It’s okay not to date when you’re a teen. But I wish there were more books where girls (and boys) were simply living life or saving the world without romance. I enjoy reading it, and I sometimes seek it out. But she does have her moments, albeit they are few and far in between, and at this point, I doubt they’ll survive my editing process. She’s too busy studying to think about some boy’s smile or (insert jewel description) eyes. Because of that pressure, I actually set out to include more romance in my latest, but sure enough, I found myself following the same pattern I always do: There is a romantic interest, but he’s on the sidelines while my protagonist is striving to…I don’t know…save the world or her sister or her friends. But more than ever before, I feel pressured to include romance where romance isn’t necessary. It’s okay to focus on studying and family and friendships instead of love. While I can see the market value in focusing on these tropes, I feel an increasing value in the opposite of those aspects as well. That being said, almost every editorial letter I’ve received included the suggestion of getting my characters “closer” or focusing more on their romantic endeavors rather than their friendships or families or fighting for the world they live in. But hey, they’re trying to protect their families and survive a government out to kill them, so I think they have a lot on their hands. In Bad Bloods, Daniel and Serena kiss….twice?…in 600 pages. That being said, my romantic plots are hardly romantic in comparison to popular YA books today. I write YA, and every single one of my YA books has a romance subplot in it. I LOVE suggestions.) Love that will never change? My love for YA (By the way, if you have suggestions, feel free to leave them below. Out of the last ten YA books I’ve read, the only one who featured no one falling in love was This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab. But I wish there were more YA books (in all genres) that allowed the characters to explore space, chase enemies, and save the world without falling in love, too. Granted, I must clarify that you can be focused on romance and still be a heroine. And, sure, sometimes a kiss was shared here or there, but romance never seemed to be the focus. All of their YA books featured kickass, often hilarious, and always intelligent girls living life, figuring out a mess, and defeating any enemy they came across. Oh! And Lynne Ewing’s Daughters of the Moon series. Same with Meg Cabot (specifically when she was known as Jenny Carroll and wrote the 1-800-Where-R-You series and the Mediator series). I particularly loved Ally Carter’s The Gallagher Girls books, because the romance was few and far in between. I wanted to read books (and write them), and other than that, I ran around with my husky or my brother or studied a lot. That being said, at 14, I wanted to hang out with friends. However, I know some 14-year-olds can relate, and that’s fine! No worries. But I cannot imagine reading that at 14 and feeling like I could relate, even though the characters were that age. As an example, a YA book I just read had a one-night-stand between two inexperienced strangers, where both acted as if they were cool with it. But this fact has changed the marketplace, and I honestly believe that’s why we’re seeing more sex in YA literature, including less “fade to black” scenes. A lot of young adults are reading fanfiction online instead, and hey, no shame! That’s awesome. (Hey, look! There’s me!) Granted, there is a lot of debate about this-and it’s hard to prove, considering adults can buy books as gift or teens can borrow books-but I love speaking to teens at my signings, and have listened to them say the same thing. Ten years ago, YA literature was widely bought by the YA crowd (ages 14-18), but more recently, the average age of the YA buyer has increased to 20-25. Why? Well, we have to consider our buyer. More often than not, romance sells better than anything else. If you’re a first-time author, then you probably already know the struggles of completing a manuscript, editing one, joining the query trenches, and understanding the marketplace. But the long answer is a lot more complicated. Instead, I wanted to focus on the overall umbrella term of romance in YA. But that’s another debate for another day. (Or, as they usually say, sex sells.) And now more than ever, sex is being introduced into young adult literature every day.
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