Romance sells. (Or, as they usually say, sex sells.) And now more than ever, sex is being introduced into young adult literature every day. But that’s another debate for another day. Instead, I wanted to focus on the overall umbrella term of romance in YA.
Is romance necessary in every YA book?
The short answer is no, of course not. But the long answer is a lot more complicated.
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.
More often than not, romance sells better than anything else.
Why? Well, we have to consider our buyer.
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. (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. A lot of young adults are reading fanfiction online instead, and hey, no shame! That’s awesome. I’m just happy when people are reading. 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. 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. Nothing wrong with that. Don’t get me wrong. But I cannot imagine reading that at 14 and feeling like I could relate, even though the characters were that age. However, I know some 14-year-olds can relate, and that’s fine! No worries. Just be safe. 🙂
That being said, at 14, I wanted to hang out with friends. 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.
I particularly loved Ally Carter’s The Gallagher Girls books, because the romance was few and far in between. 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). Oh! And Lynne Ewing’s Daughters of the Moon series. 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. Friendship mattered. Family, too. And, sure, sometimes a kiss was shared here or there, but romance never seemed to be the focus. Being a heroine was.
Granted, I must clarify that you can be focused on romance and still be a heroine. Please do not get me wrong. 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.
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. Definitely recommended. (By the way, if you have suggestions, feel free to leave them below. I LOVE suggestions.)
Granted, I can admit I’m a hypocrite. I write YA, and every single one of my YA books has a romance subplot in it. That being said, my romantic plots are hardly romantic in comparison to popular YA books today. In Bad Bloods, Daniel and Serena kiss….twice?…in 600 pages. And that’s it. 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.
They can always kiss later. If they even want to.
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. And I find it increasingly frustrating.
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.
It’s okay to focus on studying and family and friendships instead of love. It’s a personal choice. But more than ever before, I feel pressured to include romance where romance isn’t necessary. 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. She’s too busy studying to think about some boy’s smile or (insert jewel description) eyes. 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. And I’m so torn about it.
I wanted to write romance. I tried. But I can’t. And I’m trying to be okay with that. I am trying to be okay with me.
I love romance. I enjoy reading it, and I sometimes seek it out. But I wish there were more books where girls (and boys) were simply living life or saving the world without romance. It’s okay not to date when you’re a teen. It’s okay not to have romantic feelings. It’s okay to be focused elsewhere.
I wanted to read about girls like that when I was 14, 15, 16, and even now, so I guess that’s why I write my books the way I do. It’s that fact that made me accept myself again. (Oh, and talking to a bunch of my fellow writer friends. They helped, too.)
Romance will definitely help you sell your book—be it to an agent, a publisher, or a reader—but don’t force it. The most important aspect of any book is to be true to your work, and if that means avoiding crushes and angst-ridden kisses, then so be it.
I will continue to have romantic subplots, because that is my style, but as of today, my protagonist will focus on her studies more. She might not even kiss anyone at all. And that’s perfectly A-okay with me. (And more importantly, okay with her.)
If one day she changes her mind, I will listen to her, and if she doesn’t, I will continue to listen to her. Why? My answer is simple.
A protagonist is enough without a love interest to back them up. So is a story.
~SAT
Shannon A. Thompson 
Really enjoyed this post. I love a good romance in stories too but I also agree with you that you can have a great book featuring a great main character without romance being the focus. I think the only YA books I’ve read that come close to that are John Flanagan’s Ranger’s Apprentice series. While, yes, love does come up, it only takes up a very small percentage of the 12 books combined. It’s not the focus at all – only when it matters. What is the focus are the main characters (how they grow and change) and the dangers they face. I love these books for the characters, the plot, the action, and adventures they go on – the romance is just a happy bonus.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I also enjoy romance in books, but I definitely prefer it when it’s just a “bonus,” as you put it. Thank you for reading and commenting! I will have to check out the Ranger’s Apprentice series, since I haven’t yet.
