Just as an introductory note to my reading/writing preferences: I tend to really like to rant, sometimes jumping from topic to topic, and I tend to read a lot of non-YA, mostly science fiction and fantasy but not restricted to that. I'll try to stay in YA-ish territory, but no promises! And I'm a bit of a curmudgeon, so I thought I'd start off with displaying my curmudgeonly tendencies for all to see, so you know what you're getting into... So, romance and other relationships!
Romance, of course, has a long tradition of trumping all other sorts of relationships in works featuring Young Adults, dating back at least as far as Romeo and Juliet. But you know what? These days, I almost never even think about the guys I had the OMG CENTER OF MY UNIVERSE WHAT WILL I EVER DO WITHOUT THEM intense romances in high school and college. The relationships that still endure from those days? The relationships with my sister and my mom and my dad. The relationships with my best friends. Those are the ones that have stood the test of time; those are the ones that, looking back, were and have remained the most important to me. Even now, when I'm married to a guy I think is totally and completely awesome, my relationships with my family (and his family, for that matter) and the deep bonds with my friends are still so very important to me.So I tend to really adore books that give relationships other than romance an important part to play. Of course romance is an important part of most people's lives, but so are a lot of other relationships. Sarah Rees Brennan is one author who really thinks about this. In her Demon trilogy, there are eventually various romantic pairings, but the most important relationship is between two brothers, and there are a plethora of other relationships -- familial, professional -- to round out the story. Sort of like real life, how about that! Team Human (Brennan and Larbalestier) obviously contains romance, but it's really a book about friendship and what friendship means. I loved it.
I also think Kristin Cashore's Seven Kingdoms books also do this well; in Bitterblue, in particular, the important relationships tend to be friendships and family, and not so much romance; and Fire, while it features an important romance, situates that romance in the context of other people. (Oh, yeah, that's something else. No romance ever exists in a vacuum! No matter how STAR-CROSSED and SOUL-BONDED a pair might be, they still have to hang out with friends or family or co-workers or something once in a while, unless it's a seriously dysfunctional relationship!)
There we have it! I would love if you would comment on this great guest post! If you enjoyed it, please see her website for more great posts! charlie-ego.livejournal.com
Great post! I completely agree that it's important to consider other relationships. In fact, one reason I'm not as drawn to YA as to adult fictions is that very reason--I think there's too much emphasis on some things (not just this but other subjects as well) and not enough emphasis on others. Glad to find others that think the same thing! :D
ReplyDeleteThanks! Yes, many authors seem to think YA = simplistic -- I see this sometimes with authors I think wrote really amazing adult books -- but it doesn't have to be.
DeleteYou might check out Code Name Verity (uh, I just read this and am still in the throes of everyone-needs-to-read-this), which I'm not sure was even marketed as YA -- the protagonists are YA age but they function in adult roles, if that makes sense.
What a great article. It got me thinking about books I've read and the kinds of relationships depicted in them. I wanted to recommend to CB a book or series that celebrates all the important relationships in someone's life and doesn't just dwell ad nauseam on a teenage crush. Something with a main character that forms bonds with her family and friends and doesn't neglect them over some boy she's head over heels about. Have you ever heard of a book called TWILIGHT ...
ReplyDeleteVery funny, Shawn! ;)
DeleteThanks! Also, HEE. You should definitely read Team Human... it's about a girl who has an instant soul bond with a vampire... no really! But it's about friendship. I promise! (It's a satire of Twilight, but has its own things to say.)
DeleteI really agree with you in this post! All the books you've mentioned are all on my tbr list, and I'm happy to find out they don't completely center around romance. Not that I don't like romance, but I, like you, find reading about other relationships to be interesting and something I can really relate to. Great post! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy to find others who like relationships other than romance -- thanks for the kind words! I really hope you like the books -- I very much enjoyed all of them (and for a curmudgeon like me, that's saying something!)
Delete(This is CB/charlie-ego; for some reason blogspot won't let me log in with my LJ account like it did before, bah.)
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ReplyDeleteThe Hunger Games trilogy shows different kinds of relationships too. Like Katniss' love for her sister Prim :))
ReplyDeleteYes, that's true! It's nice that it's sibling love that really cements the whole plot. Another of my favorite relationships in the Hunger Games is the rather odd one between Katniss and Haymitch, because it's so complicated -- Haymitch is her mentor, but he's also using her, but he's also on her side even before she knows what side she's on -- all at the same time.
DeleteGreat post and I completely agree! Insta-love is a huge turn-off in books for me.
ReplyDeleteI apreciate books that aren`t only about the relationship between the two main characters, but about people close to them, too. Those books usually earn more stars, because of the authors thoughtfulness.
ReplyDeleteLast books that I`d read that have that quality are Waiting by Carol Lynch Williams and Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park.
Thank you for such a fantastic post that was really interesting. I do understand that romance does add to a story's intensity, making it interesting & something that many can relate to but i also understand the importance of other relationships. You can't replace flesh and blood and that strong bond between a sibling or a mother and her child, it is so strong.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you on this one. I think about this occasionally and it's completely true.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
Very nice post. It's great to read about others who like it when other relationships are presented too. I'm very wary about which YA books I read because I don't like romance to be the center of it nor do I like it to debilate a character's personality. I love friendships and it's great to see them developed as well.
ReplyDeleteInsta-love is a huge turn off for me!
Thanks for the post
True! Honestly, I'm not into romance books that much. A little is okay but if the book is all about boyfriends or girlfriends, I'd rather not read it. But I like books about love, friendship, family, and hope.
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