YA TROPES THAT NEED TO STOP

YA is the best thing to come out of a printing press since Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses. Although I love YA, I have many grievances towards it, just like how Martin Luther disagreed with the church. Though, I don't think I'll be able to come up with 95 grievances, end simony, start a reformation and spark a counter reformation. I apologize for the mini history lesson.

I compiled this list with a group of my book loving/reading friends.

1) I would like to see stronger, more bad-ass, and independent female characters. Female characters in books are portrayed as damsels in distress. They pine and whine for guys incessantly too. Guys are teaching them how to fight and guys are trying to protect them because "they can't protect themselves." When has there been a female warrior or huntress teaching a guy how to fight in YA? Why can't there be a book where a girl rises to the top, without the intervention of man?

2) I want more LGBTQ+ and Diversity. The lack of diversity makes YA one dimensional. There's always a girl, who's head over heels for this really cute guy. This cute guy, coincidentally, likes her too. They fall in love and everyone lives happily every after, even the evil, clique-y people! See, doesn't that seem boring and conventional? Not everyone out there is a straight male or female. Include more of the spectrum!

3) Less love triangles/romance in general. I am guilty for rooting a certain character/ship, but love triangles are over done too. Plots become obscured because everything starts centering around the romance. There should be very slight romantic undertones, not a tsunami of flirting and hormones. Please don't make a girl change a guy's womanizing ways. This is how it makes me feel:

4) I want new stories! Don't just stick to Greek mythology because that's what everyone is doing. Come up with your own mythology or look for a new one. There are so many out there! Try incorporating Chinese, Native American, Latin American, African, Japanese, or Korean mythology. Read up on it, learn it and teach it to readers. Expand the reader's knowledge!

        Don't have the same dystopian plots! I don't want to read about utopia gone wrong and a girl needing to fix things. Thanks a lot Hunger Games and Divergent. (Side Note: I believe that everyone is trying to emulate these series because they're so successful.) EVERYONE IS DOING IT! There is even less variety in YA because of this. It's the same cheesy and predictable plot being upcycled.

TRY SOMETHING THAT HASN'T BEEN DONE YET!

5) I want different characters with different traits. Everyone, and I mean everyone, is overly sarcastic and arrogant. It's somewhat endearing and charming when you read it in one book (Throwback to Jace *insert last name of your choosing*.) But when it starts popping up in every book you read, you end up wanting to do things you'll regret. Diverse characteristics make characters more memorable. You don't want to be lumped together, you want to stand out. 

        The imperfect male love interest also needs to stop. We all know that the guy is flawless. Giving him a flaw, which really isn't a flaw, and trying to sell it seems hopeless and desperate.

Thank you so much for reading! Let me know in the comments what you'd like to see less or more of in YA. Did you agree?