Know Your Tropes: YA Edition

[@hungoverjesus1891]

I just love how you always say 'in my opinion' or' it's what I prefer' instead of being dismissive about the things you dislike, I think it gives your reviews a maturity! I really enjoy listening to your views because they seem very balanced.

[@bookslikewhoa]

Thank you so much, I really appreciate that feedback! It's always my goal to be clear on what my tastes/opinions are for a book so that viewers can map their own preferences into what I'm saying & see if something would or wouldn't work for them

[@sophier.hutchison9123]

Thumbs up for the phrases "yuck your yums" and "underwear feelings". Thank you, will use.

[@bookslikewhoa]

lol glad to be of service :D

[@danichiong6727]

I also love a good boarding school setting! If it's done well and atmospherically, that's probably my favorite setting~

[@bookslikewhoa]

AGREED- I'm a sucker for that setting in almost any genre

[@moderndaywonder9224]

I totally agree with your opinion on sick-lit. It feels emotionally manipulative and completely shuts me out when I try to read it. I don’t even like to watch movies/tv shows that are in that same vein.

[@CastleCaitlan09]

I love the boarding school setting as well.

[@onthesamepage367]

This was a great discussion! There's a real strength in how you balanced keeping the tone light while also offering some deeper analysis of the how and why some of these tropes are used and to what end. I continue to be so fascinated with what major publishers are doing with YA and how it has really turned book consumerism on its end. --Nat

[@letmetakeashelfie2713]

Your stance on ya romance is so interesting!! I’ve heard the stance before that adults feel icky reading about kids getting closer in that way but not the perspective that you are discussing, that the time limitations affect the believability of the text or the possibility of almost trusting the relationship described. I feel like what I focus on in those ya contemporary romance texts is the memory of that first crush feeling. They remind me of those times where it was more believable that you could find true love in high school and everything was less bitter and cynical. I guess it’s the reminder that once there was that sense of hope that hadn’t been popped yet.

[@bookslikewhoa]

Yeah, I can totally see the nostalgia factor there! I think a lot of adult YA readers would agree-- just not what I read romance for, alas

[@kaortega1120]

Your "catch phrases" get me everytime - Love It! Another great video, so glad I found your channel.

[@missmadyreads]

I totally get the issue with YA romance. That's why I always wish we could see the characters after the book ends and if they stay together. Although YA romances aren't as believable compared to adult, I still love them. They can be sweet. :)

[@bookslikewhoa]

They are definitely sweet- and I think based on what you're reading for trope or preference-wise, they can be very satisfying to enjoy reading about a first love

[@GypsieRhythms]

A trope more inclined in YA that is nearly an automatic read for me is a "girl who pretends to be a boy" to either escape something or learn something she isn't allowed to. Romance or not, I love the journey.

[@bookslikewhoa]

Nice! Yeah, I mostly have seen those in historical or fantasy romances... I always laugh when the hero has a moment of questioning his own sexuality as he thinks he's attracted to a dude (though of course sometimes it's cringey if it veers into the "nohomo" side of things)

[@thirtynine392001]

As always, great video! I really enjoy this series because it's like attending a university-level lecture on literary criticism. Your insight and analysis is on point! When I was in the YA demographic, I loved reading Judy Blume. In fact, I re-read "Forever" every couple of years or so. I don't read much YA these days, but I loved "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zetner and the Monsters of Verity duology by Victoria Schwab.

[@bookslikewhoa]

Aw, thanks, I'm glad you enjoy!

[@rachanau5174]

i also get irritated when they cannot leave a friendship between a guy and girl as friendship and make them fall in love. Also i am super attracted to the "bad boy" that is so frustrating

[@jackiesliterarycorner]

Thank you for recognizing it's not a genre. It drives me crazy when people refer to YA as a genre.

[@bookslikewhoa]

It's awkward because it is developing some "genre conventions" even though it's a reading level/marketing category... yeah. Kind of a mess at this point, but I usually track them as X genre + X reading level (e.g. middle grade mystery, etc.)

