Teen angel
Curiously, most of the memorable love stories are the ones in which the couple does not live happily ever after. Whether it is Rhett in Gone With the Wind telling Scarlett that he doesn't give a damn, or Rick in Casablanca informing Ilsa that she belongs with Victor, helping him fight the Nazis, the couple's realization that things will not work out is part of what makes the love story great. Memories will have to suffice. ("We'll always have Paris.")
A subcategory of the love-story genre is the teen love story, from Romeo and Juliet to any number of contemporary teen heat fests. But the same rule applies: the story is more poignant, and perhaps even profound, when things can't work out.
Normally, the insurmountable problems in teen love stories are differences in money, class or race. Religion rarely enters the picture as a reason for a couple to stay apart or to try and get together. What is intriguing about A Walk to Remember, which is loosely based on the 1999 novel by Nicholas Sparks, is that one member of the couple is initially considered undesirable and unattractive because of her devout Christian beliefs. The question is: Is her faith an insurmountable obstacle to romance?
