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books

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

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From the time Nyx was a small child, not even ten years old, she knew she would marry the Gentle Lord, the terrible master of demons who has ruled Arcadia for the past 900 years. Before Nyx’s birth, her father made a bargain with the Gentle Lord. He and his wife, Nyx’s mother, hoped so desperately for children. The Gentle Lord told him they could have them – two children, though girls. In return, the Lord required one of the girls to become his bride at seventeen.

But the Gentle Lord always deceives, even while speaking words that have the ring of truth. Nyx’s mother died in childbirth, and in his grief, Nyx’s father decided that Nyx – the girl who looked most like him – would be sacrificed to the Gentle Lord upon her seventeenth birthday, marrying him in hopes of killing him and avenging the mother she never knew. It is also hoped that by killing him, Arcadia will return to its former splendor, that the sun and stars will return, that the demons who came with the Gentle Lord will be forever banished.

So Nyx has been trained her whole life on how to kill the Gentle Lord. Her twin sister, born mere seconds after her, has been coddled and lied to, told that Nyx’s mission is achievable, even easy. Nyx knows better. She knows that she’s being sent as a sacrifice and that her mission is a fantasy. Her resentment is powerful. She hates her father for his choice, she hates her mother for dying, and she hates her sister for her smiles and her optimism and the fact that she will live a long, long life.

Nyx’s story begins the day before her wedding, and the anticipation leading up to her first meeting with the Gentle Lord is almost excruciating. As readers, we know that this is a re-telling of Beauty and the Beast, but we don’t know how Hodge is shaking things up. She masterfully builds the tension and doesn’t let it snap until the very end.

I’m kind of amazed this is a debut. The writing is so polished, almost always lovely. I was engaged the entire time and read it in a single sitting. (This is something I very rarely do.) The pacing is excellent, which really sets this a notch above many other debuts; uneven pacing is often a hallmark of a first novel.

What I may have liked most about Cruel Beauty is how Hodge turns the idea of a pure, innocent, and good-hearted fairy tale heroine completely on its head. I don’t mean that Hodge’s heroine is a girl who “doesn’t allow herself to be victimized,” which is actually a rather common trope and a problematic one at that. Instead, Hodge has created in Nyx a character – a protagonist, importantly – who is cruel. Not all the time, of course. Not even most of the time, but sometimes. And it’s not passing cruelty. She hates her sister – not the kind of hate that washes over you and passes quickly, but the kind of hate that lingers, that takes root in your heart and lives there for years. It’s not the only emotion Nyx feels for her sister. Like in most of us, intense hatred commingles with intense love. It’s human. Nyx is painfully human.

It’s important to see characters like this in our novels, but it’s especially well-done here because Nyx’s cruelty – her impure heart, as it’s often described in a fairy tale – is what makes her a match for the Gentle Lord, who is more overtly cruel. Their shared cruelty is even more important, plot-wise, near the end of the story. This is how Hodge simultaneously honors fairy tales and subverts them, and it’s incredibly effective.

Stories inspired by Beauty and the Beast are always in danger of dipping into abusive relationship territory. A lot of re-tellings ask the reader to excuse abusive behavior – both physical and psychological – on the part of the hero by giving him a tragic backstory. They disguise the abuse as exaggerated misunderstandings. That’s not how it’s done here. To reveal too much would ruin some of the discovery of the novel, but I can say that one of the main reasons this book is different is there is no threat of sexual violence from the Gentle Lord. The other characters expect it, certainly, but that implication comes from them.

What else do I love about this book? I love how it incorporates Greek mythology in a way that makes it fresh again. I love that it sneaks in bits of other fairy tales, like Easter eggs for the reader to discover. I love how creative the plot is, how it uses something almost all of us recognize and gives us something completely new at the same time. I love how all the myths and stories and little details come together at the end, making this such a smart book. I love the ever-changing castle of the Gentle Lord, and how clearly Hodge is able to describe it to her readers, inspiring interest and awe. I love that its conflict, while magical, is rooted in complex humans. I love its magic, too, which has rules and is used as something more than a convenient plot device or deus ex machina. I love that it’s full of how the things we say can be misunderstood, how our words can have double meanings, purposeful or not. I loved nearly all of it.

