The statistical improbability of young love lasting

Having just read two well-written YA romances, I am thinking about what it is about young love that transports saps romantics like me. Almost certainly, the strength of the attraction is heightened by its novelty, and I think adults like to be reminded of how that first experience with love felt. Look at Romeo and Juliet. He's someone who wants to be in love, right? When we first meet him he's pining over some other girl and only goes to the party to catch a glimpse of her. Romeo's infatuation with Rosaline pales to what he feels for Juliet. Yes, the language is poetic, there's humor and drama, unforgettable characters -- all the things that make Shakespeare great. And added to that is the amazing rush of young love which we have experienced and crave.

So I get why grown-ups love these books, but why do we write them for teens? It's not like we want to encourage them to settle down with the first person they love. I would never dismiss those intense feelings as puppy love, and I'm not the most experienced 58-year-old, but I do know that a deep and abiding attachment is not always enough for a lifetime of living together. In If You Come Softly by Jacquelyn Woodson, Ellie says, "I think only once in your life do you find someone that you say, 'Hey, this is the person I want to spend the rest of my time on this earth with.' And if you miss it, or walk away from it, or even maybe, blink -- it's gone." She's 18; she gets to think that, but I hope the reader can understand it's coming from a very limited perspective.

The first novel I remember reading about teenagers falling in love and trying to make that love last was Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones. I know -- excellent title. It's by Ann Head and was written in the late 60s, pre-Roe vs. Wade. July and Bo Jo are high school sweethearts who become pregnant and decide to raise their baby together. Bo Jo gives up his college scholarship; July drops out of school. They are still, intentionally, together at the end of the book, but they are also still teenagers, so who can say what the next 5-10 years will bring?

Well, whatever, I still love these stories. I love being swept away by the rush of emotion. It should have more than just that going on, of course -- Shakespeare's language, Woodson's characters -- but I love being reminded how I felt that first time. That people are nicer, that colors are brighter, that everything will work out fine.

Here's my top please-let-them-make-it list in YA:

If You Come Softly, by Jacquelyn Woodson
Impossible, by Nancy Werlin
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, by Jennifer E. Smith
Eleanor & Park, by Rainbow Rowell

What would you add?