Teen Romance reads for this Valentine's Day

This is not related to my regular posts, but I figured for this holiday I could list/discuss some teen romance novels. Goodreads.com has a great list of popular teen romance books. I have read a few of the ones on this list and all are spot on. Yes this is a popular list, so the people have spoken!

Sarah Dessen is an author from my home state of North Carolina and is a great YA author. My favorites of hers are "This Lullaby" and "Along for the Ride." When I get to North Carolina on my list I will hopefully get to read her newest one "What Happened to Goodbye," though she may have her 2013 novel ready by the summer. Dessen I think captures the teenage girl voice quite well and has great insights into relationships. I also appreciated that Dessen uses family relations as a central role in the protagonists love life. For example, in "This Lullaby," Remy Starr's mother is a multiple-divorcee. This consequently resulted in Remy never becoming serious with any boyfriend. Throughout the plot, Remy's character develops and becomes more open to commitment. Dessen's novels though very formulaic, are quite a pleasure to read and do explore the effects that family can have on our relationships.

There is of course the Twilight series listed. Quite obvious right? Everyone has their own opinions on the series, but there is a lot there that teens can enjoy and even relate to in Bella and Edward's relationship. The feeling of first love and how it blinds you, the feeling of complete devotion, and the feeling of crazy-can't-live-without-you love. Teens are going through puberty and have these feelings towards one another. It's happening people, you can't stop it! It's those feelings that Bella and Edward have towards one another that I find to be realistic at that age. Again I keep saying this, readers love being able to relate to a story. Even though Twilight seems campy with vampires and what seems like the strangest, most hilarious events (oh Breaking Dawn how terrible you were), it has many qualities that I and teens can relate to. It gets them reading and thinking, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

This leads into the classic argument of quality versus quantity. Many teachers argue its quality over quantity, but remember you have to capture interest of readers. After reading a book they enjoy, readers may be on the look for a similar story or at least a story with similar characteristics. Example, did you know that the sales of Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights" increased after "Twilight" (one of many sources). This was after years of steady sales, then a sudden spike after the release of the series. Publishers have taken notice and are now taking classic stories and adding Twilight-inspired covers to gain sales. So you see peeps, reading even what we may consider poor quality stories can lead readers to pursue more...ambitious novels.

In general, the rest of the Goodreads teen romance list are all good ones. I do find it interesting that "Hunger Games" is on there. I always saw that series as a dystopian action-adventure, with some romantic elements to it. Still an awesome read of course. I have read the series now several times. If you dont have time to go through the website I linked, I have listed a few authors and titles below for you guys!

Sarah Dessen
Stephanie Meyer
Suzanne Collins
Matched by Ally Condie
The Mortal Instrument series by Cassandra Clare
Fallen by Lauren Kate
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Hush, Hush series by Becca Fitzpatrick
Divergent series by Veronica Roth