I did have quibbles with the very end. There’s a huge plot twist, which does make sense and is true to the rest of the book, but its effects seem rushed. I feel like Hodge was trying to cram a whole new book into the last 40 pages. There was enough story there to cover an entirely new book, though I don’t think that would have been a wise decision either. This weakness is not enough to erase everything that came before, though, and Hodge still brings her story to a thoroughly satisfying conclusion – tender and true to her cruel/kind characters.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Cruel Beauty is available now.

How to Talk Tough Books to Teens

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How do adults read books for teens?

This is one of the questions that Liz Burns explores in a post she wrote last week over at Tea Cozy. I talked about this a little bit in a piece I wrote up on Tumblr last week, too, in light of how important it is to respect teenagers.

How do readers sometimes react when they read books for teens?

This is one of the things that Carrie Mesrobian ponders in an excellent post over at Teen Librarian Tool box. More than that, she delves into separating fiction from artist and how depiction of an action isn’t condoning that action. The next day, she and the ladies of YA Highway kicked off a hash tag discussion on Twitter, #SensibleYA, which generated a good piece over at Bustle worth reading.

Both of these questions and the respective responses are worth thinking about when you work with teenagers, and they’re as important if you work with teenagers and are responsible for helping guide their reading in some capacity or other. Whether you buy books for a library, work with teens in writing workshops, teach teens in the classroom, write novels, or otherwise connect teens with books and words, it’s valuable to regularly step back and reflect upon not just what you’re doing but how and why you’re doing it. It’s really easy to put your adult mindset and experiences and expectations on those teenagers and what it is they’re doing and experiencing and forget that they’re teenagers — not miniature adults.

Last week, on one of the librarian listservs, a librarian emailed asking two things: whether anyone had read Carrie Mesrobian’s Sex & Violence and/or any other YA books with a proliferation of sex in them and whether anyone had a good argument for changing her mind about recommending those books to teens. Woven into the email was the uncomfortableness with which the librarian felt about reading and recommending books like those.

Stepping back from the fact that Mesrobian’s title doesn’t feature very much sex — there’s a lot more talking about it than doing it on page — it was interesting to watch what people had to say about this. Many responses said they’d read the title, and then a separate string of responses noted that there were a number of great YA novels featuring positive and empowering sexual experiences.

What was never answered, though, was the second part of the question and perhaps the part of the question that was most important: how to talk about and recommend these books to teen readers.

When we’re put into the position as adults to be responsible for working with teenagers, there are times we’re going to be uncomfortable with what we’re asked to do or talk about. The thing is, when you work with adults, you’re put into a lot of uncomfortable positions, too, but it seems much less world-changing than it does when faced with teens. For some reason, it’s easier to guide adults who are asking about health-related topics toward resources than it is to guide teens who are asking similar questions. I think part of this has to do with feeling more like a peer than an advocate/guardian, and I think part of it is that sometimes, we’re plain scared to talk with teenagers about really heavy stuff.

Maybe it’s that we’re being protective. Maybe it’s that we’re worried about what the parents may do or say or think if they knew you gave that teen a book or talked with them about a topic that’s tougher to broach. Maybe it’s that sometimes it’s what Liz and Carrie got at in their posts: we are too invested in our own adult worlds and beliefs about the adult world that we forget being a teenager can be damn hard in and of itself.

Sometimes, too, it’s just that it can be uncomfortable to talk to a teenager about big things. If we aren’t comfortable with it, whether consciously or unconsciously, then there’s no way we can be comfortable talking about it with someone who can be really influenced by what we say or suggest (that opens up more about influence, too, which I also believe plays a role in our comfort levels — how much of a role do we REALLY play in the lives and futures of teens is the kind of question that’s easily tangled in your head, even if you have a clear picture of what your mission is in working with or for teens).

