Eat Your Heart Out by Jenny Peterson, and Friendship in #YAlit

I’m so excited to have Jenny Peterson share a post with us today! She’s a YA author as well as a contributor to A Book and a Latte. She’s stopping by today to share a post on friendship in YA, and tell us about her second novella in her Descendants Series, Eat Your Heart Out!

Eat Your Heart Out

(Descendants #2)
by Jenny Coon Peterson

LET’S BE FRIENDS

by Jenny Peterson

So I thought a lot about friendship as I was writing Eat Your Heart Out, a YA fantasy novella that is the second in my Descendants trilogy. The changing relationship between my main character, Rachel, and her longtime best friend was a big part of the story I wanted to tell.

I had that old Girl Scouts song running through my head a lot (you know the one … “A circle is round / It has no end / That’s how long I will be your friend”), which made me want Girl Scout cookies. Delicious, delicious Girl Scout cookies.

Anyway, sometimes friendship—especially between girls—can be hard to find in YA. And that’s kind of too bad because our girlfriends are a huge part of what it means to be a teen. And an adult. Friends are important, is what I’m saying. (Deep thoughts with Jenny Coon Peterson…)

It doesn’t always have to be unrequited love and smoldering looks and girls who have zero friends. Sometimes you can get all that swoon and a best friend to boot. Yay for these books showcasing girls who can—gasp!—be friends with other girls.

Anne of Green Gables: Oh, Anne Shirley, I love you. You are my bosom friend. L.M. Montgomery’s classic story of an unforgettable orphan doesn’t shy away from that special bond between a girl and her best friend. Anne declares lifelong love and loyalty to Diana Barry … even after accidentally getting her drunk on currant wine. But Diana isn’t the only friend for Anne. Throughout the series, Anne forms close, real friendships with many wonderful women who help shape her from tempestuous orphan to pride of Avonlea.

Team Human: Sarah Rees Brennan and Justine Larbalestier take a bite (ha!) out of vampire romance with this Twilight parody. This is a book that isn’t afraid to show its teeth. (That was the last vampire joke. Promise.) But even better, it’s got a best friendship between Mel and Cathy at the heart. Mel is fiercely loyal to her friends, even if it means getting into trouble on the vampire side of town. Seriously, come for the laughs, stay for the friendships.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants: Speaking of friendships, nothing sings it from the rafters quite like Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Yes, it’s a bit cheesy. And yes, the whole “pants that fit all of our various body types!” is a bit of an oddball hook. But it works. Author Ann Brashares does such a fabulous job showing us girls who may all be different, but have something absolutely unbreakable in common (and no, it’s not the magic jeans).

Pride and Prejudice: Okay, okay … this might not technically count as YA, but I think it does. A girl growing up and finding her place in the world? That’s YA through and through. The relationship between Lizzie and Darcy is obviously one for the ages (and it gives me an excuse to link to this), but P&P is so much more than that. Biting, droll Lizzie depends on her best friend, the sweet Charlotte, and she’s nothing without her sister, Jane. Yes, we all furiously read Jane Austen’s masterpiece for the fireworks between Lizzie and Darcy, but I’d counter it’s the friendships and family that make this book whole.

A Great and Terrible Beauty: This book. This book. Whenever people ask for my top YA fantasy recommendation, Libba Bray’s Gemma Doyle trilogy is the answer. It’s got boarding school and magic worlds and ballgowns. And it’s got friends—friends who are there for each other. Friends who share a bond that spans social strata and even different realities. Girls can kick butt and be friends, and this wonderful book shows that.

About Jenny Peterson

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Thanks, Jenny!