Love Knots & Triangles

If you read a lot of YA fiction like I do, you'll start to notice that there are a lot of love triangles in YA lit.  It's a toss-up for many readers, they either live for love triangles or they detest them.  I can't remember when I started reading YA, I think it was in the early 2000's and I remember picking up Twilight, the then-new vampire novel by newcomer herself Stephanie Meyer.  I think pretty much everyone is familiar with the love triangle that happens in Twilight.  The Edward, Bella, Jacob combo was one that I became totally hooked on for several years I had to keep reading each novel in the series until it was done.  In the last book Breaking Dawn, I couldn't wait to find out which guy Bella picks.  I always had my favorite, yes I'm not gonna say who it is. Bella kept stringing us along for all four books and needless to say, I was not a happy camper in the end. Funny enough, many readers love this stuff, where I found myself pretty not too happy with the outcome, but of course I just keep reading and reading and making myself endure love triangles over and over again.  Sometimes I feel like the triangles even expand and turn into what I like to call a Love Knot.  There's so much going with these teen stories that we fall into the trap of reliving our own teen years just to compare.  So, why do we keep doing this to ourselves? Ultimately, it's about making choices and love triangles really show how hard it is to make the right choice.  

I am happy to share that love triangles in YA lit have been getting better and better over the years since Twilight. If you keep reading them I promise your opinion about love might improve overall.  Also, it is good to remember that sometimes love triangles have two really great guys, but one is always just a little sweeter.

Here is a Fun List of YA fiction that Features Love Triangles:

TMI is in the House!!

I've been reading a lot over the last month and I am very excited to say that I have now read all four books in The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. Sadly, I will now have to wait until May 2012 for the next book to come out. The first book in the series, The City of Bones was actually recommended to me by one of my teens in the library that reads about as much YA as I do. I really like this series because it offers several different elements from supernatural, magic, mysticism, and the immortal realm. I would recommend this series to guys and girls because there are strong male and female characters in the books. One of my favorite characters is Jace Wayland who is one of the most dynamic male characters I have seen in a long time. Jace makes me want to keep reading because I want to know what he is going to do next. He is so enchanting and he just doesn't care what happens so he takes chances and goes in fighting like a dynamo. I love that about him.

Here is a review of City of Bones (2007)

In this book Clary Fray stumbles upon a dark secret from her past. She finds out that she is no ordinary girl, but rather that she is a shadow hunter a person who is half human and half angel. Shadow hunters are a special race of beings that hunt and kill demons to keep the world a safer place. Clary finds that everything she thought was normal, was actually made up by her mother in order to keep her safe from the world of shadow hunters. Then one night Clary's world changes when she meets Jace, Isabelle, Alec at a club called Pandemonium and her world will never be the same again. With her best friend Simon by her side Clary is about to find out the truth and the more she finds out, the less she is sure of who she really is at all.

The series four books until the moment; City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels, and the fifth book City of Lost Souls is slated to be released in May 2012. And if you fall in love with The Mortal Instruments like I did, then you will be happy to know that a movie is being made right now that will feature Lily Collins as Clary Fray and Jamie Campbell Bower as Jace Wayland.