But back to the question: how? HOW do you talk about these sorts of books with teen readers? Whether your reading skews toward preferring tough topics or avoids it all together, being aware of what books are out there and what content they may or may not contain is important to doing a job of being an advocate for readers and for books themselves.

We read reviews of books in order to make purchase selections in the library, and many readers who work with teens read reviews of books because they enjoy reading reviews — it gives perspective and depth to what a book is about and can save time and energy in the event that book won’t be read. I don’t read a lot of speculative fiction personally, but I certainly read a lot of reviews, both in trade journals and around the blogging world, because I need to have an idea what the books are about in order to not only buy them, but to best match them with future readers. The same mentality goes and should go for books which are on these “tougher” topics.

What are “tougher” topics? It’s going to depend on each person, but I suspect there are a few everyone would agree on: sex, drugs, drinking, and, trailing way off in the distance, violence.

In many ways, we find talking about and thinking about books about murder easier than we do talking about or thinking about books tackling sex. Dead bodies are easier, for some reason, than ones that are alive and active. It’s easier to stand in front of a room of teenagers and talk about a serial killer or a murder mystery than it is to talk about a book about sex and the consequences therein. It’s part hook — it’s just easier TO talk about a serial killer than it is to talk about a teen figuring out lines of comfort in sexual situations — but it’s also part culture and fear.

Some of that fear can and should be broached. You should push yourself to talk about books that make you as a reader uncomfortable talking about. It’s how you grow professionally, but even more than that, it’s how you show yourself an advocate for teens and for reading. If you have the guts and courage to stand in front of a classroom and talk about Mesrobian’s book — hitting that yes, there’s sex and yes, there’s violence but at heart, it’s about a boy learning about consequences related to making decisions — you show teens that you’re not only mature, but that you’re willing to discuss heavier topics.

While it may not seem like you’re saying that, since you’re not using those words, in many ways it’s by not saying those words you’re sending the message. Plus, teenagers are going to clamor for a book that may have sex in it, period. You could skip the talk all together and just read the title of the book for Mesrobian’s and have more willing takers than copies of the title.

Saying “sex” in front of teens shouldn’t be a challenge. It’s not about being gratuitous. It’s about laying things out as they are and owning that. Teens who are ready for it will be ready for it; those who aren’t ready for it will tune you out.

A good book talk isn’t about the gritty details. It’s about the big picture and about selling the book on that. If the book is about sex, that should come up. If sex is but a detail within the book, it doesn’t need to be brought up, unless you need to address that there are topics within the book best suited for older readers (and not as a means of censorship nor barring readers — rather, as a means of covering yourself if confronted about a scene or two in the book which could make more sensitive readers unhappy to discover). Good book talks are a fine dance between giving just enough information to entice a reader and leaving out the big reveals and revelations so that reader can discover them on his or her own.

That said, perhaps the truth is a lot of these “tougher” books aren’t best suited for traditional book talking. Maybe it’s worthwhile to remember that a lot of these books that can be uncomfortable to talk about are perfect candidates for not just displays, but for shelf talkers, for book lists, and for other means of passive reader’s advisory.

Build lists of books together that handle tough topics, being mindful of the language used to present them. These aren’t “issue” books — “issue” and “problem” books went out of vogue decades ago. These are books that tackle tough or sensitive or mature or real life topics instead.

Use the words.

If you’re writing a book list about teens who have substance abuse problems, use those words. If you’re writing a description for Tim Tharp’s The Spectacular Now, don’t tiptoe around the fact Sutter has a substance abuse problem. If you’re writing a description for a book where the character is sexually abused or raped, note that there is sexual violence in the book. If noting any of these things is going to be a spoiler on the book itself (and many times it can be), then do a good job of being descriptive and thoughtful in creating an introduction to a book list on a topic and listing the titles beneath it well enough that it’s clear the books tackle hard topics and don’t do so meekly.

