Young adult romance literature: History and Key Facts

Young adult romance literature is a genre of books written for teenagers. As defined by Romance Writers of America, a romance novel consists of a central love story and an emotionally satisfying ending. Early young adult romances feature a teenage protagonist, who is typically female, white, and middle-class, while books in the twenty-first century include a wider variety of protagonists.

Young adult romances were very popular in the 1950s and early 1960s, but were supplanted by more realistic young adult novels in the late 1960s and 1970s. Romances became popular again in the 1980s, although the trend at that time was toward series by publisher brand rather than individual authors. Subgenres for young adults, such as paranormal romance, evangelical romance, and dystopian romance, became popular in the twenty-first century. Parents and educators often criticized the reading of romances, but at their best, young adult romance novels celebrate relationships.

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