Monday, February 10, 2014

Favourite Couples

Valentine's Day is almost upon us. Cue the cardboard hearts and fancy chocolates!

Love and romance are part of human culture and obviously show up in many of our books. There have been countless couples throughout history who have captured the hearts of readers. Even young readers.

Some of the earliest couples I remember reading about are:
  • Anne Shirley & Gilbert Blythe from Anne of Green Gables
  • Nancy Drew & Ned Nickerson (had to look up his last name!)
  • Amy March & Laurie (never did like that match up though)

There weren't really any YA books around when I was a kid and I moved pretty much from those books to Agatha Christie - not a lot of romance for poor ol' Hercule!

Current MG and YA books are full of couples and love triangles (but that's another post) and some of them are very memorable. One of my recent faves is in Ice Dogs by Terry Lynn Johnson. While it's totally an adventure book the realistic relationship that grows between the characters is fabulous. Shannon Messenger, Medeia Sharif, Elana Johnson, and Shelli Johannes are other authors who create strong relationships between their YA characters. Wish those authors had been around when I was a kid!

Who are your favourite couples from the books you read as a child or teen?

39 comments:

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

I didn't read anything with romance as a kid. So for couples, I'd have to say my favourite was Gollum and his ring ;)

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for including me. :)

My favorite couple is Heaven and Troy in V.C. Andrews' Dark Angel. I read it three times in middle and high school and thought it was wildly romantic. I read a lot of romance, but I can't recall other characters.

Natalie Aguirre said...

I loved the sweet romance in Terry's book. And love your other choices too.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Lynda's answer is awesome!
No young adult books when I was a kid either. The only couple I can remember was in Narnia's The Horse and His Boy.

JeffO said...

Does it make me a bad person that I can't remember? Actually, I also don't recall a whole lot of 'YA' either, and at that age, I was much more likely to be reading horror and such. No great romances really stand out to me.

Beth said...

I remember all the ones you mentioned, as well as Trixie Belden and Jim Frayne (not a real romance, but it always seemed like it was going to develop). Trixie Belden always seemed more real to me than the perfect Nancy Drew!

Jemi Fraser said...

Lynda - that's awesome! And totally one of my fave couples too! :)

Medeia - you're welcome! I was never brave enough to read VC Andrews!! :)

Natalie - isn't it well done? Love it!

Alex - me too! I hate to admit, but I didn't like Narnia and never finished the series!

Jeff - in most of the books I read, the romance was almost incidental too - and that's all right! :)

Beth - I'd forgotten Trixie! I read hers before Nancy & The Hardy Boys so my memory of them isn't as clear :)

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I loved Jaxom and Sharra from McCaffrey's The White Dragon. They had such a connection, which included Ruth, the dragon.

S.A. Larsenッ said...

I'm reading Ice Dogs, right now. Love! You've mentioned some great YA authors, who've created memorable character relationships. I'd add Shannon Messenger's characters in Keeper of the Lost Cities. MG, but they have a great connection.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I could never get my hands on enough books when I was growing up and certainly not any YA books. I'm so glad there are more selections out there for young people. It gives me hope that there will be even more readers in the next generation.

Laurel Garver said...

As a teen, i loved the slow-developing romance between Meg and Calvin in the Wrinkle in Time series. I've always tended to prefer friends-first relationships because of that series.

A said...

I liked Franny (of Franny and Zoey) and her boyfriend (forget his name) :-)

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

Nancy and Ned were my favorites, too! Then Trixie Belden and Jim. :)

Old Kitty said...

I always thought the The Owl and the Pussycat a most romantic story!

Take care
x

Jemi Fraser said...

Diane - great choice! Love them - just wish I'd discovered the series earlier!

Sheri - yes! Keepers is another great one for the relationship!

Karen - me too! Loved the book but never ever liked Amy!!

Susan - me too! If my students are anything to judge by we'll have lots of readers!!

Laurel - that's another book I didn't read until I was an adult - and it's so good!

Agnes - I don't know that one!

Elizabeth - I loved that whole series - both of them actually :)

Old Kitty - it is! That pea green boat is a perfect setting for romance! :)

Carol Kilgore said...

