Christian Romance Novels Are Garbage
Here’s how they messed me up
Submitted by KC Brown
When I was in fourth grade, a guest speaker came to my Christian elementary school. Her name was Robin Jones Gunn and the other girls were soooo excited. I hadn’t heard of Gunn’s Christy Miller series.
Oh boy. Was I in for a treat.
The Christy Miller series is all about how a generic skinny white girl with brown hair falls in love with Todd, a blonde surfer with “piercing blue eyes” who proceeds to gaslight Christy over the course of 12 books:
- Christy wants a relationship. Todd wants to go surfing.
- Christy wants to define their relationship. Todd wants to be a missionary.
- Christy wants to get married. Todd wants to go to Hawaii because he loves colonialism and cultural appropriation.
Not only is their weird and unhealthy “romance” held up as the epitome of True Love for young, impressionable readers — always settle for guys you have to convince to like you, ladies! — but the series puts down actually healthy relationships. Rick, a dark-haired evil villain and counterpoint to Todd, actually tells Christy he likes her and pursues a relationship. Christy’s best friend Katie (you know she’s wild because she has red hair) makes out with…
