YA Cliches?

A lot of the YA love triangles really turn me off. A lot of them follow a very perscriptive pattern that I find very grating as a reader! When they're done well and the conflict is real/human not just a 'I have two great guys, oh woe is me, who shall I choose?' love-triangles can work, but when the book is a fantasy and the love triangle takes over the actual quest ... I'm not a fan.

Abusive jerks presented as desirable "alpha" males, who'll stop being abusive to the heroine if she only loves them enough.

I keep waiting for a YA Dystopian book where the plucky young rebels succeed in overthrowing the tyrannical government, only to pave the way for an even worse one to come into power. Because as many will tell you, revolutions seldom go off as clean in the real world as they do in fiction, and trying to establish a democracy in a country that's in upheaval and has known nothing but dictators or absolute monarchs...well, the outcome of the Russian Revolution seems to be depressingly common: you overthrow the tyranny of the Czar, only to wind up with Stalin down the line.

It's only a cliché when readers stop wanting it. Until then, it's how you sell books.

"A lone, single tear runs down her cheek."

Probably read this half a dozen times a chapter in a YA series recently. It's usually more prominent in YA books but it's such a cliche thing, to say like.. "Oh, look at her trying to hold back her tears and she'ss so strong but that single one escapes so she's not heartless."

The romance being too focused on. Idk if it's really a cliché, more like a pet peeve. Romance books are one thing—you're expecting it. But when the entire book is about miscommunication it sucks :/

Channy said:

"A lone, single tear runs down her cheek."

Probably read this half a dozen times a chapter in a YA series recently. It's usually more prominent in YA books but it's such a cliche thing, to say like.. "Oh, look at her trying to hold back her tears and she'ss so strong but that single one escapes so she's not heartless."

Click to expand...

Totally with you. Never met anyone who managed to pull of the single-tear trick in real life. Also, no one looks good when they're in the middle of an emotional breakdown; usually when people are upset, they shed much more than one tear. But seriously, given my extensive history of mental illness, I know what I'm talking about when it comes to emotional breakdowns. I sob uncontrollably, my face turns baboon red, I hyperventilate, and my nose runs; no one, I don't care if they're Angelina Jolie or Helen of Troy, looks good while doing all of that.

The main character being considered 'special' by other characters despite having nothing special about them.

Yeah, that's a big one. I also hate all teen romance in general, and how it sends the message to young girls that sleeping around is acceptable or emotionally healthy. Actually, I very much dislike that 80% of teen stuff is directed towards girls. Despite being female, I prefer male-targeted stories. Besides, teen guys need something fun to read too.

Oh, and I despite "It changed her life forever." Uh, lots of things can do that. Taking a class changes your life forever. So does learning to drive, buying a book, watching a movie, sewing a dress....

I have a couple. .

The mean girl. As villains they don't get to be wickedly awesome and are usually bland. If they find redemption, they become even more boring. It seems they only exist to make the just as bland (but not evil or materialistic) MC or female love interest look better. I just think those type of characters should be treated like actual characters. They are probably quite insecure, but still charismatic enough to get popular in the first place. They have feelings too. Can't that be explored? Or at least treat them like actual exciting villains.

On the topic of female love interests, the manic pixie dream girl. Maybe it's because I am not a guy, but what's so appealing about these girls? As a teen I was nothing like this. But I'm sure teen guys feel the same about a lot of the muscular male love interests.

Yeah, I would kill for there to be a story with a girl who is pretty and popular yet not a total bitch. Because it is possible to be well-liked in high school without being a horrible person; some people naturally have charisma/good social skills that draw people in. That was one of the big bugaboos that made me leave the X-Men Evolution fandom: all the fangirls assumed that "Jean Grey is pretty and popular, therefore she is a horrible bitch." Even though there's little if anything in canon to establish her as a bitchy mean girl. Jean's overwhelmingly depicted as the type who'd be nice to awkward new kid, offer to show him or her around, and let him or her sit with her friends, so they don't have to sit alone at lunch. Popular isn't synonymous with bully.

Yeah, I would kill for there to be a story with a girl who is pretty and popular yet not a total bitch.

Click to expand...

Isn't that Elle in Legally Blonde?

Also, what's with 'unpopular' being such a popular characteristic? I guess there's the writerly reason of cutting down on background characters to keep track of, and sometimes it's explained in a way that makes sense, but more often than not it seems to just be that way for no good reason.

