/divspanspanbr /iFellow barista, Gabriela at a href=”http://iggiandgabi.blogspot.com/”iggiamp;gabi/a shares her thoughts on her blog. bCheck it out and then tell us why you think romance matters in YA! /b/i/span/spandiv style=”text-align: left; “embbr //b/em/divdiv style=”text-align: left; “ispan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-size:small;”*All photos from /spana href=”http://leloveimage.blogspot.com/”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-size:small;”leloveimage/span/a/i/div/span/span/div/div
I#39;m with you. I need romance in the books I read. It doesn#39;t have to be the main plot, but it does have to be a strong subplot to satisfy me. I was the same way as a teen. br /br /Maybe that#39;s why I haven#39;t read Like Mandarian yet. I own it. I know it#39;s supposed to be awesome. But there#39;s no romance. Soon though. Very soon and I#39;ll read it.
1Excellent points. I hadn#39;t identified that that was the root cause of me liking the romance in HUNGER GAMES, but you#39;re right. It was a shot of light in the midst of incredible darkness. When I was a teen, I read adult romances, because teen romances weren#39;t available. It#39;s nice that kids have an option now.
2I LOOOOVE romance in stories. Even if it#39;s not an actual romance book, I love reading about people in love. Heck, The Proposal is one of my favorite movies
3I#39;m a romantic at heart and loves me some good romance. Question, since I#39;m not as familiar with the YA audience: do you know the percentage of male to female readers? If yes, do boys gravitate towards YA novels that have less or no romance (or are there even any numbers on this)?
4@Stina: I really want to read LIKE MANDARIN. I know it doesn#39;t have romance so it#39;ll be interesting to see how I feel about it, given my love for love stories. I#39;ve heard nothing but good things about it though!br /br /@Lisa: I agree. When I was a teen, I didn#39;t read much YA because it didn#39;t exist as widely as it does now. I guess I#39;m making up for that with my reading now.
br /br /@Julie: I loved The Proposal too! I seriously can#39;t get enough of those types of movies.br /br /@Robyn: Interesting question! I want to say that teen girls read more than boys, which is why there are so many more YA novels that are geared toward girls. I know teen boys like to read too, but I#39;m not sure they want to read the girly romantic books. They probably gravitate more toward books with male protags so even if it#39;s a love story, they get the male point of view. Hmm. I might explore this more and write a post about it!
5I love LOVE too! An hint of romance is a great way to craft tension and conflict, and also get to know the characters that much better.
6Excellent points! My hubby can#39;t understand why I like chick flicks/romantic books, he says they all end the same. I tell him that#39;s why I like watching/reading them–to see HOW they get to that ending.br /br /And thanks for your comment on my blog. You should totally enter ROW80–it#39;s awesome because you set your own goals and get lots of encouragement along the way.
7I#39;m not into rom-coms and I don#39;t read romance (soon!) but I love romantic subplots in books. I think when the romance is centre stage it takes away some of the suspense for me because, hello, how could they not get together? Where#39;s the surprise? In YA you get the emotional highs of first love but you (okay, I) don#39;t necessarily have to go away believing this is forever so I think that makes it more believable. And I like cynically wondering how much is hormones versus genuine love. I think sex/romance matters because like you said, the kids are thinking about these things.br /- Sophia.
8Crushes and relationships are a HUGE part of most young adult lives, so of course there needs to be elements of that in YA.br /br /Plus, I love me a good swoon.
9The rom com is a huge hook for me. That#39;s why I loved Anna and the French Kiss. It was persome…. perfect and awesome.
10@Jennifer: SO true!br /br /@Jenn: A lot of them are the same and totally predictable but I love them anyway! It#39;s nice to always know you can look forward to a happy ending. I agree – HOW they get to that ending is what makes it interesting.br /br /@Sophia: I#39;ve never used quot;rom-comquot; before so at first I was like ???. Haha. It#39;s true that there#39;s not as much suspense in the predictable romance movies or books. But some stories make you wonder whether the couple will end up together. I usually read books with romantic subplots and that#39;s the kind of book I#39;m writing. Teen love is usually not forever but it#39;s still fun to read.
br /br /@Miriam: I agree!br /br /@Erinn: Persome! Love that!
11I love romance in books too! A first kiss, holding hands, being adored by the cutest boy in school…sooo fun to read!
12I need a bit of romance in the YA I read. Totally agree!
13Great post! You make a great point that romance matters in YA because it matters to teens in general.br /br /Funny how we both went to the Hunger Games on this one too.
Great minds must think alike!
14I am a sucker for romance. And you#39;re right! It can add an element of hope to an otherwise bleak story. Great point!!
15I totally agree. I automatically look for romance in a book when I start reading. I love the tension and the awkwardness. I love the lead-up to a kiss, that will they or won#39;t aspect.br /br /And I can#39;t imagine a teen who doesn#39;t think about romance. Maybe I#39;m being a girl, but as a teen I always had crushes and dreamed of holding hands, joking around, and slow dancing with a boy.
16@Dawn: Agreed!br /br /@Lydia: Glad you feel the same way!br /br /@Gabriela: I was thinking the same thing. Great minds DO think alike.
br /br /@Lisa: Thanks!br /br /@Tracey: I was the same way when I was a teen. And I also always look for the romance in books. I love the lead-up and tension too. 
17With you on this one
To me its pretty much Love is the only important thing. Everything else is secondary.br /br /a href=”http://fromsarahwithjoy.blogspot.com/” rel=”nofollow”Sarah Allenbr /(my creative writing blog)/a
18@Sarah: I agree. Love trumps everything.
19ROMANCE–yes! romance makes everything better, IMO. heh
great post!br /br /anyway, you#39;ve won an award on my blog! 
20I couldn#39;t agree with you more. I#39;m that girl who as soon as I read the tiniest HINT of a flirt I start to smile uncontrollably and can#39;t stop reading. I can#39;t wait to read more about your views on romance.br /br /lt;3 Gina Blechman
21@Gina: I#39;m the same way.
22