First, apologies for the long overdue write-up on the SWF author panel about … Instalove: Romance & the YA novel. Life intervened and I was caught up with a slew of stuff.
Second, well… what is love? This song sums up everything: Haddaway says it best!
Romance is the hot trend for YA novels. You think “YA novels” and you instantly about Twilight and its ilk. Well, it is true that romance is important in YA novels. Teens are after all discovering this vital aspect of growing up. But the teen years are not just love: they are also beset with issues of identity, of fitting in, of choosing their right paths(s) and of balancing emotions that are sometimes out of control (aww, thanks puberty!).
After a reading of selected pages/paragraphs of our books, Joyce Chua, Rachel Hartman and I answered questions from the audience. Kudos to Denise of Closetful of Books as an awesome moderator and kept the momentum going.
So, to sum up (and I am trying to remember what had been said/discussed!): Romance is important, but not the only aspect in a teen’s life. Yet, romance and love can have its redemptive aspect: for Joyce Chua’s Lambs For Dinner, love is redemptive for the protagonist. There are other kinds of love and they are as redemptive and life-changing as well. We discussed about parental love, love between siblings or blood kin, love between friends etc.
Much grateful thanks to the friends, families, readers and supporters who came to the YA panel. And to the many young men and women who came up and asked questions after the panel. Keep writing, keep practising, be inspired by the things around you!
Nov 17, 2015 @ 17:44:57
The pictures of the panel from Facebook and this post look like the event was wonderful. I wish I could have been there. I like romance more as a subplot in the books I read and I think YA is headed in that direction with Science Fiction.
Nov 17, 2015 @ 22:24:58
I agree. I tend to include romance as a subplot and it’s not be and end all of the entire story. 🙂
Jun 20, 2016 @ 08:17:49
I discovered this post late, but what a lovely roundup of the event! I had loads of fun at the panel, especially hearing what the audience had to raise about the topic of insta-love. Rachel and (the other) Joyce were delightful company. Looking forward to next time! 🙂