Fallen

Fallen was published in 2009, just one year after the final book of the Twilight saga was released and met with enormous success due to the series’ massive popularity in the 2000s and the film adaptation also released in 2008. Much of the book’s success is attributed to the way it appeals to young adult women and teen girls by allowing the readers to envision themselves in the protagonist’s shoes as she navigates a supernatural love triangle with two powerful suitors.

Twilight’s most appealing elements have solidified themselves as staples of the young adult paranormal romance genre, with many authors following in Twilight’s footsteps to achieve critical success and give readers more of the content that they crave. These elements boil down to three important pieces: a main character who is easy for readers to see themselves as, a love triangle, and paranormal or supernatural suitors. Fallen embraces these elements to achieve a story that has, in its own right, carved out critical success and its own space in the greater niche of young adult romance.

Fallen’s protagonist, Luce, fills the role of being relatable and self-insertable for the readers. Luce’s thoughts and opinions primarily surround her interactions with her suitors and the mysteries that haunt her—there are no expressions of disdain, strong social opinions, or personality traits that make her difficult for an average person to relate to, and this is by design. When Luce does not characterize herself strongly through her beliefs, opinions, and actions, the readers are permitted to fill in the blanks with their own beliefs, opinions, and actions, allowing them to feel the exhilaration that comes with the love triangle.

The novel’s supernatural love triangle makes up the other elements of this genre—not only is Luce caught between two handsome suitors with completely different demeanors toward her, but these suitors also possess supernatural qualities that make them stronger, better, and more extraordinary than the average high school teen boy, allowing the romance to feel more significant in its expression. Fallen achieves this significance through the “fated lovers” trope, but the idea of an inexplicable pull between characters due to their supernatural link is not new to the genre.

Overall, Fallen exemplifies the supernatural young adult romance genre with its use of a relatable protagonist and powerful suitors to form a love triangle that occupies most of the novel.