Friday, March 30, 2012

A New Romantic Era


No, Miss Shelved has not suddenly discovered the Harlequin backlist. Rather YA is enjoying a literary turn from the realistic to the fantastic, with all the dark sociological implications thereof.

Briefly, in realistic YA lit, the protagonist is finding him-or herself: establishing an identify and finding an affinity group, despite the requisite twists and dead-ends in the course of the discovery. In romantic YA lit, yes, there is self-discovery, but what is uncovered is the protagonist's otherness: why he or she cannot and never will truly fit in in. These young characters are damaged, maybe even damned, and their relationships are doomed. They are vampires, werewolves, angels, demon hunters, nephilim, warlocks, just to name a few. Not that there aren't some advantages, including the odd superpower, kicking weaponry, cheekbones to die for, and really good hair.

Lately there has been some buzz about how this trend reflects the hell that is the typical American high school, full of typical American teens, afflicted with typical teen angst. That angst boils down to a sense of being different, misunderstood, unable to fit in -- but with a passionate hope that all this makes one somehow special rather than cloddish. Heavens, we've all been there.

Deep and guilty pleasure as these books are, we hope authors bring on more of these doorstops, and pick us up another bag of potato chips on the way. Bet you can't eat just one.

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