I feel like this post is not going to be at all relevant, but it's something that's on my mind. Romance. I guess. : /
I hate being in love with someone who doesn't even know what I look like and he never will. I'll never see him face to face and he'll never see me, but I can't help feeling that I love him. But how should I know. I've never been in love. Can you believe that? Twenty years old and never been in love.
So what's with this ridiculous belief that we have to fall in love as teenagers anyway? It seems to permiate media and books and...well everything. It's like a disease. Young love. It's like if you're not in love at sixteen there's something wrong with you. Well you know what? I do want to be in love, but if it's because the media says I should be I will die all alone. I don't want to fall in love because the world says I should so why does the media tell us that so many romances have to happen at sixteen? Go look at your YA fantasy. How old are your characters? Is there a romance in said novel? My question is WHY. Why do we feel romance is so necessary in today's fiction? I'm really getting sick of it. Maybe I'm just not well enough read and there are some really good novels out there that don't have sappy teen romance, but at this moment I feel I haven't found any.
I like a touch of romance, but not where the romance is the main plot point in the novel. I think that's boring and I don't want it in my YA. And so many of it's just so badly written. There's no depth, no character development and no deeper meaning.
Please forgive the rant, I'm just tired.
In my experience, I've found that there truly is no single way to be in love or one type of love that's more valid than another. When I was fourteen, I thought that love was sheepishness and modesty and lying around all day holding hands. At twenty my perception of love has entirely changed, into something honest and not all that romantic, something that may be stripped of the flowery notions that I used to have but that is also much more satisfying and is based on mutual interests, trust, and ability to work together. But does that mean my love wasn't real when I was fourteen? I don't think so. I think that love grows and changes and can be non-linear.
ReplyDeleteI think we see so many romances in ya novels because so many teenagers are like I was when I was fourteen, and believe that what they're experiencing IS the highest form of love. I think the problem with romance in YA isn't that it's there or that it perpetuates the idea that we must fall in love as teenagers. I think that idea perpetuates itself, what with school dances and generally high school drama. I think the real problem is that ya novels only seem to present the kind of love I thought was real when I was fourteen, but they present it as if it were mature, adult, sustainable love. Because the problem with my perception of love at 14 isn't that it wasn't "true," because to me it was. It's that it wasn't sustainable. YA novels should strive to have more nuances, subtleties, and growth in their romances instead of two-inch deep, halmark love.
I'll step off of my soap box now.
You're right. You're absolutely right. I think as teenagers we really like the idea of a hot and heavy romance as well but only when we're older do we appreciate something more solid.I've never been in love though so I really have no business talking honestly.
ReplyDeleteOh high school drama. I'm glad I've graduated. I think your right again. I'd like to compile a list of my favorite YA romances and then dissect WHY I like them, but I don't really read a whole lot of YA...maybe it's time to start.
Oh I've gotten a little farther in Stray and it's growing on me. :) I just have a hard time identifying with characters who are surrounded by males (I'm terrible, I know) because I don't really have experiences like that, and a lot of the tension seems sexual and awkward to me.
ReplyDelete...I only now know who you are. >.< How lame is that? I love you Amber!!! Oh goodie. :) That does make me happy. I love how she's a fighter and she doesn't take crap from anyone. And she's always winds up with wicked scars. :D That's because it is sexual and awkward... >.> I forgot about that...oops.
ReplyDeleteLol, whoops! Sorry, I guess I should have made it more clear who I was. -giggles- I'm thinking about using this as my author name. What do you think? I do like that she's a fighter. The thing that really bothered me was that she "bargained" with sex to get the keys to Jace's (?) truck. I felt like that wasn't a something a strong, fighter female would do, so it kind of took away from the message of her as a fighter for me. But I was glad to see that nothing came of it, so I've rewarmed up to the story. I also don't read a lot of fantasy, so that could be part of the problem.
ReplyDeletelol, maybe. A Leigh W? I like it. I like A Leigh White too, but maybe I just like the sound. 8D
ReplyDeleteYeah...I thought that was a little weird, but I enjoyed the idea that she knew what he wanted and she used it to manipulate him. Maybe it's my twisted thinking, but I saw that as intelligence. She went after the weakest link. Yeah, me too. -laughs- Perhaps. Fantasy is my forte after all. :)
See, I felt like it was a cheap way for the author to slip in more sexual tension. -Shrug- I'm thinking that if it had happened further in the book it may have viewed it differently, once I understood her character more. Also, I just keep thinking "You have a boyfriend! A nice one!"
ReplyDeleteI also like A Leigh White, but I'm afraid "A Leigh" sounds like a girl's name more with White in there...which doesn't make much sense, but whatever. Maybe just A Leigh? (Not that it's important to decide now, lol!)
That makes sense, it probably was. I know right? But I didn't like how pushy Mark was, but Andrew was sweet.
ReplyDeleteIt might, but I do like the flow of A. Leigh White. We can mull over it and make up our minds when your books is finished.