3.22.2010

you really, really need to read this article

I don't usually do this (i.e., dedicate whole posts to linking).

But I wanted to link you all to pure, absolute brilliance. The article below will make you think about what you're reading in YA (hopefully). It sure made me think. I'll be posting my own opinions on YA romance etc. later on (a bit of a delay as I need my thoughts to percolate a little longer).

In the meanwhile READ THE ARTICLE. It'll take all of a few minutes and if you read YA, it's a must.

Bad Romance (or, YA & Rape Culture)

And thanks to the lovely Para for linking me to this article :)

9 comments:

Vee said...

I did really need to read that article, thanks for linking me to it, and it probably will change the way I read. When you do post your thoughts, after ze percolation period, I'll be by to post mine and hopefully add to discussion (or probably just agree with everything you say, lol) :D

yuan said...

*grins* yay for post linking! I read this a while back and would encourage everyone to read it. Very thought-provoking. I'm interested in what you have to say about YA Romance as well. 8D

Kim said...

That was a great link. I'm not a big Hush, Hush fan, but I do like Nora way more than Bella because she didn't just sit there and take Patch's crap. And I've always hated Edward for his stalking and all around creepiness.

Shannon O'Donnell said...

Thanks for the link - I'll check it out. :-)

Tere Kirkland said...

Can't disagree with any of that. The book left me with a bad taste in my mouth: This is what girls want from their YA? A creepy, brooding, forceful stalker?

Especially since Nora was eventually revealed to have *spoiler alert* nephilim blood. I thought she was going to get tough and maybe become the hero of her own story, but when it ended, I felt dirty and unsatisfied.

I also disliked the book Evermore for the same reason. The hero is so unlikable and irredeemable, and the plot was so similar to H,H, and Twi that I can't even keep them straight in my head.

Comparing girls like Nora and Ever and Bella to someone like Katniss Everdeen might be like comparing apples and oranges, but I wish more YA heroines would be more assertive around their badboy dreamy anti-heroic heroes. It's getting old, and frankly, kind of scary.

Fiction mirrors society, and I would hate to think we're raising a society of Bellas when they could be Katniss Everdeens.

Medical Librarian said...

Very good article.

This reminds of the whole big love story with Luke and Laura on "General Hospital." (Yes, I'm dating myself here because I was in either fifth or sixth grade when they were married and had the huge ratings splash.) He originally raped her in their story line. Disgusting that they then become one of, if not the most, celebrated couples in soap opera history.

Good point about hoping to raise a society of Katniss Everdeens, Tere Kirkland.

bookaholic said...

Thanks for the article :)

Sherrie Petersen said...

Thanks for the link to the article. I read Hush, Hush last weekend and I couldn't believe the thing was a bestseller. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who thought it was creepy.

Carrie at In the Hammock Blog said...

Thank you for the links, wow Hush Hush sounds even worse than I thought it would be.

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