There's an interesting trend showing up in YA Fiction right now: stories inspired by One Direction. Whether there are just light references sprinkled through out, or whether the published novel is literally just an AU fic from Wattpad with the names changed, it's interesting to see how the boy band is influencing the genre.
THE NOVEL: Public Relations by Katie Heaney and Arianna Rebolini
THE SYNOPSIS: Young PR star Rose Reed is thrown into the big leagues when her boss leaves town the day of the firm's meeting with Archie Fox, a young, hot, internationally famous British singer-songwriter. The meeting is going badly until Rose suggests a staged romance with up-and-coming, young indie star Raya. He'll do it, but only if Rose becomes his publicist.
As the faux-mance between Archie and Raya begins to rehabilitate Archie's faltering career, Rose finds his herself having unexpected, inconvenient and definitely unprofessional feelings for the crooner. But do late night texts and impromptu burrito binges mean he feels the same? In the end, Rose will have to decide whether to let her fantasy crush go, or to risk her reputation to be with the charming, handsome, scoundrel-y but sweet pop star she's grown to love.
WHO IT'S BASED ON: Archie Fox = Harry Styles
THE NOVEL: Grace and the Fever by Zan Romanoff
THE SYNOPSIS: Grace is a fan of Fever Dream, a One Direction-esque boy band that she is well aware was no longer cool to like after age 14. Now 18 years old and just graduated from high school, Grace has developed an elaborate double life to hide her embarrassing obsession from the rest of her classmates. To her friends offline, she’s the quiet girl who doesn’t drink at parties but is otherwise pretty normal. But to her friends on Tumblr, she’s a bastion of Fever Dream fandom; more specifically, the corner of Fever Dream fandom that is pretty sure Fever Dream band members Solly and Land are secretly in love, and that “the management” has forced them to keep it a secret.
One day, Grace happens to make the acquaintance of Fever Dream singer Jes — and gets photographed by the paparazzi doing it. That’s when her two worlds start to collide. Suddenly, she’s a person of interest to the gossip industry, and that makes her the sworn enemy of most of her fellow Fever Dream fans, who are convinced she’s a plant hired by “the management” to keep everyone from figuring out the truth about Solly and Land. As a result, Grace must navigate the tricky waters of public life next to her favorite band without letting the band itself or her offline friends know that she’s a superfan, and without letting her fandom know she’s the girl they all hate.WHO IT'S BASED ON: Solly & Land aka "Lolly" = Harry & Louis aka "Larry", Jes = Zayn
THE NOVEL: Kill the Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky
THE SYNOPSIS: Okay, so just know from the start that it wasn't supposed to go like this. All we wanted was to get near The Ruperts, our favorite boy band.We didn't mean to kidnap one of the guys. It kind of, sort of happened that way. But now he's tied up in our hotel room. And the worst part of all, it's Rupert P. All four members of The Ruperts might have the same first name, but they couldn't be more different. And Rupert P. is the biggest flop out of the whole group.
We didn't mean to hold hostage a member of The Ruperts, I swear. At least, I didn't. We are fans. Okay, superfans who spend all of our free time tweeting about the boys and updating our fan tumblrs. But so what, that's what you do when you love a group so much it hurts.
How did it get this far? Who knows. I mean midterms are coming up. I really do not have time to go to hell.
WHO IT'S BASED ON: A bit more nebulous, but leaning towards Louis since it's the flop member. Alternatively, some have argued this one is actually about 5 Seconds of Summer.
THE NOVEL: The After Series by Anna Todd
THE SYNOPSIS: There was the time before Tessa met Hardin, and then there’s everything AFTER... Life will never be the same. #Hessa
Tessa is a good girl with a sweet, reliable boyfriend back home. She’s got direction, ambition, and a mother who’s intent on keeping her that way. But she’s barely moved into her freshman dorm when she runs into Hardin. With his tousled brown hair, cocky British accent, tattoos and lip ring, Hardin is cute and different from what she's used to.
But he's also rude—to the point of cruelty, even. For all his attitude, Tessa should hate Hardin. And she does—until she finds herself alone with him in his room. Something about his dark mood grabs her, and when they kiss it ignites within her a passion she’s never known before. He'll call her beautiful, then insist he isn't the one for her and disappear again and again. Despite the reckless way he treats her, Tessa is compelled to dig deeper and find the real Hardin beneath all his lies. He pushes her away again and again, yet every time she pushes back, he only pulls her in deeper.
Tessa already has the perfect boyfriend. So why is she trying so hard to overcome her own hurt pride and Hardin's prejudice about nice girls like her?
Unless...could this be love?
WHO IT'S BASED ON: Hardin = Harry, but all of the 1D boys make apperances. This was actually a Wattpad fanfic that was originally published as a 1D/50 Shades of Grey style AU mash up where Harry is basically a shitty abusive dude but for some reason this meek college girl is into it!!! Anna Todd turned the fic into a trilogy, and I think there's even a prequel now.
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Have you ever read a novel based on a real life boy band, ONTD? Would you read one of these?