“I remember my first encounter with books as a child, how my wide eyes drank in the sight of the ivory paper.“
Edit: My comment was unjustifiably snide. The writer is young. I would encourage them to dial back the adjectives but I apologize for my snarkiness.
Howie-Dowin on
If you feel YA is too constrained by tropes I would encourage you to try reading fiction authors who fall outside that umbrella.
AccordingRow8863 on
In case folks don’t go digging on the website – this is an opinion piece written for a high school newspaper. The TEENAGER writing this is 100% the type of person who should be reading YA books without derision from adults.
That said, I think the tropification of books has been discussed ad nauseum and is universally accepted to be true at this point so I don’t know how valuable of a conversation this is.
WoolfVance on
Why are you posting an article from a high school newspaper?
IAmThePonch on
I was ready to dump all over this article but I’m giving it a pass because it seems to be a high school newspaper, and yes I also had this realization about the books I was reading around high school
self_dennisdias on
IDK, *Bridge to Terabithia* had such a delightful twist-ending.
Ordinaryundone on
Because they are written for kids who just now coming into contact with these types of stories. They aren’t written for jaded adults, hence the Young Adult tag. Most types of stories are predictable once you’ve been exposed to them a few times really.
Chip_Marlow on
I wasn’t a big fan of YA stories even when I was a young adult
kurapikun on
> Mysterious princes, talking dragons, magical schools — these concepts seemed so much more thrilling to my younger self than the revolving door of popular tropes in Young Adult books today.
It is my opinion that this is partly because as a child, you’re an inexperienced reader, and so everything looks to you as if it were original and fresh.
This said, I do agree with the article. I love reading fanfiction, and that’s because I’m already familiar with the setting and the characters and I can just sit down and enjoy a story that is catered to my taste. The heavy-reliance on tropes and clichés, however, doesn’t work quite as well in original fiction because both the setting and the characters are new to reader, and making them care is a skill that many TikTok authors lack.
The problematic depiction of gender roles and racial minorities is also an issue. I don’t care if you like problematic characters in fiction—it becomes an issue when violent and possessive behaviour that borders sexual assault is marketed as romantic.
Because this is an English-speaking sub, I always recommend people who are into YA to go beyond mainstream authors and explore the others—contrary to what one might believe, there *are* some very talented YA authors out there.
BonJovicus on
I’m pretty sure many intended to be like that especially with the growing interest in these books by adults. People want a tropey enemies to lovers story or an easy read about a girl and her dragon. I equate reading a book within YA to watching a movie within the Rom-Com or Horror genre. Occasionally there is a truly good one and they tend to strongly conform to the genre, but the people who indulge in those genres know exactly what they are getting into.
Farwaters on
If I wrote an article in high school and people were making fun of it on Reddit, I would die in real life.
RemarkablePuzzle257 on
I think the author has some valid criticisms about how shallow and trope-dependent modern fiction has become, including (and maybe especially) YA. To some extent, the publishing world has always been like this. Hollywood uses the same playbook. *Give consumers something new but also the same.* The motivation is profit not art.
One solution would be to get off BookTok and jump into some classic YA. Lois Duncan (*Down a Dark Hall* being my favorite YA novel ever), S. E. Hinton, Judy Blume, etc. Another might be to jump forward to adult fiction.
dethb0y on
almost as if their books meant for children or something!
Solivagant0 on
Maybe it’s time to move to adult genres then? Sure, YA tends to be simpler, but its target audience are younger, less experienced readers
pohovanathickvica on
that’s true, they are all practically the same, predictable and boring
SufferinSuccotash001 on
Guys, you’re literally mocking a child. This was written by a teenager, there’s no need to mock their writing. You can disagree respectfully. My advice to this teen would be that maybe it’s time for them to move past YA and read books written for adults.
Handyandy58 on
A lot of people are bagging on this without having read it, but I think the author has a pretty solid core point: “tropes” have evolved from being descriptive to being prescriptive, in her opinion. She feels YA books are written as if using pieces off of a shelf.
>When a book is defined solely by clichés and token phrases, it essentially becomes a watered-down version of the successful books that came before it. The intrigue, mystery and unique connection to the characters vanish because they are all born from the same cookie-cutter mold as countless other books — just with different names and slightly altered settings.
Sure, this isn’t New Yorker or LRB level opinion piece writing, but the author is a high schooler taking on a topic that is relevant to her and others her age, and I am probably guessing she did not intend her piece to be read by the r/books audience.
bitterloonz on
I think perspective from actual younger people is sorely needed when it comes to YA. Just because a book is meant for younger people in mind doesn’t mean it has to be the same old derivative crap.
Sure, kids who want more can “just read adult fiction” but I think it’s unfair that younger readers have to decide between good writing and original stories and
stories that are relevant to their life stage and that they connect with on a personal level.
I notice too often a lot of YA does not seem to be written with its target audience in mind and is either more to sell “content” for internet influencers or for selling nostalgia for millennials or older Gen Z. The recycling of certain character and fanfiction tropes definitely gives me that impression.
turquoise_mutant on
It’s cause they sell… book selling is a hard market. There are tons and tons of books outside this genre if you look for them. Can’t blame publishers for trying to make some cash tho.
