Teen Rom/Coms

 Why do readers and filmgoers enjoy romantic comedies or Rom/Coms so much? According to movie web, pleasantries felt while enjoying Rom/Coms elicit dopamine and serotonin, aka "happy hormones." Different from a straight romance, the central romantic relationship in a Rom/Com creates comedic tension. In Jessica Q. Sutanto's Didn't See that Coming, an outspoken gamer girl, poses online as "DudeBro" to avoid harassment. When she transfers to a new school, she realizes her online best friend "Sourdawg" goes there and is either her crush or her nemesis who are both gamers.  Eric Smith's With or Without You pits two teens whose parents own rival cheesesteak trucks against each other, even though they are secretly in love. Mindy Kaling's book club pick this month, Amy Lea's Woke Up Like This, is an adult/YA crossover about two battling teens who are transported 13 years into the future where they are engaged to be married. Unaware of what happened in the last 13 years to change their feelings for each other, they struggle desperately to get back to their teenage years and high school prom.

In Didn't See that Coming, Kiki Siregar, who lives in South Jakarta, Indonesia, games under the name "DudeBro" to avoid being objectified by guys in the gaming universe. Worrying that Kiki is too liberal, her parents transfer her to a traditionally Chinese school, where she immediately draws negative attention when she stands up to a bully, Jonas Arifin, and is branded on TikTok as #Crazy Kiki. She confides in her online best friend "Sourdawg," but later finds out he goes to her new school.  She wonders if he is her sweet sensitive lab partner Liam, or Jonas, whose delusional attraction to her is making her life miserable.  She enlists the help of the Li'l Auntie's dating service to solve the mystery. Although serious subjects of gender bias and STEM related topics are explored, they are dealt with in humorous ways.  As Kiki struggles to stand up to aggressors and be true to herself, she also recognizes that she doesn't want to alienate her crush Liam. Readers will find Kiki's entertaining hijinks a fun romp that of course, leads to a happy ending. 

In With or Without You the legendary rivalry between cheesesteak trucks Plaza Steaks and Ortiz Steaks is fueled by high schoolers Jordan Plaza and Cindy Ortiz, whose escalating insults go viral. What spectating customers don't realize is the bickering is a marketing ploy.  Jordan and Cindy have been secretly in love for years.  Hoping to put the antics behind them when they graduate, they are conflicted when TV executives propose a reality show based on the rivalry. The two families are scheduled to compete in a "Truck Off!" food fair and as competition heats up, real grievances begin to arise.  Jordan wants to buy his own food truck and set off across the country with Cindy, whereas she would rather attend college to study the television industry The story is told in alternating perspectives with reality TV-style confessionals.  Will Cindy and Jordan find a way to make their relationship work, yet keep their families and TV executives happy, especially when their dreams are diverging?

Woke Up Like This introduces high school senior Charlotte Wu, who has despised golden boy J.T. Renner since he stood her up for Freshman Homecoming. Adding insult to injury, he runs against her for student council president and wins effortlessly, after she has devoted four years to student service and clearly deserves the job. During a prom decorating accident, Char falls off a ladder into Renner, and they slip through a wormhole to 2037 where they wake up in bed together a week before their wedding.  They now work at their former high school (She is a counselor, and he is a gym teacher.) and must keep up appearances as they try to figure out how to get back to 2024.  As they spend time together, trying to unravel the mysteries of the past, they learn more about each other. Char, who narrates the story, becomes desperate to get back to the past and make changes in decisions she made.  Their chemistry and witty bickering, as they evolve from enemies to lovers, make this a widely appealing rom/com. 

Wrapping Up 2021

The new edition of my book What's New in Young Adult Novels? and Ideas for Classroom Use is now available. I have added over 50 new books from 2021 and integrated them into the lesson ideas. If you click on the picture of the book in the upper right hand corner of the blog, it will direct you to Lulu.com where you can purchase the book.  As we enter the new year, I would like to recommend a few more books from 2021 that I think are terrific. Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood is a retelling of Jane Eyre with a supernatural twist. Between You Me and the Honeybees by Amelia Diane Coombs focuses on a feud between beekeeping families and the romance between two teens ala Romeo and Juliet. You Can Go Your Own Way by Eric Smith finds estranged friends Adam and Whitney at odds over her father's attempt to take over Adam's deceased father's pinball arcade. You've Reached Sam by Dustin Thao deals with the grieving process as the main character is able to talk to her dead boyfriend by calling his cellphone. As with most young adult novels there is an element of romance in each book though they have very different storylines. 

Within These Wicked Walls, which is set in a desert region of Ethiopia, introduces Andromeda, an unlicensed debtera, who exorcises the manifestation of the Evil Eye.  When she is hired to cleanse Magnus Rochester's mansion, she leaves Jember, her mentor/father figure and moves into the mansion. Her relationship with her moody employer quickly heats up and complicates the exorcism.  She loses confidence in herself when she finds out several other debtera have failed and Jember refuses to help her. It turns out he has a prior relationship to the situation and is reluctant to get involved.  The fast-paced battle against the evil spirits and Magnus and Andromeda's angst-filled romance will keep readers turning pages until the dramatic final conflict.

Between You Me and the Honeybees focuses on Josie, a recent high school graduate who aspires to take over the family beekeeping business. She has turned down her college acceptances but puts off telling her mom and her best friend.  When her grandmother's Parkinson's disease worsens, Mom heads off to Florida to check on her, leaving Josie to her own devices.  She meets Ezra, the grandson of her family's beekeeping rivals and forms an immediate bond.  Mom returns with Gran and Josie begins sneaking out to see Ezra.  Plagued by anxiety, Josie is faced with complicated choices as she tries to prove herself as a beekeeper and navigate her romance with the son of her mom's sworn enemies. The authentic details about beekeeping taken from the author's personal experiences, as well as the sensitive depiction of Josie's anxiety issues, take this a step above many Romeo and Juliet reimaginings.

