Welcome to the August’s Teen Book Club! Can you believe that half the summer has already passed! Even though the library is open in a small capacity, we still can’t meet in the library, so we’re doing a book club here on the blog. Participate by commenting below this post and start discussions with other teens. And there’s prizes!! Remember, 1 teen will win 1 Book Prize each week for a thoughtful comment in the monthly Teen Book Club.
For the month of August, let’s talk all about Romance in books. Should romance always be a plot point in books?
To get you started, here are some questions for you:
- Romance is great and lovely, but should it be in almost every book?
- Did the romance make sense, or did it ruin the story?
- Why is romance such a large part of teen books?
- Does the romance in the story help the character or the plot?
- What is your favourite romance book or storyline?
Just to get you started, I love romance novels. I love all the gushy, cute and cheesy love stories. Sometimes, I just want a break from reality or a break from heavier topics in books, and just want to read about about two people falling in love. That said, I don’t like think every plotline needs a romance. I don’t think that a love story makes a character deeper or a plotline more dynamic. One example I can think of is The Maze Runner series. Why did there need to be a romance between Thomas and Theresa? It didn’t add to the story and pulled me out of the world that was so carefully created. What do you all think?
Personally, I’m not that into books surrounded by romance, but I do enjoy other 2 people relationships, ex. brother and sister\ friendship. In the book Finding Audrey, There was romance between Linus and Audrey. It was cute because Linus was helping Audrey gain confidence. Audrey’s brother, Frank could’ve easily helped her just as Linus did. I can see that they were trying to get use out of Linus since he is just Frank’s friend but it is a bit unnecessary.
Erin, let me start with saying that I LOVE that book. It’s funny, heartfelt and shows that every family has their quirks. I loved the romance between Linus and Audrey, and how he simply wanted to help her!
I’m going to be honest here- romance is *usually* one of the main things I look for in a book (AHH, flashbacks to when I only read books from the chick-lit section in the library). If not romance, then I usually enjoy a very close friendship between people that have an underlying hint of chemistry. Though, as much as I love the cheesiness between two characters, I don’t think that EVERY book should have romance included. I mean, sure, it makes things different and unique when it comes to character development. But, I feel like sometimes they’re just better off without a relationship at all because it wouldn’t make sense in some plots.
I feel like romance is a huge part of teen books because most of us enjoy the thought of relationships. When I read romance books, it makes me feel smiley and happy inside. I guess that’s what the author is trying to get us to explore; perhaps this feeling was how they felt when they were a teenager as well, and they’re trying to incorporate this into their writing.
One of my favourite romance books is “They Both Die at the End.” This book shows how important it is to share your life with someone else, and it shows the worth of personal relationships. It’s definitely worth a read! 🙂
I loved “They Both Die at the End”!! It’s one of the romance novels I surprised myself by loving hahah 🙂
Max, you make some really great points here!!! I think you’re right in saying that a lot of romance finds its way into teen books because teens want to read about romance. First love is so impactful and all-encompassing, and it usually happens when you are in your teens/ early 20s. And I’m with you in that I also gravitate to romance novels when I want to feel all smiley and happy 🙂
I think the reason so many teen books, regardless of genre, have at least one romantic storyline is because the author want to make the characters feel more real. A romantic subplot is one way to delve deeper into a character’s personality, make them relatable and also add a lighter tone to the whole novel. We get ‘intermission time’ from the main plot, which is useful, especially in darker-themed genres. One of my favourite romance-and-other-genres book is “My Lady Jane.” Still, if the romantic subplot seems forced, it becomes irritating real fast. Especially when everything I stated above can be done with other relationship plot lines (friendship, family, etc.) or even a character-only plot line (career, hobby, self-betterment, etc.).
All that’s to say: romantic subplots aren’t the only kind of subplots one can have, and unless they’re well-written, they’re best left out.
Oh Inshal!!! I completely agree!! Romance is definitely not the only kind of subplot to have!! As I’ve already said, I am a big mush, but if the romance isn’t written well, it pulls me right out of the story. I also hate it when love/romance/kissing someone is meant to solve all the characters problems! Drives me bananas!
Oh boy I love this topic!
I think that romance is not at ALL necessary for a good book. In fact, some of my favourite books have not a hint of it! However, some sort of relationship is definitely needed for all stories, whether that be friendship, siblings, or loooove.
For example, I LIVE for the Ruby Redfort series, and there is nothing but platonic love between Ruby and Clancy. However, I also love when romance is exceptionally well-written, such as Percy and Annabeth’s story, or Aelin and Rowan! Many characters have made me believe in love 🙂
I think a lot of YA authors have the notion that if they don’t add romance to their story, it won’t be appealing to teen readers, or as “relatable,” but that is completely false! Friendships are absolutely enough, and if you can’t write romance well, don’t write it at all! It actually takes away from the story.
In my opinion, the best thing a romance can be is subtle, yet slowly developing (I love, love, LOVE slowburn). That way, it doesn’t distract from the actual plot, but is still incredibly intriguing and is exciting to the readers when they start to noticed its development!
Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever really loved a romance novel, and the last one I read was probably back in Grade 7: The Selection. They are just very bland to me, and I’d much rather read a book with some action. Because of that though, I have loved many, manyyy romances in all genres of books!
I agree! My favourite fiction romances are rarely from the romance genre, since I find it much more interesting to have it as a side plot. AND SLOWBURNS!!!!!!!!! What can I say except SLOW. BURNS. OWN. MY. HEART. No wonder we enjoy the same type of books LOLLL >:)
I’m starting to think we’re the same person LOL. If it doesn’t take eons to develop, and have characters that grow with each other I DON’T WANT IT >:(
Seriously though, I haaaate relationships that move so darn quick, like slow down thereeeeee. Now Kaz and Inej though? SO SUBTLE, BUT SO SOSOSOSOSOOSOSOSOSOSO GOOD!
Is that from Six of Crows? I haven’t read it yet but I know it’s very popular. Moving it up on my tbr list now!!
Oh my gosh YES. I didn’t actually like it very much when I first read it but… DANG. It’s amazing. And the sequel too, which is practically unheard of. You should definitely check it out!
Rosie (and Inshal for that matter), if you love slow burns, I think you have an old soul – no doubt about it. Reading about the slowburn love is sooooooo good! All the tension, and moments not taken, and will they/wont’ they, and are they friends or more than friends… SO GOOD!!!! Very good observation!! I love Rainbow Rowell or Jennifer E. Smith for these kinds of romances.
And I also agree that friend relationships are equally, if not more important, and if they are written well, are so satisfying. The most recent one I read that I thought capture really well a “ride or die” type friendship was If You’re Out There by Katy Loutzenhiser. It’s a great book about friendship and what happens when people change/move away. Read it! https://yourlibrary.bibliocommons.com/item/show/1333688101
Oh my gosh I definitely do. I love listening to the old, slow love songs too hehe. Romance is not dead if I have anything to say about it! And thank you so so much for the recommendation, I am DEFINITELY checking that out, although… I have a feeling it might break my heart a lil from what you said about how people change/move awayyy. But! I survived Heartless, I will survive this 🙂
I don’t think romance should be in every book because some books are just meant to be for fun, not for romance. In most books that I read, the romance made sense, but in the series, “The Court of Thorns and Roses,” it didn’t make sense in the least.
I think that romance is a large part in teen books because teens like to read about love. I think romance can help a story along if it is used as a motive for a person to commit and action, but can also ruin it if the romance doesn’t make sense. My favourite book with romance is “The Red Queen.”
Lucian, you are spot on when you say that a romance has to make sense in a book. It does totally ruin the story if it doesn’t make sense for the character or plot. It’s such a let down when you realize that the author doesn’t know how to end the story, and feels like romance will fix everything. And who doesn’t love The Red Queen – so good!!!
I love when there is romance in a book but I can also be extremely irritated just by the presence of it. When I read a good romance that really intertwines itself into the plot I will literally become obsessed with it and read it a million times. But then at the same time the whole theme can be just too cliche that it hurts to even think about. For example, two people who fall in “love” right away and ready to sacrifice everything without even getting to know one another, who cheating is portrayed as an acceptable thing just because the one the do it with is their “soulmate”, easily explainable misunderstandings that just cause way too much drama and is dragged out way to long, two people who like one another and it’s obvious to everyone else but neither of them says anything. I found reading Japanese manga and anime helps avoid those problems. As they are more focused on relationships that form from long friendships and connections. Right now a couple I’m reading/watching are Kimi no Todoke, Toradora, or even the Promised Neverland where it is mainly family love. The Promised Neverland shows how they care for one another even though none of them are related; how even when one of them lost their memory they didn’t let that come in between them and were just happy to finally be safe and together after constantly escaping from one place to another and fighting for their lives. These stories all show how love comes from trust, loyalty, and time to slowly build up. Not something that can happen with anyone in a blink of an eye just because of a little crush. Sometimes I love the story, the plot, and the characters but hate the romance. YA Authors often add romance in many stories as it is quite popular with the audience. And I feel that it is their way to try to attract more teens and engage with the reader. However, the romance doesn’t even make sense with the plot and feels forced. A good romance needs to compliment the story just right by adding all the right flavors that don’t overpower everything else but compliments the whole experience. Like I really enjoyed The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstian series as the love triangle added to the plot and the true intentions of everyone. Personally I prefer romance and relationships between friends, between people who actually know one another. Family love, friendships, and stuff like that is usually more appealing for me. I enjoy the stories where the author allows the characters to take things slowly and their bond is subtly increasing every scene. Bone Crier’s Moon is another great one and right now I’m anxiously waiting for the sequel. The connections between the characters happen really slowly and took time to evolve into care for one another.
Hi Alina, I loved what you said here! I agree that a wrongly placed romance can be very irritating! And that relationships between friends and family can be just as good as reading about romantic love. Great points and thank you for letting us know what shows/books you’re interested in!