The best (or worst) teen fiction couples
By Sonam Kaloti, Arts Editor
With Valentineâs Day just around the corner, what better way to celebrate besides reading teen fiction to (if youâre like me) make up for your own tragic love life? Itâs rare to find a teen novel that doesnât have an epic romantic storyline. For this reason, some of the most notable fictional characters have been introduced within these novels. What makes these couples so special, however, is the careful work of the authors who have curated the perfect yet relatable characters we can almost fantasize about being ourselves. Some of these couples are loved, others despised with a passion, but why?
Warning: There are some spoilers ahead!
Bella and Edward â Â Twilight
Name a more iconic duo⌠Iâll wait (there are probably a lot but anyways). The love triangle between Bella, Edward, and Jacob made the teen girls of the late-2000s melt to their knees. Who wouldnât want two attractive, strong, and supernatural (?) boys fighting over them? Though honestly, Bella and Edward as a couple kind of suck (pun intended) because Edward is just so hot and cold (also pun intended). Not only is he an obsessed creep who watches Bella while she sleeps, but the second things get a little serious, he ghosts her and leaves the country. Both are super unstable and unsure of their relationship, yet the passion is what drives this pair to be one of the most popular teen fiction couples of all time.
Katniss and Peeta â The Hunger Games
Yet another dry love triangle. Katniss is best friends with Gale, clicks with him, and has a lot in common with him. Yet she meets Peeta under dire circumstances and suddenly theyâre meant to be. This couple is popular due to the whole âIâm not going to die without youâletâs die together, insteadâ spiel (which feels like it just romanticizes double suicide). This couple seems forced to care for each other because theyâre put into circumstances where all they have is each otherâso that is romantic. However, had they not entered the Hunger Games, then they probably wouldnât have ended up together.
Harry and Ginny / Ron and Hermione â Harry Potter
Some would say Harry, Ron, and Hermione are a love triangle, but I donât agree. JK Rowling herself admitted in an interview with Wonderland magazine that pairing Ron and Hermione was a form of wish fulfillment. Many people wished for Harry and Hermione to end up together, but I think that would have been predictable and boring. Ron and Hermioneâs romance cultivates throughout the series and, despite their little issues, I think their playful relationship is a cute one.
Harry and Ginny are another story. The couple seems a bit awkward to me. Suffice to say, if my best friendâs little sister had a crush on me for years, I probably wouldnât go on to marry her. There wasnât much development either. I donât even think Harry really talks to Ginny until the last few novels in the series. I do like that Harry and Ron become brothers-in-law, but thatâs all I really saw in this relationship.
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Jace and Clary â The Mortal Instruments
My personal favourite couple, Jace and Clary are just as much, if not more, of a mess than the rest of the couples on this list. These two go on huge adventures, and while intertwined in many off-putting situations, they remain extremely independent in their motives and character development. They even get tortured by the (later falsified) melodrama of being told theyâre siblings. What I found clean about this couple is that, while there are small crushes and relationships among other characters, none are large enough to label a love triangle. The reader knows they are meant for each other from the moment they meet, so the rest is just a heart-wrenching journey of what it takes for them to finally be together.
