Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!
Dislikes
- Love Triangles. Well, sorta. I have a love/hate relationship with love triangles because while I feel they are overdone - they do add an extra dimension at times that I think is truly valuable. I don't like love triangles for the sake of love triangles. If they don't bring anything to the table it needs to pass on by.
- Damsels in Distress. This is something that I don't see as much as I once did *bravo* but there are times when this is still a true problem. I want strong female characters that DON'T need saving. They don't need a man to help, they got this. Strong female characters are essential and I think at times we've missed out on them.
I want more of...
- Historical Fiction. I know what you're thinking, "But Christina we have more historical fiction." I DON'T CARE I NEED MORE! I want another YA regency like Sarah McLean's The Season because it was awesome. I want a Civil War era YA. I want some more Tudor YA. I want a freaking awesome Renaissance YA. I just want MORE.
2. Epic Fantasy. I know, we have more of this than we once did but there's a difference between epic fantasy and fantasy elements. I want a wonderful YA (which I may have just not read yet) that reads like an epic that would make the Anglo Saxons proud. I have high hopes for Red Queen but Graceling by Kristin Cashore was really the last YA fantasy that I would call epic in fashion. I want epic quests! And sword fights! And dashing young warriors!
Likes
- Tension. There has to be tension for me to get into a story. There needs to be something/someone for me to instantly root for or I lose interest and force myself to finish. This is something I love about romantic books because if they are written correctly they will have this very early on. I want passion, and glances from across the room, secret notes, and an element that makes the love/romance feel impossible. This is the classic recipe for something swoonworthy.
- Fairy Tales. I know we have seen a lot of fairy tale retellings, but I can't help but really love the concept. I'm a huge fan of the series Once Upon a Time so I love when classic tales are retold from different cool angles. The idea of bringing something classic back to life by reimagining it is one I really enjoy. I love that this is in YA lit so much recently. Keep up the good work!
These books are some of my favorite that fit the best of these categories...
2 comments:
I'd love to see more quality YA historical. It seems the best ones I've found from recent years have been published outside the U.S. A lot of YA historicals from the U.S. follow that stupid Gossip Girl in period clothes trend, or put more focus on the YA aspect than the historical aspect. I want to read about a young person living through history, not a young person who just happens to live in the past. I've actually begun wondering if historical YA is an oxymoron in this day and age, since the typical teenager of 50+ years ago had more adult responsibilities and experiences, like working full-time, marriage, and having kids.
That is very interesting, and it is true that the typical teenager of yesteryear had more responsibilities and more experiences than teens of today wouldn't be able to relate to. That may be one reason why the market doesn't do as many "true" YA historical pieces. It would be interesting to compare all the differences between teens in various historical times just to see.
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