…the same old, overused, and overdone tropes. The love triangle. The chosen one. The special snowflake. The instantaneous romance. As a YA book blogger, more often than not, I end up sorting through this recycling bin of cliches, trying to find one that really stands out.
This week’s read was A Touch of Gold by Annie Sullivan. A King Midas retelling meets pirates. Which did pique my interest but unfortunately fell flat for me, for many of the above tropes I pointed out above. Too many pirates, not enough King Midas. I mean, who practices sword-fighting for a few days and suddenly is able to face the ruffians of the seas? I guess anyone can.
And don’t get me started on predictable plots. The most saccharine and charming of characters always end up being the villain – and the heroine constantly falls for it! I consistently have to remind myself that YA is geared towards readers several years younger than my wizened, supposedly adult self, but I wonder – would I have been as naive as some of these heroines?
As a writer, I’m frequently told that readers are smart and can connect the dots in stories, as long as they’re given the most necessary of details. But I think authors should also take into the account the intelligence of their characters. Not all heroines are damsels-in-distress, not all are blinded by the beginnings of new love. Give me super-intelligent heroines, give me my know-it-alls!
My new read looks promising… The Wicked King by Holly Black. Mortal girl ensnares faery king to do his bidding for a year and a day while the true king is safely hidden. In the first book, The Cruel Prince, our heroine, Jude, uses both cleverness and ambition to secure a position in the fae court.
“If I cannot be better than them, I will become so much worse.” – Holly Black, The Cruel Prince
To clever and ambitious heroines in future reads!
– Raisa Alexis Santos
The Junction Journal 