Comments on: Sexytimes In YA Books

By: Liz B

Liz B — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 23:24:23 +0000

Pam, yes, yes, yes! I thought it was a good complex look at “what is that person thinking.” And that, well, life isn’t a slippery slope — not to be too spoilery, but its not like “oh since I did x now I may as well do y and z.”

Kate, thanks for the recs. I have a bunch to add to my to read list.

Lisa, I can’t believe I forgot FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC etc.

Lisa the Second: Greek millionaries especially, right? Glad to see I’m not the only one who read those. I agree, I wouldn’t put FOREVER in a romantic category — in part because I like a HEA in my romance, and I couldn’t stand Michael. and more good recs!

bibliovore, this: “it’s just because I liked different things at different times. Like people do”. Yes. Exactly.

A Gerb, ha for the “third the way through.” And I forgot, also, the Earth’s Children series!

By: Liz B

Liz B — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 23:18:04 +0000

Maureen E, yes for Jellicoe Road! And yes for books reflecting different experiences etc for teens. And yes for one of the reasons I love YA — the narrators.

Keri, thanks for the rec. One can never tell what will inspire people to comment! There are some more recs further down in the comment thread.

Misti, oh, Victoria Holt! Yes!

Pam, yes for INTENTIONS. My review just went up –

Sarah, thanks for the suggestions. Did you read Lola and the Boy Next Door? That was pretty frank!

By: A Gerb

A Gerb — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 13:55:23 +0000

I read a few Harlequins in high school and was bored. Any book where you can find the sex scenes by sticking your fingers in at intervals of about a third was not worth it to me. It was years before I bothered to try romance again.
Funny, but one of the steamiest sex scenes I remember from that time were from Jean Auel’s Earth’s Children series.

By: Bibliovore

Bibliovore — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 20:39:04 +0000

When I was an actual teen, I read romance novels almost exclusively, and fantasy for the other .01% of my reading. I didn’t get into kidlit until Harry Potter, when I was in college. I’ve worried about that in the past, like I was jumping into “adult” stuff too fast and then regressed or something, but now I think it’s just because I liked different things at different times. Like people do.

That being said, I’ve realized that as a teen, I most often read historicals and Regencies which tended to have 18-21 year old heroines, just coming out of the shelter of parental supervision. Helloooo analogy. They didn’t stint on the sexytimes, either, and I didn’t mind one bit.

These days, I’m pretty well over the 18-21 year old heroines when I read romance, and I go for the ones with a little meat on their backstory. When I read YA, I’m always happy to discover the books that treat sex honestly. Sure, there’s the teens who have sex because they’re in love, but teens have sex for all sorts of reasons, good and bad and whoaaaa hormonal. I remember a few: Pop! by Aury Wallington, Kiss It by Erin Downing, The Duff by Kody Keplinger, Getting It by Alex Sanchez, and Doing It by Melvin Burgess all have teens who want to have sex, and go about getting it with varied success, and varied emotions upon attaining it (or not).

By: Lisa the Second

Lisa the Second — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 19:53:06 +0000

I, too, read oodles of Harlequins as a 13- & 14-year-old. The ones with the cringing 18-year-old virgins and the angry 40-year-old millionaires…sigh…. Also Barbara Michaels, Mary Stewart, Victoria Holt, Daphne du Maurier, and Joan Aiken (her adult books, obvs). Those were for romance; for sex there was Judith Krantz, V.C. Andrews, et al.

I read Forever in sixth grade (decades ago), and I *still* haven’t read a YA that is as matter-of-factly explicit about the details of sex. I don’t really think of Forever as a romance; I think of it as an explanation of how a relationship works. I love the fact that Katherine and Michael break up. That, to me, is so much more realistic and educational than all the YA novels whose protagonists find True Love at age 16. Maybe in a fantasy or a historical. Maybe. But a contemporary? Uh-uh. (Although, there’s a Sarah Dessen where you see a couple from a previous book, now a year or two later in college, which did work for me.) Of course, I haven’t read Jennifer Echols, or Simone Elkeles yet.

Some of the most romantic books I’ve read this year:

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry
Something Like Normal by Trish Doller (male pov, no less)
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult

Kody Keplinger’s Shut Out is great for discussion of abstinence vs. sexytimes and is funny to boot. I can’t wait for A Midsummer’s Nightmare!

By: Lisa

Lisa — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 12:02:26 +0000

When I was a young reader, I looked to Piers Anthony (ergh) and VC Andrews (double ergh) and any number of other adult books for sexytimes. Aaannnd, I’m pretty sure I still bear the scars!

As for YA books today — I remember Blood and Chocolate, by Annette Curtis Klause, leaving me rather hot under the collar, even as an adult. I’m not sure what else, but then I’m not really looking for sexytimes in YA books nowadays. However, I’m sure that as a relationship-starved young person I would have greedily devoured innuendo everywhere I could find it!

By: Kate @ Ex Libris

Kate @ Ex Libris — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 20:45:29 +0000

I read so many Harlequin books as a teen, it’s not even funny. I remember thinking that outside of Judy Blume, I didn’t feel that the books that were available to me as YA books in the late 80s/90s (when I was a teen) were very realistic when addressing teen romance or sex. Now, however, I see a lot more of it and I think it’s great. From what I have read in YA recently, I find that the sexytimes are handled well, in general. By handled well, I mean I see young women deciding “yes, I want to do this” or sometimes saying “Yes, but not right now” or a simple “no”. I like that there are books that reflect the different options, so to speak. Some examples that come to mind are My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick and The Body Finder series by Kim Derting. Jennifer Echols also does a fantastic job.

By: Pat Brisson

Pat Brisson — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 18:02:03 +0000

Oh, I loved INTENTIONS! And there were sexy times in the story, but one of the things I liked most was Rachel saying no at the last minute. It’s a great vicarious experience for girls who might some day be in similar situations and will give them the strength to say no at whatever point they’re at in a sexual encounter. Sometimes the best sex in YA books is the sex that doesn’t happen.

Heiligman also showed that even sexual encounters we’re not involved in can have an impact on us.

By: Sarah Moon

Sarah Moon — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 17:28:18 +0000

I recently read Huntley Fitzpatrick’s My Life Next Door, and while I had some issues with the book (too many unnecessary storylines happening), she handled the teen sex brilliantly and realistically and, honestly, pretty humorously and I’d recommend that book based on that aspect alone. In general, the only American YA author I can think of who regularly deals with sex in a positive way is Jennifer Echols (in Such a Rush, for example, there is quite a bit of discussion about why the main characters makes different decisions about this topic). Australian YA tends to handle this subject a bit more frankly, I think.

By: Pam Bell

Pam Bell — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 16:10:36 +0000

Deborah Heiligman’s new y/a, INTENTIONS, contains beautifully realistic teen sex. I can’t say more because I don’t want to give the story away – this is a book not to miss!