YA stories feature a young adult protagonist or protagonists and usually focus on that character's journey toward maturity {the tradition of the Bildungsroman.}. Learning about love / relationships is an important part of that stage in our lives, so it's not surprising so many writers are building strong romantic elements into their YA stories. I don't remember quite such an emphasis on romance in the books my children read as young adults, so I do think the approach has changed. Within my genre of fantasy, there's been an upsurge of paranormal romance, partly generated by the books, but also reflecting the popularity of this sub-genre with adult readers. There are far more female fantasy writers {and female fantasy readers} than there were, say, twenty years ago, and perhaps female writers are more confident about including a good love story in a fantasy novel
( Juliet Marillier )
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