~SAT
Reblogged this on Don Massenzio's Blog and commented:
For those of you that are YA authors, here is a valuable post on the topic of whether or not inclusion of romance is necessary from Shannon A. Thompson’s blog
Thank you for sharing! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
~SAT
You’re welcome
I think most people like to have that ‘fly on the wall’ perspective to a good juicy romance -especially in YA books where hormones are raging. Yes, there are other very important subjects to explore, and it doesn’t need to be the main focus- I suppose it depends on what you want the reader to take away from the story. But the thing with romance is that, it still shrouds itself in mystery and there’ll always be a hunger for that..
Absolutely! I enjoy a good romance. I have no issue with romance being around. I love it. I just wish we had more books with less focus on it, is all. More variety on focus, especially for teens.
~SAT
Totally understand!
I’m really not a fan of sex being in these books aimed at teenagers, but that’s probably just my opinion. But, I see your point of romance being tricky.
It would be nice to see books where there’s no romance and they just worry about other things, but then I feel somewhere deep inside me, I’d want some sort of love story: probably the inner romantic, lol. I grew up watching a lot of Bollywood/Indian movies. And many of them (especially from the 70s and 80s which are the ones I watched a lot of) are of a genre called “masala”. A masala is a spice mixture used in Indian cuisine, hence a masala film is a film that has so many things mixed in it. Basically, a film would have romance, suspense, comedy, melodrama, and every other aspect you can think of all rolled into one. They would never ever be one genre alone, but would balance all the different aspects throughout the film. So since I grew up with that outlook, I honestly don’t see what’s wrong with novels being the same: a mixture of all these elements without taking away any of the elements. But, that’s just my opinion.
Yeah…I’m not sure how I feel about sex in YA. Personally, I cannot imagine myself writing anything but a fade to black scene (if that), but I am surprised at how graphic it is getting (and so quickly, too). I love your discussion about mixing genres, because I love stories like that. They are a difficult sell though, since most buyers on the marketplace want a clear genre and shelf spot, so to speak, but I absolutely love all types of events and feelings happening at once.
~SAT
What I find frustrating, is that everyone wants more romance in books that have less romance, but people as a whole still turn their nose up at the genre, and not just readers, authors do to. Romance sells, but admitting that you read or write it is still sometimes met with ridicule as if a book is somehow less because it’s a romance.
This is very true! With romance being so popular, you’d think people wouldn’t look down at the writers behind it, but I see it happen all the time. Very sad. I definitely do not look down at romance writers. Like I said, I love a good romance. I think I actually envy them since I have such a difficult time adding it to my manuscripts lol
~SAT
Thanks so much for this. In middle school and high school, I desperately wanted books (particularly with female protagonists) that didn’t focus on romance. Romance wasn’t a part of my life, but it seemed like these fictional girls were always obsessing with cute boys. I also think there’s a huge need for more YA books with asexual and aromantic protagonists. I identify as asexual now, but I didn’t even know what that was for most of high school. Plus, the huge focus on romantic love and sexual attraction can be really alienating if you’re aromantic or asexual.
Yes to the asexual protagonists!!! We need more variety, especially for teens, because of what you said. Thank you for reading and adding to the conversation.
~SAT
I’m so glad you shared your views on this matter. I’m new at novel writing, but I don’t want to and won’t have steamy romance in my writing. It probably has much to do with my age, but as a junior high teacher, I see kids just needing to be kids and often pushed to be something else. I want to give them something fresh and clean to read like I had when I was a kid. No pressure!
Thank you! I’m glad you liked it. 🙂 I know I felt super pressured as a teen and just wanted something fun to read. Heck, I still do. Just feels like a forgotten place, and when teens tell me they feel forgotten at bookstores, my heart hurts for them. A lot of them want clean and fun, just hang out with your friends or family reads. And they are few and far in between right now.
~SAT
For what it’s worth, I know many young readers who don’t want the romance in there. They feel it’s forced and only there for the YA formula. Good on you for writing your stories your way.