Since at least the time of Romeo and Juliet, people have been obsessed with young love in literature, dominated by themes of hope, passion, bickering, and the potential for tragedy. Unlike the adult romance genre which is so clearly based in relatively strict conventions regarding sex, sexuality, and gender, young adult (YA) romance is less a genre in itself and more a theme that crosses all other genres: contemporary, science fiction/paranormal, fantasy, and magical realism. Searching any book seller's site for YA romance leads to an eclectic and disparate set of texts. Therefore, rather than defining a specific YA romance genre, this chapter focuses on the ways romance across YA literature is constructed similarly to and different from adult romance, including gender construction and relationship norms. In order to identify the audience, purpose, and themes of YA literature, the "genre" will be defined in relationship to adult romance. Ultimately, I argue that (1) YA literature is not a cohesive genre, (2) YA literature and adult romance embrace similar tropes, and (3) through the lens of the female gaze, YA literature manipulates cultural expectations of gender and sexuality.
This chapter first provides an overview of YA literature, including the essential romantic tropes that drive YA romance similarly to adult fiction, even if "romance" is occurring within a different subgenre. For example, whether adult or YA, romance is largely fueled by a male-female gender dichotomy in which masculine and feminine characteristics are established as opposing forces. The reliance on social conventions of romance and gender may be part of the appeal of YA romance as readers know what to expect, and their expectations are satisfied. However, because YA literature's audience is largely female [...], the female gaze subverts the traditional gender dichotomy, making YA literature a space that navigates traditional gender construction and a negotiated view based on the female gaze. In contrast to Mulvey's (1975) description of the male gaze in cinema, the female gaze uses the feminine lens to view women as storytellers, and the art to be more reflective of their desires[.] This chapter identifies characteristics and themes that form the basis for an archetypal myth about love in literature. Through a textual analysis of two seminal books: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (Saenz, 2012) and Eleanor and Park (Rowell, 2013), the chapter identifies three major differences between YA and adult romance: negotiated gender, sex, and sexuality. (99)