[@majaviiernfeldtandersen6739]

I would really love your opinion on the After series by Anna Todd. It would help me a lot to hear your detailed and analyticle point of view 😊 Love your videos 🥰

[@JBaby_9783]

I think I read every Lurlene McDaniels book. I’m 35 and her books were everything to me back in youth. I liked reading about kids who spent time in hospitals even if they weren’t dealing with what I was going through. It was nice to read books about disabled people. But I do not like sick-lit today. I’ve never read it. I haven’t ready any since Lurlene. But I can understand why teens do.

[@hollyc4624]

I agree with most of your comments and think you state your opinion well. My only question is about the angst in YA. Although as an adult reader I can have the same response you do, which is a reasonable, adult, perspective of life, it’s not consistent with how teens truly react to things we see as minor. Whether it’s a relationship with a friend or boyfriend/girlfriend, not making a team they tried out for, not getting a grade they expected and on and on. Kids literally commit suicide over things that seem trivial to us but maybe the “last straw” to them. So I’m not sure we can really review these tropes without injecting our adultness into the equation. Teens are as a group, melodramatic. And they completely lack perspective. Just my thoughts having lived with multiple teens.

[@bookslikewhoa]

Oh yeah, fair enough - I'm just saying what my preferences are as an adult reader of the genre, but the angst represented by some YA I'm sure is accurate enough!

[@hollyc4624]

@@bookslikewhoa It doesn't make it any less annoying than it is in real life when dealing with teens! They can be a lot of fun or so "extra" as they would say...ugh.

[@rachanau5174]

i also get irritated when they cannot leave a friendship between a guy and girl as friendship and make them fall in love.

[@bookslikewhoa]

Ugh, yes! Cross-gendered relationships are not intrinsically sexual, people!

[@annmurry8589]

I like the "finding your place in the world" theme. I also like family dynamics. It's partly a nostalgia thing for me. I find teenagers very humorous. Training and learning is a fun source of character development, interesting dynamics, and nostalgia. I have noticed teens getting interested in romance at younger and younger ages. At the same time, as intense as it feels for them it usually doesn't last or go anywhere ... or even when it does, it's usually not until later.

[@catherinechen1659]

I really enjoy listening to your thoughts! I'm trying to make a coming of age story, so this really helps.

[@cirac7508]

dread nation was so good.... the boarding school i wish i had this as a teen in High school

[@bookslikewhoa]

Yes I loved Dread Nation!!

[@meljstephan]

I really dislike the "chosen one" trope. For example, I think I would have preferred the Harry Potter series of the books, especially Goblet of Fire, had focused on Harry as a more supporting character. Personal preference 🤷‍♀️

[@bookslikewhoa]

Yeah, as with any trope it's YMMV, but the chosen one is pretty played out at this point

[@BedtimeBookworm]

Love this! I have a lot of thoughts about YA as an age category and authors trying age up. I think new adult needs to become a recognized age category and not just associated with romance. Based on the things you said you enjoy in YA I think you would enjoy the Goldseer trilogy by Rae Carson. It’s historical fiction with a dash of magic and I think it does a lot of the things you’re looking for!

[@bookslikewhoa]

I have some Rae Carson on my TBR, so I'm excited to get to her (someday! :))

[@BedtimeBookworm]

bookslikewhoa I haven’t read her girl of fire and thorns series yet but now I want to after reading the gold seer trilogy!

[@RaineyDayReads]

I agree on the YA Issue books and any issue books. I read for enjoyment and don’t really want to feel depressed and hopeless at the end.

[@bookslikewhoa]

Yeah, for me it's just really hard to thread the needle of genuine emotion vs. emotional manipulation... I love it when I find someone who can walk that line, but it's rare IMO

[@danecobain]

I've been loving this series!

[@bookslikewhoa]

They're fun to make! But long to watch :D

[@danecobain]

@@bookslikewhoa Yes! And to edit I imagine :D

[@c.j.harden479]

Of your examples, I have only read the Harry Potter series. My most recent YA reads were actually rereads of Ursula K. Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan... and I'll probably continue with the remaining 4 books in the Earthsea series.