Gosh I don't remember. I liked Trixie Belden, but I don't remember the guy's name. How bad is that?

Jemi Fraser said...

Carol - not bad at all! I have trouble remembering a LOT of things!! Far too many actually :)

Leslie S. Rose said...

OMG - I'm still cracking up over Gollum and his ring. I just finished Eleanor and Park. They are my new fave couple along with Anna and Etienne from Anna and the French Kiss. Oh, and Perry and Aria from the Across the Never Sky trilogy. Sigh.

Jemi Fraser said...

Leslie - me too! Lynda is brilliant!! Those are great choices :)

DEZMOND said...

Without any doubt Levin and Kitty from ANNA KARENINA. As a kid and teen I mostly read Russian, German and French classics, and I've never read any YA books which I'm proud of :)

klahanie said...

Hey Jemi,

Nice shout-outs, Jemi. I note a number of my adoring writer fans mentioned by your good self.

My favourite couple is not from a book. I predict big things for Daisy Duck and Donald Duck.

Take care, eh.

Gary :)

Unknown said...

To be honest, I don't think there were any couples in any of the books that I read as as child.

If I recall correctly, my favourite books were; My Friend Flicker and Black Beauty! No couples in there! Just horses :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Dezzy - there is a lot of good stuff out there nowadays! And the classics are always good! :)

Gary - great choice! I think the Ducks have a good chance of making a great couple! :)

Wendy - and horses are a very good thing! I was a big horse fan too but somehow missed those classics!

Unknown said...

It's never too late, sweetpea :)

Theresa Milstein said...

I just received a copy of Ice Dogs. I can't wait to read it.

Jemi Fraser said...

Wendy - this is very true! And I even have copies of both in my class! :P

Theresa - I think you're going to love it!!! It's awesome :)

mshatch said...

A few of my favorite books from high school were; The Outsiders, That was Then This is Now, The Pigman, Lisa Bright and Dark, My My Darling My Hamburger, and Go Tell Alice.

Jemi Fraser said...

Marcy - Love the first 3 but I haven't read the others - I'll put them on my list :)

cleemckenzie said...

I had to read what my mom had on the shelf, but I do remember Anne of Green Gables being one of the first books I could relate to. Wonder how it would seem today. Maybe I should re-read that.

Jemi Fraser said...

Lee - I read Anne again a couple of years ago and the magic was still there! :)

DMS said...

I don't remember there being a lot of romance in the books I was reading growing up. I am sure there must have been. The hints of romance are probably what stand out when I think back. The ones that stand out to me:

Meg and CK Wallace (A Wrinkle in Time)

Kit and Nat (The Witch of Blackbird Pond)

Laura and Almanzo (Little House series)

What a great topic to think about. :)
~Jess

Jack said...

Anne and Gilbert, I loved theirs. Though I never read far into it, I think I stopped at book three for some reason. but I saw the movies.

I never read much romance when I was younger, or even now. But I have two favourites now. Seraphina and Kiggs from Seraphina and Annabeth and Ransom from Annabeth's War

LD Masterson said...

I think you went with the wrong romance in Little Women. I loved Jo and Friedrich Bhaer.

Jemi Fraser said...

Jess - thanks! Those are great choices - I didn't get to read them until I was adult tho! :)

Jack - I didn't either when I was kid - not until I'd already had kids actually :)

Linda - I loved Jo but when I 1st read it I got so mad about Amy & Laurie I'd forgotten about Friedrich!! :)

Mason Canyon said...

I didn't read that much romance growing up so it's hard to remember any favorite couples. Hope you're having a wonderful Valentine's Day.

Jemi Fraser said...

Mason - thank you! Hope yours is lovely as well! :)

Michelle said...

I'm looking forward to the post about the love triangles ;) Hope you had a nice Valentin'es day!
http://www.wanderingsearching.com/

Michelle said...

'm looking forward to the post about the love triangles ;) Hope you had a nice Valentine's day!
http://www.wanderingsearching.com/

Jemi Fraser said...

Michelle - thanks! Me too - just have to write it yet :)