Happy (Anti) Valentine's Day!

Now, this is slowly becoming a tradition here at i swim for oceans. I am in a healthy, loving relationship, kiddos, but it doesn't hurt to tell you that I hate this so-called "holiday." Frankly, I think you should tell people you love them all year long...not on a day that's dominated by greeting cards and fake love. I'm jussayin'. So, in honour of my supreme dislike of this holiday, I decided I would do my very own UnValentine’s Day post for you all. This time, we're going to talk about love gone wrong. So romantic, right? WRONG!

Dark Song by Gail Giles – Yes, I love this book. I have never once made that a secret, but let me just tell you how horribly love-gone-wrong this book is. We’ve got a vulnerable main character, Ames, who is desperate to rebel because of everything complicated and messy happening in her life. We’ve got a so-called love interest, Marc, who manipulates, violates and demeans. Oh yeah, and he threatens her whole family.

Breathing Underwater – This one has schools in an uproar, trying to ban it because of the oh-so-sensitive materials for the even more sensitive eyes of the youth. Ok, first of all, dating violence exists. It does, so this book clearly reaches to those victims. Futhermore, it displays in full force the effects of a boy trying to escape the darkness in him and the girl trapped by his spell. That’s a love story gone wrong, if I’ve ever heard of one.

Stay by Deb Caletti – This is the classic story of misogynistic manipulation and the vulnerability of a YA character desperate to find herself. There was so much hurt, and danger, and unspeakable cruelty in this book that you’re left wondering if the good guys really do exist (they do). Consider this your classic (albeit amazingly written) tale of twisted and wrong YA love.

Bitter End by Jennifer Brown – You know how you always want your man to shower you with love and affection? Well, there’s a fine line between loving and possessing, and this book wholly grabs you and shakes you into a painful, bitter reality. Cole manipulates and possesses Alexandra throughout, never allowing her to see a shred of hope and leaving her to believe that A) not only is it her fault, but B) it will never happen again. Needless to say…we know that those lines never really mean anything.

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick – Okay, this one’s got the trifecta. First, we’ve got the heroine who is easily swayed by the bad boy’s charm. We’ve got the “bad boy”/badass angel who doesn’t give a rat’s ass about Nora’s feelings, and THEN we’ve got the scenes where he quite clearly takes advantage of her. Oh yeah, and she’s often crying and alone. I’m gonna call bad romance because, clearly, it doesn’t just stick to YA contemps.

What YA stories can you think of that feature bad love stories or love gone wrong?