Pool together book displays when appropriate and there’s a bigger tie-in possible. Although I think doing displays on tougher topics is worthwhile any time, in many ways, it’s easier to justify and advocate for them when there’s a larger way to marry those books into something else. As I noted last week, February is teen dating violence month — you have ample opportunity to not just put out a display of books on the topic, but you have opportunities to also present information for local and national/international resources on the topic. An awesome example is this display by Danielle Fortin for sexual assault awareness month in April, which combined books on the topic with resources for teens who may need them.

Use the words.

Make shelf talkers for those tougher books in your collection and don’t shy away from calling them what they are. Teens are excellent self-censors and will know whether that book is for them or not if they’re able to read what it’s about. Likewise, offering shelf talkers and displays that use the words for situations that may arise within the book is a safety net for the parents, too: if they are browsing with their teens for books, there’s not going to be a surprise. And the more you feature a combination of books that do include tougher topics, the more it becomes clear these are topics that exist in the books because they also exist in teen lives.

Which isn’t, of course, to say you only feature those books on shelf talkers or on displays. You incorporate them with other books, showcasing the breadth and range of titles out there.

Advocating for teens means allowing yourself discomfort. It’s unavoidable, even for those who don’t shy away from much. The trick is not showing that discomfort unless doing so is advantageous — and sometimes it can be. Perhaps there are times acknowledging your discomfort during a reading experience can be what sells the title. Did reading Sex & Violence make you uncomfortable? Unpack that in a one-on-one reader’s advisory interaction with a teen if it seems like that book might be a good fit for him or her. That not only sells the book to the reader, but it also shows the reader you’re not a robot. Even though you’re an adult, you, too, find things uncomfortable or funny or weird or strange (any of those words you could attribute to that book or the content within in — use those words and use the words “sex” and “violence” and “consequences,” too).

Respect books geared toward a teen readership. Respect that the teen years are a range of experiences, maturities, needs, and wants. Respect that often those books reflect that, either by taking on hard subjects in an unflinching manner or by showcasing stories meant for those who are 17 or 18 and seeking heavy literary works or by going the opposite and providing light hearted reads, books that are meant simply to be funny or are meant for those 12 and 13 year old readers just entering some of the hardest, most frustrating, and most confusing years of their lives as they’re coming into their own.

What it comes down to is being honest and being thoughtful with that honesty. Use the right words. Don’t shy away from using them and don’t shy away from discussing them. What you may find yourself wincing at within a teen book may be the very thing a teen needs to read or the very thing that also makes a teen wince. The more you work with books tackling tough topics and the more you put those things out there in an accessible, honest manner, the easier it becomes to incorporate them into reader’s advisory, into recommendations, into book talks, and the easier it becomes to understand not just the books, but the teens who are seeking them out.

The easier it becomes, too, to be a better ally for those teens because you begin seeing them as teens.

Bright Before Sunrise by Tiffany Schmidt

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Brighton is the girl everybody likes, which is good because she strives to be liked. To be nice. Except today she’s not feeling quite like the “nice” girl she’s always been — her heart aches the day before the anniversary of her father’s death and the memorial that her family will be having.

Jonah is the new boy in school this year, but he’s not bothered trying to fit in. It’s senior year, and he’s feeling completely out of place in Cross Pointe. He’s not rich like these kids, and he’s just not one of them. He doesn’t have the spirit, and since he gave up baseball, he’s just focused on getting out as fast as possible. Of course, there’s much more to him than that —  his mom has recently remarried, his father moved away, and he’s adjusting to living apart from his girlfriend and long-time friend Carly. And tonight, well, he and Carly might not have a relationship anymore.

