Introduction

This chapter discusses three best-selling works of young adult literature (YAL) that were expressly marketed toward females. They are Ann Brashares's The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Cecily von Ziegesar's Because I'm Worth It: A Gossip Girl Novel, and Stephenie Meyer's Twilight. While these books initially seem disparate, the variety they offer, coupled with their shared attributes, makes them an appropriate trio to consider when considering the essentially unchanging portrayal of teenage femininity in YAL. Despite ostensible messages about how real beauty comes from within, YAL marketed toward females has a history of championing corporeal beauty as part of the feminine ideal. Much of the literary canon features foils for the female protagonists, but the use of contrasting characters is even more prevalent in YAL. In addition to providing readers with a greater sense of conflict and action, YAL's penchant for the literary device derives from the characteristic of adolescents "to try to resolve an internal conflict by externalizing it".