that crazy little thing called "TEEN LOVE"

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People have been falling in and out of love since the beginning of time and telling stories about it just as long. Think Romeo and Juliet. For young people, love often first comes at a time when they are already awhirl with conflicting emotions. Books that con­tain a romantic element can help them make sense out of their own love life or lack of one. "As long as humans experience emotion, romance will play a role in our reading," explains Karen Grove, Senior Editor of Har­court Books San Diego. "This is especially true for the teen reader who is just beginning to experience romance. Romances allow teens to experiment with feelings without fear of rejection, being hurt, or harmed. It offers teens a glimpse of different ways to han­dle real life situations they may come up against; ways to socialize; ways to express their feelings; even ways to avoid certain situa­tions. And it helps teens to see that the feelings they may be expe­riencing are universal; they're not alone. This is something that I believe is very important; it gives validity to their thoughts and feelings." David Gale, Editorial Director at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, says, "Some readers today, like some readers of yes­terday, and I'm sure, some readers of tomorrow, want to explore the emotions they are going through and anticipate what may happen to them in the future. Romantic involvements are a part of teens' lives, so they should be a part of their literature" In the past, sweet stories that focused almost totally on the romance were very popular. Today a romance could easily be braided into a mystery or fantasy or be set a thousand years into the future. According to Susan Knopf, Senior Vice President of Parachute Publishing, "Readers of all ages respond to romance and look for it from a variety of sources. We try to acknowledge the power of romance in the books we do for teens and adults." Romances today may be less sweet, turning to darker or offbeat themes, but they will always appeal to some teen girls in their more innocent form as well. Grove says, "I think romance will always be popular with teens, though I believe the genre has changed dramati­cally over the years. Gone are the sim­ple, sweet romances and in their place are stories that are more multilayered, with twists and various other issues that often play as much of a part, or even a greater part, than the romance itself."