Psychologists and social critics have sounded the alarm that the relational capacity of American youth is decreasing with each generation because of unsupportive cultural practices. However, relational capacity hampered in early childhood, may be fostered by relationally-focused literature in later childhood.
Teen romance novels engage readers in relational processes and potentially advance relational capacity through the biopsychosocial processes of reading. The imaginative work that occurs while reading literature stimulates intellectual, and psychological processes potentially priming youth for actual experience. In this way, teen novels may enable teen readers to imagine possible future selves. Vygotsky emphasized that learning occurs within and because of the relational space between individuals and their sociocultural environment. He asserted that cultural tools - such as books - assist in mediating that space.
Using general theories of attachment, this chapter explains how the novels, The Fault in Our Stars (2012) and Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (2012), draw teen readers into a potent shared space wherein love is defined, witnessed, and imaginatively experienced. However, another teen romance, Always and Forever, Lara Jean (2017) amplifies reader anxiety by prioritizing materialistic and extrinsic values, providing illogical trajectories for love, and rewarding its protagonist for manipulative behavior.
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