Brighton wants nothing more than for Jonah to like her. Jonah wants nothing to do with this and nothing to do with Brighton, and Brighton cannot figure out what it is she’s done to upset him. And even though Brighton sounds like she’s in this for the reason of wanting to be liked, it’s more than that: she wants something from Jonah and she’s going to go after it however she can. 

No, it’s not a relationship. He’s standing between her and achieving the goal of having everyone at school complete in a service activity for the year. If she does that, she’ll achieve what her father did before her. And she’ll feel like she’s really done something . . . nice. 

Over the course of one day, Brighton and Jonah’s worlds will continue to collide in Tiffany Schmidt’s Bright Before Sunrise. First on purpose, then by accident, then on purpose. Each of these instances happens authentically and naturally. And over the course of that night, Brighton and Jonah will discover why they are who they are to one another, as well as why this may or may not matter. 

Schmidt’s sophomore novel is a knock-out. This is a story about what it means to play into the roles that you believe you should fit into, whether you need to or not. Brighton falls into the trap of believing she always needs to be nice and always needs to be liked. Jonah believes he has to shut out all of the things from his present life and live in the past of who he once was, even though he’s also shut out so many of the things in his past that made him who he is. Together, the two of them will challenge each other to dig into those roles they’re playing and figure out why it is they’re playing them. Why can’t they just be who they are, rather than be somebody they think they need to be? 

This isn’t a romance. At least not an initially. There’s nothing instant about their connection, and frankly, there’s not necessarily a connection that happens between Brighton and Jonah. In the very end, though, Brighton lets down her guard after telling Jonah she’s never taken a chance on something — and she chooses to take that chance on him. Will they end up being together for the long term? Or will this be a short term experience for the two of them? There’s nothing clear cut about the end except that it’s precisely what Brighton does because of how Jonah convinces her it’s something she should consider doing once in a while: taking a chance. 

Bright Before Sunrise is a story about examining those roles you choose to play and the reasons you may be playing them. Is it the world around you? Is it your past? Can you shake them off, cast them a middle finger, and then be your true, authentic self? Can all of this happen in one night? What if the right person is begging you to strip down to your barest self? This is much more of a character-driven story than it is an action- or plot- driven one, and both Brighton and Jonah are at times tough to like. But that’s what makes them compelling and what pushes the story forward: despite maybe not being the most likable characters (Brighton, I suspect, will endure this label far more than Jonah will by most readers, much in part to her being a female who strives to be liked), it’s hard not to care about what it is that drives them both. Brighton’s not just mourning, but she’s also desperately seeking approval. Why does she need that? What validation does it give her? Jonah, new in school and okay with just skirting by, has not just a tough family situation to contend with, but it’s clear that he’s also not used to fitting into the social world of the kids in his new school. Schmidt does a good job giving a glimpse into some realistic socioeconomic issues here in a way that never feels like a message nor does it feel like Jonah’s a stereotypical “poor kid” now in a “rich kid” school. 

The writing is strong, the story moves quickly, and the setting and dialog ring true. It’s funny in parts, and there’s great romantic tension in parts. There are no world-changing events that happen; the characters bring that with them to the story already. Instead, it’s the dissecting of those world-changing events of the past that allow the characters to see one another as they really are — and that allows them to see themselves as who they really are. It’s a story that takes place in one night and one night only, but the revelations from that night have long-lasting ripples. It is hard not to pull for both these characters and what it is they may or may not have with one another. 

The tagline to Bright Before Sunrise is “One night can change how you see the world. One night can change how you see yourself,” and it’s perfectly fitting. If you didn’t know, there’s been a really enjoyable blog series for Schmidt’s novel going on over on Tumblr, where authors and bloggers have all shared the one night that changed their lives. If you’re curious, you can read mine here. There’s a perfect opportunity to talk the book with that topic, since everyone has one night that they can think of that changed their lives or the way they see themselves — which is precisely what the book is about.  

