May 6, 2014

TCWT Blog Chain


So, Teens Can Write, Too is back, along with their blog chain! Yay! So, anyway, this month's prompt looked like a lot of fun, and I figured... hey, why not?

What kinds of YA Fiction books would you like to see more of?

First of all, I'd like a bit more... variety in the romance department. More LGBTQ+ characters. Characters who don't fall in love. That kind of thing. YA seems cliche now, if only because of all the love triangles. I don't mind romance, but how about something without it for a change?

Also, I would enjoy some more fantasy. Vampire stories are not included. Quality fantasy is hard to find in the YA area; I really wish there was more.

On that subject: I also want more sci-fi. Dystopian novels are so overdone; it seems like most of them are just like The Giver ripoffs.

Fourth: More John Green. 'Nuff said.

I know there are quite a few of these, but I really enjoy retellings of fairy tales. So some more of those would be nice too.

Another: More historical fiction. I really enjoy good historical fiction, but it's hard to find in the YA genre.

And, finally: some smart, nerdy girls. There are tons of romances where nerdy guys fall in love with cool girls... why not the other way around?

16 comments:

  1. Cool list! I agree about the need for more diverse characters. My best friend would second the one about no romance!

    I didn't know that good fantasy was hard to find. But that reduces competition if I ever publish my own fantasy novel. lol Provided I can actually write something worth publishing ...

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    1. It isn't quite as hard to find as some of the other things on the list, but it's still difficult to find good fantasy for YA. The majority of the genre seems to be realistic fiction.

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  2. Ugh, I hate love triangles (except for the very rare few). And I totally agree with the last one-- some smart, nerdy girls. Yes, PLEASE. It's almost like there are a few "types" of female MCs now and that's not realistic or fun to read about. Great post :)

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    1. Yeah, I've actually been intending to write a post on the "types" xD Cliched female characters have really been getting on my nerves lately. Glad you liked it!

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  3. Great post! I like what you said about romance, historical fiction, and nerdy girls. I would like to see more books about friendship. Romantic relationships aren't the only kind of relationship out there. And I'm a nerd who loves Dickens and Austen, so of course I'd like to see more books set in times long past and stories about nerd girls.

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    1. Yes, I do really enjoy books about friendship, and I'd especially like some with boy/girl friendship, not just romance.

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    2. I have lots of friendships with girls AND guys, it doesn't really matter. I'd like to see friendships like that represented in books, too.

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  4. Have you read books by rainbow rowell? Some people comp her with john green. I haven't read this book, LOVE AND OTHER FOREIGN WORDS yet but I saw it has a JG comp.

    As for LGBT have you read Aristotle and Dante Discover the Universe.

    I'll stop with the recs even though I have many more. Historical fiction is my favorite genre! You have an awesome list; thanks for sharing!

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    1. YES. I love Rainbow Rowell, although the only book I've read by her is Fangirl. I'm looking into finding Eleanor and Park at the library.

      And I'll have to add Aristotle and Dante to my to read list :)

      And recs are great, thanks a lot! Glad you liked the post :)

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  5. I love dystopian books, buuuuut... there are an awful lot of them, and regular sci-fi is just as cool. :)

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    1. Yeah, I do love sci-fi, but some unique dystopian books would be nice. Stress on unique.

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  6. Ahhh, Bridget, this makes me so happy.

    TOTALLY agree about both the LGBTQA+ and characters who don't fall in love points. Actually, re: the latter, I've been wanting a YA contemporary where the MC *wants* love but never quite finds it for a long time. That just feels so much more true to real life to me, and if it can emphasize that he or she is OKAY anyway, it could be amazing. I hate this idea plaguing YA right now that for a character to be happy, he or she NEEDS a love interest. (Of course this is a lot to do with marketability, but still. It bothers me that most people don't have serious high school romances in real life, yet they always do in books.)

    Great post!

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    1. (Sorry that your comment didn't appear to go through, I have it set up to let me moderate them first.)

      Another thing that I didn't include in the post is that I'd like a story where the MC has several crushes, but doesn't really find love until the end of the novel. In reality, the first person is hardly ever "the one", and I think all of these ideas would make writing much more realistic.

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  7. Definitely more variety in romance. Even if the variety is just to get through ONE BOOK without it. Just one. Please. ;)

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    1. Agreed :P All the boy-girl-boy love triangles are getting really dull by now.

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