Is it taboo to include pop culture references in a novel?

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EricaL

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I am writing a novel which involves my two main characters being total vampire fangirls who go on an undercover mission to expose the monster terrorizing their neighborhood. I am just wondering if it would be alright to include allusions to vampire pop culture that my characters, who are in their early teens, would have known?
 
No, Douglas Coupland has been doing it for a very long time, it was apparently overt in his book Girl Friend in a Coma (although I didn't spot this as I don't know the band it came from).

He toned it down a bit in Elenor Rigby.
 
It is absolutely acceptable and often welcome in fiction to do this.
Many authors have taken liberties with referencing outside works without actually naming them. Some do name them too. It's quite fun to be reading a book and see a reference to something that one is fond of.

I say, "Go for it, but do it wisely." Meaning be sure you do not plagiarize or outright name anything when you don't have permission to do so. (Copyright infringements can be killer costly.)
 
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