You Can Go Your Own Way alternates between the perspectives of Adam and Whitney, estranged friends who find themselves sparing on social media, as Adam tries to save his deceased father's pinball arcade and Whitney attempts to help her father acquire it for his e-sports café. When her brother destroys a pinball machine at Adam's arcade, Adam blasts him on Twitter, escalating the war.  Then a blizzard threatens to derail the plans for the neighborhood Winter Festival, which will bring much needed business into the arcade. When Adam and Whitney find themselves trapped in the arcade during the blizzard, they confront old wounds and rekindle a friendship both sorely missed. Excerpts from The Art and Zen of Pinball Repair give this enemies to lovers romance a quirky twist on the genre.  

You've Reached Sam is a modern day ghost story that cleverly explores the issues of grieving. Julie Clark's plans to move out of her small town with her boyfriend Sam after graduation are derailed when he dies in a car accident.  Planning to attend college together and go to Japan with him over the summer, Julie now finds herself mired in guilt and grief.  After an angry phone call from Julie, (he had forgotten to pick her up at the airport), he jumps in his car and heads to his death. Devastated and finding herself blamed by his friends for his death, Julie skips his funeral and throws out memorabilia from their relationship, trying to move on. But when she calls his cell phone to hear his voicemail message one more time, he answers. The phone calls give them the opportunity to reconnect, making it harder to let him go. This supernatural premise allows for an interesting exploration of the grieving process for an untimely death.  

Social Awareness in YA Novels

Just when we thought the coronavirus was our biggest problem, police brutality against minorities is back in the news, as people all over the country are taking to the streets to protest several recent incidents. Acknowledging Americans' rights to protest injustices, it is vital that teaching social awareness of a variety of issues be incorporated into our curriculums. According to Harvard Medical School's Robert Selman whose research focused on children developing social awareness, “Good children's literature not only raises moral dilemmas, but also generates the feelings that are associated with situations where moral conflict and confusion exists.” He suggests that through reading about social conflict students can vicariously experience the resolution of problem situations. Three new YA novels provide the opportunity to discuss several societal problems.  The Voting Booth by Brandy Colbert focuses on an African American teen activist who is passionate about people voting to enact social change. Don't Read the Comments by Eric Smith explores sexism and racism in the global gaming community. We Didn't Ask for This by Adi Alsaid introduces Marissa Cuevas who chains herself to the doors of her school during a student lock-in, to force environmental changes at the school. 

In The Voting Booth Marva Sheridan, an African American teen activist, meets Duke Crenshaw on Election Day, when he is turned away from voting.  Marva is ardent about politics and has worked hard to make sure everyone gets the opportunity to vote.  She spends the day helping him work out his registration issues, so that he can get to a drumming gig that night.  As they get to know each other, they share their struggles with racial tensions. Her white boyfriend refuses to vote and Duke is still trying to cope with his radical brother's death in a drive by shooting.  Meanwhile, Marva's cat Selma, an internet star known as Eartha Kitty, has gone missing. Her many followers get involved in the search, outing Marva's role in creating the site.   As the day progresses, Marva and Duke's problems bring them closer together.  The story is told in alternating first-person narration, allowing readers to easily sympathize with the two teens.  With the 2020 election ahead, there is great concern about adequate polling places, especially for minorities. After the Supreme Court dismantled the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and with concerns about voters' health causing the shutdown of many voting places, people might find themselves struggling to cast their vote if mail-in voting is not allowed. This timely novel sheds light on the issue, as well as how important it is to make one's voice heard through voting.

Inspired by Gamergate,  the real life controversy about sexism in the video game culture, Don't Read the Comments introduces Divya Sharma, a female gamer with valuable sponsors and a strong following on Glitch, a streaming service that allows others to watch her play Reclaim the Sun. She is attacked online by trolls known as Vox Populi, which then turns into real life harassment.  Aaron Jericho meets Divya online, when he defends her against the trolls while playing Reclaim the Sun. Although Aaron enjoys gaming, he prefers to create narratives to go with his friend's gaming art, which they hope to market through a rising Indie game producer. He is thrilled to get publicity on Divya's site and wants to meet IRL, but she is understandably careful about revealing her identity. Her home address is revealed and both her mother and Divya's gaming partner are attacked. With Game Con coming up, Divya realizes she may need to get the authorities involved before the doxing (broadcasting private information) becomes life threatening.  This complex examination of sexism and racism in gaming, celebrates family and friendship, as well as the strength and determination it takes to stand up to bullies.

We Didn't Ask for This looks at activism and protest from different points of view.  The much anticipated "Lock-In Night" at the elite Central International School in an unnamed country, takes on a political tone when Marisa Cuevas and her cronies, chain themselves to the doors of the school, holding attendees hostage until 30 environmental changes are enacted. At first students are furious that their night has been ruined.  Gay charismatic Peejay Singh, who was in charge of throwing the party, wants to live up to the example set by his brother who previously organized an epic Lock-In, but is now at the hospital in a coma. Kenji Pierce, whose father is the developer in charge of one of the projects Marisa is protesting, is devastated when his improv team's showcase is put on hold. However, he befriends Celeste Rollins, a black American newcomer to the school and introduces her to the joys of improv.  Malaysian decathlete Amira Wahid hopes to be the first female to win the Lock-In decathlon, but finds herself falling in love with Marisa. As people attempt to thwart Marissa's mission and the Lock-In stretches on, the three join a group of Protectors that try to help Marisa meet her objectives. Although the story explores many ecological issues, it also addresses identity and finding a sense of belonging and pursuing dreams.