This is a weekly meme hosted by the amazing girls over at The Broke and the Bookish.
This week's topic is our favorite and not so favorite things about romance in books, particularly YA.
Tessa
I am going torant talk about my least favorite things about romance in books.
I am going to
1. Love triangles
If you have been reading our blog for any amount of time, you should know how much I dislike love triangles. They are a waste of a readers time. Most of the time, I can tell who will be the "winner" within the first couple pages of a book. Also, they add unnecessary drama to try to add life to a boring plot.
If you have been reading our blog for any amount of time, you should know how much I dislike love triangles. They are a waste of a readers time. Most of the time, I can tell who will be the "winner" within the first couple pages of a book. Also, they add unnecessary drama to try to add life to a boring plot.
2. Insta-love
Insta-love is a cop-out for actually trying to form a meaningful relationship. I am not a hopeless romantic who believes in love at first sight. Unfortunately, I know better than that. Relationships take time and effort. There are no short-cuts.
Insta-love is a cop-out for actually trying to form a meaningful relationship. I am not a hopeless romantic who believes in love at first sight. Unfortunately, I know better than that. Relationships take time and effort. There are no short-cuts.
3. Manic Pixie Dream Girl Syndrome
Just the name of this problem scares me. Basically, it is when a character, normally male, has a crush on a girl for ages. She is practically perfect; smart, beautiful, funny, brave, anything he could ever want. But she is somehow not available (runs ways, already has a boyfriend, etc.) So he admires her from afar, sighs whenever he sees her, and maybe does some stalking on the side. They may not end up together (most of the time they don't), but the main character will "learn a valuable life lessson" somewhere along the way. The Manic Pixie Dream Girl is used to teach the main character a lesson and then leave to never be seen again.
This can be seen in many of John Green's books, like Margo in Paper Towns, Alaska in Looking for Alasks, and the numerous Katherines in An Abundance of Katherines.
I hate it when characters are used and then thrown away.
Just the name of this problem scares me. Basically, it is when a character, normally male, has a crush on a girl for ages. She is practically perfect; smart, beautiful, funny, brave, anything he could ever want. But she is somehow not available (runs ways, already has a boyfriend, etc.) So he admires her from afar, sighs whenever he sees her, and maybe does some stalking on the side. They may not end up together (most of the time they don't), but the main character will "learn a valuable life lessson" somewhere along the way. The Manic Pixie Dream Girl is used to teach the main character a lesson and then leave to never be seen again.
This can be seen in many of John Green's books, like Margo in Paper Towns, Alaska in Looking for Alasks, and the numerous Katherines in An Abundance of Katherines.
I hate it when characters are used and then thrown away.
4. "The One"
When a character is convinced that they will know exactly when their destined love, also called "The One,"will appear. Until then, they ignore everyone else, because they could not possibly miss it when their true love appears.
This is seen in many fairytales, like Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid.
This is seen in many fairytales, like Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid.
5. The Friend Zone
Humiliating someone because they want to be more than friends is not okay. Most of the time, this goes too far. Main characters would not even think about pursuing a relationship with one of their friends and they make this clear in obvious (and hurtful) actions. This completely crushes the friend and my interest in the story.
Max
1. When Love Interests Change the MC for the Better
I really, really like it when love interests are used to move the plot or help the main character get over a character flaw instead of just for entertainment value. I really can't find a specific example besides the romance in The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder.
2. When Love Interests Come Back from the MC's Past
I think it's really cute when characters start a relationship after knowing each other in the past, but it has to be executed properly. I think it's best when the two characters don't really remember each other right away, or they weren't a big part of each other's lives and they just reconnect and it's super adorable. The example I'm specifically thinking of may or may not be the romance in the movie Anastasia. (Please don't laugh at me.)
3. Bickering
This may seem like a really weird thing to like about relationships in YA romances, but I think the kind of relationships that start out with that whole love/hate thing are really entertaining and funny.
4. Couple Names
I think couples names are just so much fun and oftentimes, really funny. Like Tobias and Tris's, Fourtris, or Katniss and Peeta's!
5. Fluff
Now, I really like fluff WHEN IT'S APPROPRIATE. When books that should be action-packed and adventure-y are instead filled with mushy-gushy moments, of course I'll be upset. That being said, fluff, to me, isn't a bad thing when you signed up for it. I mean, you don't pick up Anna and the French Kiss to read about secret missions and sword-fighting. Sometimes, couples being all cutesy and adorable is exactly what a girl needs.
Max
1. When Love Interests Change the MC for the Better
I really, really like it when love interests are used to move the plot or help the main character get over a character flaw instead of just for entertainment value. I really can't find a specific example besides the romance in The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder.
2. When Love Interests Come Back from the MC's Past
I think it's really cute when characters start a relationship after knowing each other in the past, but it has to be executed properly. I think it's best when the two characters don't really remember each other right away, or they weren't a big part of each other's lives and they just reconnect and it's super adorable. The example I'm specifically thinking of may or may not be the romance in the movie Anastasia. (Please don't laugh at me.)
3. Bickering
This may seem like a really weird thing to like about relationships in YA romances, but I think the kind of relationships that start out with that whole love/hate thing are really entertaining and funny.
4. Couple Names
I think couples names are just so much fun and oftentimes, really funny. Like Tobias and Tris's, Fourtris, or Katniss and Peeta's!
5. Fluff
Now, I really like fluff WHEN IT'S APPROPRIATE. When books that should be action-packed and adventure-y are instead filled with mushy-gushy moments, of course I'll be upset. That being said, fluff, to me, isn't a bad thing when you signed up for it. I mean, you don't pick up Anna and the French Kiss to read about secret missions and sword-fighting. Sometimes, couples being all cutesy and adorable is exactly what a girl needs.
YEP, I pretty much agree with everything you all listed :)
ReplyDeleteI really like when love interests change for the better, unfortunately I don't see that a lot. And so much YES to the bickering!
I agree! There needs to be more love interest development in YA (or any other genre). They are almost as important as the main character, so they should have the chance to change for the better too.
DeleteBickering is the best part. I love hate/love relationships, although they can be really frustrating. But if done well, it's amazing. My favourite relationship to read about is when they're friends as well as lovers. A lot of couples just dive into a relationship based on mutual passion, but I love reading about how comfortable you are with one another, and that you can insult each other without them taking it personally.
ReplyDeleteThose are my favorite kind of romances too! I love when couples are friends first, then lovers. The best relationships are made when characters can joke around and still completely understand each other.
DeleteThe only book of John Green's that I've read was The Fault in Our Stars, and I thought Gus was pretty much a Manic Pixie Dream Guy... and now you're telling me that all of his books use this type of character? Ugh.
ReplyDeleteI kind of like some love triangles, but only if they're done well and they're kind of organic... in other words, if they're not cooked up just for the sake of making conflict. (I'm also one of those people who tends to pick the "other guy" when I read about a love triangle, so that also makes me a bit leery of them.)
Even though I love John Green's writing style and humor, a lot of his books do focus on Manic Pixie characters. It disappointed me, but I can deal with it because it is John Green.
DeleteI also tend to pick "the other guy" too! Honestly, I am still not over Gale.
Oh my goodness, your blog is adorable! I love it! (I'm following it now, it's adorable)
ReplyDeleteHaha, anyway, to the post...
I agree about insta-love, and Dream pixie girl is totally true. Couple names make me barf a little bit inside, and everything else on your list is great! Wonderful post, it's so cute!
Thanks!
DeleteCouple names are a love/hate thing. For me, it depends on what the name is because we all know that some are better than others.
I hate insta-love xD
ReplyDelete