Vampire teen chick-lit

Do you know what chick-lit is?

Chick lit is genre fiction within women’s fiction which addresses issues of modern women often humorously and lightheartedly. The genre sells well, with chick lit titles topping bestseller lists and the creation of imprints devoted entirely to chick lit. Although sometimes it includes romantic elements, women’s fiction (including chick lit) is generally not considered a direct subcategory of the romance novel genre, because in Chick lit the heroine’s relationship with her family or friends may be just as important as her romantic relationships.

Vampire-lit is a sub-genre of fantasy-lit. And, there is a whole genre of vampire-chick-lit aimed at teenagers. You are probably aware of it, but may not have realized that such is what it is. Have you seen the TV series called Vampire Diaries? They come from a book series of the same name. What about the Twilight movies? Well, they come from a book series of the same name.

These type of series are aimed at teenage girls. Why did I read both series? Well, they were recommended by a then 19 year old that thought that the Twilight series was great. So, I read that series and was quite surprised. Why did I read the series? As a pastor I felt it would be wise for me to read a book that is being read by so many teenagers. And, I trusted the woman so I thought that it would be “safe” for me to read the book.

As expected, the series was written from the point of view of a teenage girl in high school. And, there is no doubt that the person who wrote them was quite capable in representing the viewpoint of a high school teenager. The heroine is as full of shifting emotions as any teenager. She misinterprets her father’s attempts to reach out to her and classifies both her father and mother in terms that appear to be wiser than her years, but are overly negative interpretations of their actions. She struggles to find out what it means to be an adult. And she falls in love.

Of course, the love is a roller-coaster. It is with a vampire who is beautiful and attractive. It is with a person who is unreachable and she often feels inadequate and unworthy of him. Yep, it sounds just like about 80% of modern American teenage girls. But, I was quite surprised by a few things that showed up in the series, which takes her through graduation and . . .

1.  The heroine and the vampire never have sex and he never takes her blood. They kiss a little, but never even go to “second base.”

2.  They have dramatic adventures. And, in typical adventure fashion, she constantly gets in danger and gets hurt. Her boyfriend or another friend rescue her periodically.

3.  Hmm, let me put this delicately, but they do not know each other until after they are married, after she has graduated from high school and is an adult.

4.  When she finally gets pregnant, she is already a married woman.

5.  She ends up becoming a vampire, but by choice and she and her husband will only touch animals. (OK, OK, that is sanitizing vampires a bit, but . . .)

6.  She has a final adventure, but is poised to live happily ever after as a happily married woman with a half-vampire child. And, she has learned to be an adult, a real adult.

The Vampire Diaries is not a finished series but has some similar steps in it, with some quite interesting twists. But, here is the most interesting part. No sex between the vampire and the girl. There is some “first base” stuff, and maybe even some “second base” stuff, but that is it. But, plenty of dangerous adventures are present. And, most important, in the process, the teenager–now graduated–is beginning to change. She looks back and realizes how shallow she was at times, and how “damaged” in some areas of her life. She is maturing.

You can see how series of this type could leave a pastor with mixed feelings. Can you imagine! Popular books that are made into movies that feature teenagers living chaste lives. Teenagers that begin with the typical misconceptions of many teenagers slowly grow into maturity, and an emotionally balanced responsible adult maturity. On the other hand, vampires are not particularly consonant with Christian beliefs about the afterlife, etc. But, but, teenagers living chaste lives and growing into responsible adulthood!!!! Can you see why a pastor might have mixed feelings about this genre of books?

As for me, I have enjoyed both series and could recommend them to high school and young twenties. I would like the opportunity to discuss the books with them, but, by and large, I think that the good points are well worth overlooking the negative points of both series.