In many ways this book is reminiscent of Lauren Myracle’s The Infinite Moment of Us, where Wren challenges her “good girl”/”nice girl” life by choosing to follow the plans she wants for herself, rather than those expected of her. It’s also a little reminiscent of David Levithan and Rachel Cohn’s Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Schmidt’s novel will certainly appeal to readers who like contemporary realistic YA that feels real. This lands more on the “actual reality” rather than “perceived reality” side of the scale, if there is such a thing. Readers who like romance in their stories should certainly pick this up, as should those readers who love a book that’s set in a tight time frame. But again: while there is romance in this book, it’s not a cut-and-dry romance, and I emphasize that because what this book is really about is how we challenge ourselves to see ourselves and our lives through different lights — and how we can choose to make things different. 

Bright Before Sunrise will be available tomorrow. Review copy  received from the author, with whom I have a relationship. 

Series Conclusions

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I love book series. They’re a staple of fantasy fiction, and almost all of my favorite books are actually series of books. I have a (probably) huge post brewing in my mind about book series and fantasy, which I’ll write one day (you’re all very excited, I’m sure).

This is not that post. Instead, I wanted to highlight a few series conclusions being published this year that I actually plan on reading. As the years have gone by, I’ve become much more likely to abandon series I don’t love. Much like standalones, there’s no obligation to read until the end – life is too short. This is especially true for stories that are made up of three or more books.

But 2014 is looking good for some exciting series conclusions. Below are a few I’m looking forward to.

Infinite by Jodi Meadows (January 28)
This is a rare series where the second book is better than the first. I love the concept of a people whose souls never die, simply being reincarnated into new bodies – memories intact. Ana, as a newsoul with no previous lives, is a fascinating protagonist. Meadows handles the relationships between Ana and the other centuries-old people in a deft way, without eliminating the necessary complexity. I’m interested to see where the third book goes. Previous reviews: Incarnate, Asunder

The Shadow Throne by Jennifer A. Nielsen (February 25)
This
is standout upper middle grade fiction, fantasy without magic or
fairies. Jaron has a great voice, sarcastic and vulnerable at the same
time. He’s saddled with an incredible amount of responsibility as a
teenager. Sometimes he’s smart, and sometimes he’s just smart-mouthed.
Previous reviews: The False Prince, The Runaway King

 
Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor (April 8)
Confession:
I have yet to read the second book, Days of Blood and Starlight. I’m
going to; I’m practically guaranteed to love it, based on friends’
reviews. But for many months, I’ve been yearning for more light-hearted
reads. Daughter of Smoke and Bone drew me in so fully, made me feel so
deeply for these characters who are put through so much. It can be
difficult to handle sometimes. I’m waiting for the right time to dive
back in. Previous review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone

The Klaatu Terminus by Pete Hautman (April 8)
I’m
such a cheerleader for these books, which are among the most creative
and strange I’ve ever read. This third and final volume will be written
from Kosh’s point of view as a teenager in the 90s, and of course it
will overlap with Tucker’s and Lahlia’s stories from books 1 and 2 in
interesting and important ways. Worth reading is Hautman’s brief essay on what kind of trilogy this is, as compared to other trilogies (like the Hunger Games). Previous reviews: The Obsidian Blade, The Cydonian Pyramid

Graduation Day by Joelle Charbonneau (June 17)
I love
these books, probably more than they deserve. They’re fast-paced,
exciting, and thoroughly engrossing. They’re perfect readalikes for
Hunger Games fans – possibly because they are so similar, but also
because they cause the same sort of frantic page-turning,
can’t-look-away, try-not-to-breathe feeling in the reader. Previous
reviews: The Testing, Independent Study

What series conclusions are you excited about?

Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month: A Discussion and Reading Guide

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Did you know that February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month? I had no idea until I saw someone talking about it, and I thought it would be more than worthwhile to talk a bit about why having a month of awareness of this topic is important, as well as offer some discussion fodder and a reading list of YA fiction that delves into teen dating violence.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, a 2011 survey of teens found that 9.4% of teens reported having been in a romantic relationship that resulted in them being hit, slapped, or physically hurt on purpose in the last twelve months. Sit with that a minute: in the last year, almost 10% of teens reported having been in a relationship that involved violence. If we believe that at least that much did not report violence in their relationship — and anyone who went to high school and took one of these surveys knows what they involve — that is a huge and startling statistic.

In addition to that, 1 in 5 females and 1 in 7 males report having been sexually assaulted, raped, physically hurt, or stalked by a romantic partner; those statistics are for those aged 11 to 17.


Twenty percent of women between the ages of 11 and 17 have reported being raped, assaulted, or stalked by a romantic partner and fourteen percent of men between the ages of 11 and 17 have reported being raped, assaulted, or stalked by a romantic partner. 

These numbers were reported in a survey separate from the one above, so considered separately and considered together, those numbers are frightening.

Starting a conversation about this topic can be difficult, but I think it’s one that’s important to keep aware of and know the statistics about because it should be informative in working with teens. Whether you’re an educator or a librarian or teen advocate in some capacity (which includes writers for teens, readers who appreciate YA fiction, bloggers, and so forth), being ignorant of what teens experience or are familiar with because of their peers’ experiences can be more harmful than helpful. Fortunately, aside from the statistics that exist, there are excellent resources for building your awareness of teen dating violence, as well as excellent teen novels that tackle this delicate issue in ways that are not only helpful, but can be the door that invites important conversation.

Despite what we can think as adults, teens are aware of these issues and not only are they aware of them, they’re not afraid to talk about them. It’s us as adults who are more fearful to broach the issues for fears we may do or say wrong or — in a worse case scenario — we fear that we might put ideas into “impressionable minds.” Let’s be real though: teens know. Teens aren’t impressionable in that way. What can and does make an impression is being willing to be an advocate and an open conversationalist to, for, and with these teens. That knowledge that you care can change their world.

Select Resources 

Last April, I wrote a guide to discussing sex, sexual assault, and rape, so I won’t go too much into that here. But I do want to point to a project being built by Teen Librarian Toolbox, called the Sexual Violence in Young Adult Literature Chat. The ongoing project, which is supplemented by the linked tumblr account, is meant to foster conversation about sexual violence in a manner that helps empower readers and teen advocates in not only their ability to think about this challenging topic, but also to foster conversation with teens themselves.

Become familiar with Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month’s site. This online hub is a space for discussing and advocating for the efforts of promoting and raising awareness of teen dating violence. There are a wealth of resources, including dating abuse helplines and a wealth of public awareness campaigns. Those campaign sites will offer even more great resources and helpful tips for raising your own awareness, as well as for becoming a stronger advocate for teens.  

The Teen Dating Violence site is an arm of love is respect, which is another site you should have on your radar. This resource is one that would be especially useful for teen themselves, as it offers a tool defining what dating violence is. Again, the statistics are that roughly 10% of teens reported being in a physically harmful relationship; it’s not always obvious to teens (just like it’s not always obvious to adults!) when a relationship is abusive.

Although I don’t think that the US Department of Health and Human Services site offers the most useful information, I’m linking to it because it does offer tips and help as to cultivating conversations about Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. This is the toolkit for adults to talk about this month and what the purpose behind the campaign is. It offers some downloadable and printable fact sheets that could be valuable in displays, on social media, or on physical bulletin boards.

Dating Violence in YA Fiction

Since I covered sexual violence last spring, I’m focusing this list more specifically on dating violence. All of these are YA titles, and each has some component of relationship violence — and I’m not going to shy away from it: some of these books can be really challenging to read because of that. But I think knowing about them, talking about them, and having them available for teens can be invaluable in fostering important conversations, if not for helping a teen in one of these situations realize what’s going on is not okay.