Ahem.
- Straight love triangles. Just give me a poly relationship please
- Straight love in general. I feel like I keep seeing the same generic white girl and white boy hook up
- "Dark brooding mysterious" boyfriend who's actually just abusive and controlling

There are tons of Twitter parody accounts that poke fun of these cliches. My favorites are Brooding YA Hero and Dystopian YA Novel.

LSMay said:

Also, what's with 'unpopular' being such a popular characteristic? I guess there's the writerly reason of cutting down on background characters to keep track of, and sometimes it's explained in a way that makes sense, but more often than not it seems to just be that way for no good reason.

Click to expand...

If you ask a random group of people, 90% of them will swear they were always the last ones chosen for teams during gym class, no matter how mathematically impossible this is.

Nearly everyone connects to feeling unwanted, underappreciated and misunderstood. I'd say the majority of people have had at least one experience of coming up against an "in group" that rejected them. This makes being "unpopular" a trait that resonates with most people. Even those who, objectively, were relatively popular understand the pain of rejection.

Short answer: Characters need problems. Unpopularity is usually seen as a problem, popularity rarely is. Characters whose lives are chugging along happily don't get the plot bunnies jumping.

I don't care about love triangles, but I hate it when there seems to be no reason for anyone to be attracted to the center of the triangle. I've read enough stories where a girl is presented as bland and normal but has two awesome, handsome guys fighting over her. I feel like this is some sort of wish fulfillment on the part of the author, but it gets under my skin.

Several things:The shy, plain Jane that's incredibly smart but doesn't know she's drop dead gorgeous. Who is a constant target of the popular mean girls. Plain Jane has a long time hidden love for the star (insert popular guy that plays a sport here), who miraculously falls in love with her. Or, she thinks he's a jerk but falls for him anyway. It's beyond cliché at this point.Love triangles involving a goody toe shoes guy and a dark as smoke, bad as a demon bad guy. Just no, no, no.

Dead parents. I am finding a lot of YA books where the parents are dead.

brainstorm77 said:

Dead parents. I am finding a lot of YA books where the parents are dead.

Click to expand...

Pretty much a staple of the genre. Not just in YA, but middlgrade too--especially fantasy.

Is the cliche to have one parent dead or both?

Justin K said:

Is the cliche to have one parent dead or both?

Click to expand...

Either way, though I'd argue this is less cliche and more trope. YA and MG books often have dead or absent parents because the stories are rooted in the MCs achieving independence in some critical way, which is tougher to do with parents around. Narratives going all the way back in time do this: fairy tales, myths, etc.

I'd say that if you're killing off the parents either for an easy source of sympathy or merely because they're inconvenient, you're venturing into cliche territory. However, it can work if it's right for your character or world. For instance, in THE HUNGER GAMES, Katniss' father has died in a mining accident that could've been prevented with better equipment. This is a totally believable scenario in Suzanne Collins' Panem, and works to convincingly build Katniss as a highly independent and yet guarded individual. On the contemporary side, in Sara Zarr's HOW TO SAVE A LIFE, the untimely death of the MC's father the year prior is a necessary element of the decisions that drive the plot.

Yeah, it's kind of hard for MG and some YA kids to have adventures of parents or adults are around to prevent that... Better to get them out of the way, lol.

I do enjoy MG and YA where parents are still alive and involved. Usually it's contemporary that has this, of course...

I like it when parents or family relatives are alive. I love family stuff (and family ties are seen as important in my culture). I think it can give more challenges for the character to overcome, and can give some emotional drama. Also can be fun if the parents or relatives are also adventurous as well, or are supportive, etc. This is if it's written well, of course.

Nerdilydone said:

Yeah, that's a big one. I also hate all teen romance in general, and how it sends the message to young girls that sleeping around is acceptable or emotionally healthy.

Click to expand...

Do most YA romances show teen girls sleeping around? Damn, I need to be reading more YA (just kidding. I love sex in stories, but I prefer romances with more mature protagonists).

Seriously, I haven't run into any YA where sleeping around was a thing, but most of the YA I've read in recent years is YA fantasy, and when there's a romantic arc, the protag is usually too busy staying alive to sleep with more than one person tops, if that.

My main problem with romances that have YA protags is that I can't take them seriously. My own hindsight about my first "serious" boyfriend makes it impossible. So I know the HEA at the end is really a HFN, because YA still have a lot of growing and changing in front of them, and imo it's generally a terrible idea for kids' first major romantic and/or sexual love be their last.

I was disappointed at the "non romance" ending of Judy Blume's Forever when I was a kid, but as an adult, I nod approvingly.