8 YA Tropes That Need to Stop

The Young Adult Fiction writers of today are pioneers in a new and rapidly-growing genre, which gives me good news and bad news to give you:

The good news: The best YA books of today are going to become the classic Young Adult Fiction of the next generation. Go YA writers!

The bad news: Knowing this, today's YA writers need to set a good standard. We learn about classics in school and we're taught how the writers did it, why? Because they were good. If we have subpar examples of YA writing, two things could happen. 1) There might not be any good YA to pass on in the first place and 2) The genre won't have a good start, so it might fizzle out.

So, in order to make sure that doesn't happen, let's talk about some of the harmful tropes that are going on in the YA genre.

The guy who talks like a Shakespearian narrator.
I'm lookin' at you, Austin Ames. You wanna know why the girl always ends up with the 'sweet' one and not the 'broody' one? Because she's getting a little sick of the depressing, all-I-ever-talk-about-is-me attitude from the broody one! That's why! Yes, Ben Gates, I know people think that way, but doesn't mean they have to talk that way.

How to fix it:
Hand the character a journal, a blog, anything! Give him an outlet for his broody thoughts rather than letting him spill it all into dialogue. Or better yet, give him a few well-placed and well-needed moments of insight, and the rest of the time he can behave like someone else besides Batman.

The 'ugly' heroine (she's gorgeous).
This is talked about a lot, and everyone agrees it should stop because it casts a negative image on anyone who's not a supermodel, but has it stopped? No. True, most girls do see flaws in their own appearance, but! But! that doesn't give writers permission to keep up this constant berating of body image.

How to fix it:
Either give the heroine only a few things about her appearance that she doesn't like or maybe just make her a normal looking person. As I stated in my post about Overly-Attractive Protagonists, there's nothing wrong with average.

Disrespect to Authority/Family Members.
So apparently in YA, it's okay to talk to everyone like they're the bully you're supposed to stand up to at school? I've seen protagonists chew out their siblings, their parents, their relatives, their teachers, police officers. . . what is going on here? I understand that there's a point where the abuse can be taken no more and they must speak up, but this moment of action really must be saved for the right moment. And sometimes that moment has no place in the book in the first place. Some protagonists in YA are just yelling at their parents about nothing.

How to fix it:
We need to start portraying healthy relationships. Parents and children need to have good communication and trust one another, as do siblings with siblings. If the MC has a problem with their teacher, wouldn't it be better to try a peaceful approach before humiliating the teacher in front of the whole school? In many cases, it's more admirable to act in a mature manner.

Teens sleeping together. 
This is something that seriously needs to stop being portrayed. It's shown as a romantic thing, 'the next step' in some cases. And the thing is, this sort of thing is romantic, but it's a gift given by God to people who are married. Sleeping together is meant for after marriage, and it's meant to be done in private, not put on display. In schools, teenagers are told to be careful, to have restraint, that becoming pregnant is too much for them yet, and yet the books and movies they consume are full of bad role models and poor behavior. We're not giving them a good example to go off of.

How to fix it:
I think the answer to this should be obvious. There are much sweeter and more romantic ways for your heroes to demonstrate their love. If you want, I can even make a list. But please avoid this. Period.

Homeschoolers wanting to go to 'real school' and then being majorly naive.

In basically every YA ever featuring homeschoolers, this happens. Basically, the kid's parents are hippies, and that's the reason they were homeschooled. The kid is so sick of being homeschooled, and they hate it, so they beg their parents to send them to 'real school'(So sad. Here is my tear for you. There, my tear has been shed). Then they get to 'real school' and understand literally nothing about anything. Oh my gosh, what are 'drugs'? What are these two characters hinting about? Oh, and I constantly jabber in a breathless, elated voice because I never experience human interaction. Puh-leez.

How to fix it:

Take the time to understand what homeschool life is actually like. I have plans to write a post on the subject, but please get that we're actually very smart kids. We read classics voluntarily, we better understand our personal likes and dislikes(as in hobbies and other things we enjoy doing), and we're not unsocialized. Do not say unsocialized. That word makes me go Blimey Cow triggered. Do not breathe it within thirty miles of me.

Characters being complete jerks to their significant others.

This is another very unhealthy thing to be teaching to teenagers. Whether they like to think so or not, teenagers are at a very impressionable age, because they're learning what adults behave like. And if we show them that it's okay, even romantic(*cough cough* Fifty Shades) to be abusive and cruel to the people we love, the next generation of readers is going to go to pot.

How to fix it:

Unless something drastic is done as a result, I should not be seeing any boyfriends hitting girlfriends(or vice versa, really), no verbal abuse, no manipulative relationships. Especially in the manipulative category. I realized recently how much of it there is in YA, and it made me a little bit sad, plus a lottle bit angry. Telling the person you care about what to wear and who to talk to is not fair or healthy. Read recommend: My post on having gentlemanly boyfriends in fiction.

The female characters having no sense of modesty.

Does this sound familiar to you? The guy walks in on the girl when she's dressing/showering/in a towel and she just acts casual. He always acts awkward and embarrassed, but she's just like 'no, come in'. Like, what?? Where is the throwing of the nearest shampoo container? Where is the yelling of getoutgetoutgetoutgetout and his desperate and rapid exodus through the door and out into the void?? I'm confused about why this is even a thing. I mean, the major lack of clothing in movies is also an issue, but I'm more concerned about the repeated towel thing I keep seeing in movies.

How to fix it:

This one, just like the sleeping together thing, should be so obvious that it's like someone smacked you in the face. These girls aren't even acting embarrassed or even slightly uncomfortable. They're just acting like this is an everyday look for them. Examine what girls actually behave like, please, and then write a book. If you can't write a realistic female, what are you doing?

And last but most certainly not least:

The curvy one never being the protagonist.

I adored Dumplin', do you hear me? Adored Dumplin'. And you wanna know why? *inhales* BECAUSE THE CURVY GIRL GOT THE SPOTLIGHT. The skinny one was the best friend. And while I would also love a curvy MC in a story where they don't feel like they have to directly address it as part of the plot, I just loved that the curvy one was the protagonist.

Thus ends my rant for today. In all seriousness though, ranty though it may have been, these are some very important issues to me, and I really don't think we're taking our responsibility to properly teach the young seriously enough. Bear in mind that I'm not asking for flawless tales of absolute virtue that are cleaner than Fix-It Felix's mouth.

All I'm asking for is a second thought as to what we're throwing at these kid's heads.

What's a YA trope you're tired of? On the other hand, what's your favorite YA trope? Let me know in the comments, and I promise I'll do my best to reply!

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