All descriptions come from WorldCat, and I know this is far from a complete list. Please feel free to add more to this list, especially books where the male main character may be suffering from dating violence. I find that there is often a lacking in stories about relationship violence — verbal, sexual, or physical — of the male being the victim. Which isn’t to say the stories of females being victims aren’t important (they definitely are, and as noted, they are more frequently the victims), but I think it’s just as important to show the other side, too, as it’s often the one that’s talked about far less. Likewise, there’s a dearth of LGBTQ relationships presented.

Since my knowledge is heavier on realistic fiction, that’s reflected, but I am aware dating violence shows up in other genres within YA fiction, as well. 



Bad Boy by Dream Jones: Devastated to find herself back in a group home after a peaceful year of living with loving foster parents, a Brooklyn teenager striving to become strong and independent soon falls prey to the dangerous affections of a good looking but shady young man.

Bitter End by Jennifer Brown: When seventeen-year-old Alex starts dating Cole, a new boy at her high school, her two closest friends increasingly mistrust him as the relationship grows more serious.

Breaking Beautiful by Jennifer Shaw Wolf: Allie is overwhelmed when her boyfriend, Trip, dies in a car accident, leaving her scarred and unable to recall what happened that night, but she feels she must uncover the truth, even if it could hurt the people who tried to save her from Trip’s abuse.

Breathing Underwater by Alex Flinn: Sent to counseling for hitting his girlfriend, Caitlin, and ordered to keep a journal, sixteen-year-old Nick recounts his relationship with Caitlin, examines his controlling behavior and anger, and describes living with his abusive father.

But I Love Him by Amanda Grace: Traces, through the course of a year, Ann’s transformation from a happy A-student, track star, and popular senior to a solitary, abused woman whose love for the emotionally-scarred Connor has taken away everything–even herself.

Dark Song by Gail Giles: After her father loses his job and she finds out that her parents have lied to her, fifteen-year-old Ames feels betrayed enough to become involved with a criminal who will stop at nothing to get what he wants.

Dreamland by Sarah Dessen: After her older sister runs away, sixteen-year-old Caitlin decides that she needs to make a major change in her own life and begins an abusive relationship with a boy who is mysterious, brilliant, and dangerous.

Falling For You by Lisa Schroeder: Very good friends, her poetry notebooks, and a mysterious “ninja of nice” give seventeen-year-old Rae the strength to face her mother’s neglect, her stepfather’s increasing abuse, and a new boyfriend’s obsessiveness.

Panic by Sharon Draper: As rehearsals begin for the ballet version of Peter Pan, the teenaged members of an Ohio dance troupe lose their focus when one of their own goes missing. (From description it doesn’t sound like it’s about dating abuse, but that is a storyline among other characters in the book). 

 

Rage: A Love Story by Julie Anne Peters: At the end of high school, Johanna finally begins dating the girl she has loved from afar, but Reeve is as much trouble as she claims to be as she and her twin brother damage Johanna’s self-esteem, friendships, and already precarious relationship with her sister.


Shattered by Sarah N. Harvey: After March shoves her boyfriend and he ends up in a coma, she tries to figure out what it means to have a perfect life.

So Much It Hurts by Monique Polak: A teen actress gets involved with an older director, whose explosive temper and controlling behavior threaten to destroy her life.




Stay by Deb Caletti: In a remote corner of Washington State where she and her father have gone to escape her obsessive boyfriend, Clara meets two brothers who captain a sailboat, a lighthouse keeper with a secret, and an old friend of her father who knows his secrets.


Teenage Love Affair by Ni-Ni Simone: Seventeen-year-old Zsa-Zsa is torn between her current boyfriend who is abusive and her first love, Malachi.

Things Change by Patrick Jones: Sixteen-year-old Johanna, one of the best students in her class, develops a passionate attachment for troubled seventeen-year-old Paul and finds her plans for the future changing in unexpected ways.