[@bookslikewhoa]

Le Guin is an absolute classic!!

[@ErinLee]

I love your videos like this because of how much they teach me. What you are saying about romance may make me understand why I don't like the genre. I never knew that romance had to have that happy ending "together forever" thing to it. What frustrates me about romance is that it always does. I'd rather read about "real" relationships and sometimes those just don't work out. Would that be considered a different genre? Women's fiction? Contemporary? I guess my question is is it a genre "rule" that romance must be HEA?

[@bookslikewhoa]

I'm glad you found it helpful!! Yes, by definition from RWA (Romance Writers Association) there must be a HEA or a HFN for a book to be a genre romance. There are romance stories in lots of other genres, of course, but if it's a genre romance, then the HEA/HFN needs to be there. In terms of looking for romantic elements in other books, it's kind of hard to say... women's lit & chick lit will both often have a HEA, but it's not required. Literary love stories are really up in the air in terms of ending, so that might be a good place to go!

[@ErinLee]

@@bookslikewhoa You just solved that mystery for me then! Thank you! Not a romance reader here. Pure chick lit. LOL! Thank you!

[@GreenRobinL]

The only sick lit that I have ever read was actually The Fault in Our Stars back in high school and I hated so much that I feel like it has kind of turn me off from that genre entirely. I find your stance on YA romance very interesting because for me, I don't mind the fact that they are probably not going to stay together forever. I'm just in it for the ride, don't really care that it ends, y'know what I mean? though now that I'm approaching my mid-20s , I don't gravitate towards YA contemporaries as much anymore. I feel like I'm now in that transitional period where I'm starting to read more adult fiction and less YA and figuring out what I do and don't like.

[@bookslikewhoa]

Ooo, that's a fun time! I love dipping my toes into a new type of media or entertainment & figuring out what works for me -- have fun!!

[@sephestra.]

Yes to all of those. I have finished some YA books because I didn't want to be overly judgmental, but they were hate-reads...The Girl of Fire and Thorns is the first that leaps to mind.

[@bookslikewhoa]

I've got some Rae Carson on my TBR, so we'll see how I do!

[@sephestra.]

@@bookslikewhoa I'd love to hear your opinion on them. I was only able to read the first in her Godstone series. It is one of only a handful of Good Reads reviews that I have written and I was....not kind.

[@ejwilly2309]

6:00 I am literally 15 and would be considered by many a mini thirty year old

[@JanuarieTimewalker13]

YA is an age classification. Unfortunately, people keep calling it a genre. I’m an adult who reads YA, yet rarely middle grade. It would be a great discussion. Love your channel!

[@bookslikewhoa]

Thank you!!

[@ejwilly2309]

I’m not into YA as a young adult so I’m watching this to know what not to do

[@ReadsWithKesara]

Definitely an interesting discussion. I have to disagree when it comes to romances in YA, but I think that is probably because I don't expect a happily ever after type of romance. So it doesn't bother me that the characters are not going to be together forever. (diversity bingo annoys me too)

[@bookslikewhoa]

Yeah, it’s just a difference in what people want from sub genres and tropes- difference makes the world go round!!

[@DanielaSantos-dv4fz]

My thing with Ya is ... Ya is young ADULT, yet when I read YA books...the characters are allways sixteen.... WHY?!?! People with 20 years ARE YOUNG ADULTS. They are working and discovering that the world is not like highschool and University....and, ugh, YA doesn't have that man ...eish.

[@janeyannachicken9053]

"Grownups love YA. Let's make YA less YA so grownups will like it." Ahhh, Sales People. So smart.

[@bookslikewhoa]

They aren't fools, that's for sure :)

[@carole5648]

i remember lurlene mcdaniels, and eating that sh*t up, and now i wonder wtf was wrong with me.

[@bookslikewhoa]

haha there were so many other people in the same book! I never liked them much, but so many of my friends were hooked on her books

[@lone-welf]

UNDERWEAR FEELINGS. I FUKING LOVE YOU.

[@chrish4991]

I hate sick lit tropes.