20 Comments
Perhaps read books for adults
“I remember my first encounter with books as a child, how my wide eyes drank in the sight of the ivory paper.“
Edit: My comment was unjustifiably snide. The writer is young. I would encourage them to dial back the adjectives but I apologize for my snarkiness.
If you feel YA is too constrained by tropes I would encourage you to try reading fiction authors who fall outside that umbrella.
In case folks don’t go digging on the website – this is an opinion piece written for a high school newspaper. The TEENAGER writing this is 100% the type of person who should be reading YA books without derision from adults.
That said, I think the tropification of books has been discussed ad nauseum and is universally accepted to be true at this point so I don’t know how valuable of a conversation this is.
Why are you posting an article from a high school newspaper?
I was ready to dump all over this article but I’m giving it a pass because it seems to be a high school newspaper, and yes I also had this realization about the books I was reading around high school
IDK, *Bridge to Terabithia* had such a delightful twist-ending.
Because they are written for kids who just now coming into contact with these types of stories. They aren’t written for jaded adults, hence the Young Adult tag. Most types of stories are predictable once you’ve been exposed to them a few times really.
I wasn’t a big fan of YA stories even when I was a young adult
> Mysterious princes, talking dragons, magical schools — these concepts seemed so much more thrilling to my younger self than the revolving door of popular tropes in Young Adult books today.
It is my opinion that this is partly because as a child, you’re an inexperienced reader, and so everything looks to you as if it were original and fresh.
This said, I do agree with the article. I love reading fanfiction, and that’s because I’m already familiar with the setting and the characters and I can just sit down and enjoy a story that is catered to my taste. The heavy-reliance on tropes and clichés, however, doesn’t work quite as well in original fiction because both the setting and the characters are new to reader, and making them care is a skill that many TikTok authors lack.
The problematic depiction of gender roles and racial minorities is also an issue. I don’t care if you like problematic characters in fiction—it becomes an issue when violent and possessive behaviour that borders sexual assault is marketed as romantic.
Because this is an English-speaking sub, I always recommend people who are into YA to go beyond mainstream authors and explore the others—contrary to what one might believe, there *are* some very talented YA authors out there.
I’m pretty sure many intended to be like that especially with the growing interest in these books by adults. People want a tropey enemies to lovers story or an easy read about a girl and her dragon. I equate reading a book within YA to watching a movie within the Rom-Com or Horror genre. Occasionally there is a truly good one and they tend to strongly conform to the genre, but the people who indulge in those genres know exactly what they are getting into.
If I wrote an article in high school and people were making fun of it on Reddit, I would die in real life.
I think the author has some valid criticisms about how shallow and trope-dependent modern fiction has become, including (and maybe especially) YA. To some extent, the publishing world has always been like this. Hollywood uses the same playbook. *Give consumers something new but also the same.* The motivation is profit not art.
One solution would be to get off BookTok and jump into some classic YA. Lois Duncan (*Down a Dark Hall* being my favorite YA novel ever), S. E. Hinton, Judy Blume, etc. Another might be to jump forward to adult fiction.
almost as if their books meant for children or something!
Maybe it’s time to move to adult genres then? Sure, YA tends to be simpler, but its target audience are younger, less experienced readers
that’s true, they are all practically the same, predictable and boring
Guys, you’re literally mocking a child. This was written by a teenager, there’s no need to mock their writing. You can disagree respectfully. My advice to this teen would be that maybe it’s time for them to move past YA and read books written for adults.
A lot of people are bagging on this without having read it, but I think the author has a pretty solid core point: “tropes” have evolved from being descriptive to being prescriptive, in her opinion. She feels YA books are written as if using pieces off of a shelf.
>When a book is defined solely by clichés and token phrases, it essentially becomes a watered-down version of the successful books that came before it. The intrigue, mystery and unique connection to the characters vanish because they are all born from the same cookie-cutter mold as countless other books — just with different names and slightly altered settings.
Sure, this isn’t New Yorker or LRB level opinion piece writing, but the author is a high schooler taking on a topic that is relevant to her and others her age, and I am probably guessing she did not intend her piece to be read by the r/books audience.
I think perspective from actual younger people is sorely needed when it comes to YA. Just because a book is meant for younger people in mind doesn’t mean it has to be the same old derivative crap.
Sure, kids who want more can “just read adult fiction” but I think it’s unfair that younger readers have to decide between good writing and original stories and
stories that are relevant to their life stage and that they connect with on a personal level.
I notice too often a lot of YA does not seem to be written with its target audience in mind and is either more to sell “content” for internet influencers or for selling nostalgia for millennials or older Gen Z. The recycling of certain character and fanfiction tropes definitely gives me that impression.
It’s cause they sell… book selling is a hard market. There are tons and tons of books outside this genre if you look for them. Can’t blame publishers for trying to make some cash tho.