
There are countless books in Young Adult Literature where the main character must fall in love with the main love interest by the end of the book. These two characters fall in love in the most unrealistic of ways without even knowing each other that well and only having maybe a handful of conversations. Yet for some reason, young readers seem to devour those books. There are so many copies of this cliché and unrealistic type of book sold in the bookstores more often than not that it’s unbearable.
But does the love in these books happen naturally? Can someone fall in love as quickly as these characters fell in love? How do these instances of insta-love affect the younger readers who gravitate towards these particular books? Are they getting the impression that love happens right away, like it does in the books they’re reading?
This idea of insta-love isn’t a new concept; it has been around for many centuries and can be found in fairy tales. But there’s something more to fairy tales like “Cinderella” or “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” than just the protagonist falling in love with the prince at the end. There usually is some kind of moral at the end, a lesson for children to learn. “Cinderella” presents a theme that hard work pays off in the end. In “Snow White,” the moral is beauty comes from within.
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These books set the expectations of young readers too high for real life relationships. In books, the romance is shown as everlasting and perfect, but it doesn’t show the fact that most relationships, especially ones between high schoolers, rarely last forever. There is often heartbreak that these novels often ignore, only showing happy side of a relationship. They don’t go into the idea of shifting feelings, such as realizing two people don’t have as much in common as initially believed and life changes, such as moving away, both of which could mean the end of a relationship. Young adult books rarely discuss unhealthy relationships, which could be harmful since that could mean impressionable readers aren’t exposed to the signs of an unhealthy relationship.
What happens when a relationship doesn’t work out? What happens when the love that the characters thought would be forever doesn’t turn out to actually last? Or the love they are feeling actually ends up being unhealthy? Young readers would be disappointed to find out that not all relationships end in a happily ever after. And if that’s the case with most relationships, then why don’t authors portray that aspect of love? Probably because that’s not what would sell in the bookstore. Would you read a book where the main characters don’t end up together? Probably not. I know I wouldn’t.
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