Horrible worlds
Let's be real here. Fictional worlds might seem amazing, especially the future with all their cool technology, but most futuristic, dystopian, or alternate worlds that I've read aren't fun at all. They basically make me want to stuff these books in the government's faces and make sure this doesn't happen EVER. Kill 23 of your peers? Have a virtual world that's crumbling? Get your memory wiped clean thanks to suicide rates? Be an "ugly" outcast until you have major plastic surgery done? No thank you. I will enjoy my car that doesn't fly, McDonalds that doesn't deliver, and robot-less life happily, just please, don't make me go in those worlds.
Messed up families
Granted, there are many messed up and beyond dysfunctional families right now. However, I, personally, do not have one. It seems as if every YA book has a nonexistent family to get them out of the way or a horrible one to add conflict. Life already has enough problems, I would rather not add another by including family.
Decision making
Basically every book involves making a decision, but since I just read this one, it was the only one on my mind. Now, it's not just simple decision making, mind you. While I have a problem with normal decisions (i.e. what movie to watch, what to eat at a new restaurant...it's all pretty bad), I can't imagine how hard it would be if it was an actual crucial could be consequential to my world, my life, and could bring DOOM on us decision.
There's also the love triangle decision where a girl has to pick a guy...oh wait, that won't matter. First, that would have to be an actual thing (since I've never heard of a real-life love triangle, have you?). Secondly, you need to have ONE guy interested in you first to have that "problem."
Dead characters
This is another real-life problem, people die all the time, yada yada. I know, but it's always so traumatic in YA. Or maybe it's because no one super close to me have died. I mean, in If I Stay, her whole family dies. WHOLE FAMILY in one sha-bang (which is not a spoiler, it's what the whole book is about). In There You'll Find Me, her brother dies overseas as a reporter, which might be semi-normal, but still. It's a sibling. I don't know, I know there are lots of deaths in the world, I've just been fortunate with not having to deal with super close ones.
Social
Me 95% of the time. |
I would actually label this as a trope that I see in YA where characters go out with friends every single day or night. They seem to be never home (even though some claim they normally do, but when we start reading about them, their lives suddenly get interesting), and if they are, which is rare, they are supposed losers for having no life. I know that it would be boring to read about a girl sitting at home, I do. But I barely go out. When I do, it's with angst (see decision making above since I can never decide if I should go) and a wishful desire to just stay home. I like my nights at home. After responsibilities in the day, it's me time (or family time) in the evening.
You're critiqued/judged or you get the horrible MC brain syndrome where you act annoying/be stupid/lose the ability to think clearly
The first annoying MC book I thought of. This does not mean it represents this whole point. |
For the first point, I would hate to be dissected and judged almost immediately with my life being read by tons of people. I know, they're fiction, but still. For the second one, I find more and more heroines who are just plain stupid. They're either aggravating or don't think clearly. Sure, the author has to had conflict somewhere, but sometimes it's too overdone with how much the character is not thinking or being oblivious to.
Are you glad you're not in fiction?
OMG I love this post!!! You've definitely made me smile first thing this morning. :D
ReplyDeleteAw, now you just returned the favor!
DeleteFirst, that would have to be an actual thing (since I've never heard of a real-life love triangle, have you?). Secondly, you need to have ONE guy interested in you first to have that "problem."
ReplyDelete...
YES. Yes to this.
Actually, yes to everything. :)
:)
DeleteThis is hilarious! I agree that it wouldn't be so great to live in a lot of fictional worlds. I also think love triangles are very overdone. Great post!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteReally liked this post. OK, it's fiction, so it has to be interesting - but there's a HUGE amount of unbelievable things packed together sometimes...and so many patterns repeating...
ReplyDeleteAmen!
DeleteI've always actually wanted to be in fiction, but after reading your post Sunny, I'm now not that eager at all. I would never be able to cope in worlds set up as in the Hunger Games or Under the Never Sky, I'd be a complete failure! And just thinking about some of the families in some books makes my skin crawl. Thanks for sharing an insightful post with us Sunny! :)
ReplyDeleteI did too until I thought about it, haha :) Thank you!
DeleteThis is a terrific post! Dystopian books make me appreciate what I have ;)
ReplyDelete-Scott Reads It
Thank you and same here!
DeleteI always agree 100% with your discussion posts. It's scary.
ReplyDeleteI relate to all of this, but especially the decision-making point. I can barely decide what to order at a restaurant, so I have often thought about how much I would hate to be a fictional character with the fate of he world in her hands. Just no.
Also: yes to the social thing. I love my friends, but making plans is difficult and I stay at home way more often than I go out. And when I do, there's ALWAYS angst. I stressed for half an hour about whether or not I wanted to go roller skating with my friend last night because I wanted to spend time with her but I also didn't because I am a bit ill and not good at roller skating. (I eventually decided to stay and sleep to fight my sickness. o_O)
I would make a terrible book character.
Woo! Great minds, ya know ;)
DeleteSigh. Unfortunately, I have that agony all the time.
Aaaand that agony. You basically described me.
I totally agree. Those are such great reasons that I'm not in fiction. I'm reading a Sarah Dessen book right now and I happen to love her novels, but I agree the parents are pretty nonexistent.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteGreat post. I think the downsides of being in a fictional world outweigh the upsides.
ReplyDeleteSarah
I do too!
DeleteThat is SO true. YA characters rarely do just stay at home. I'm not very social in reality and much prefer the thought of sitting in my room all day than going out with friends to save the world or whatever. ;) The important life-changing decisions are probably something I couldn't deal with either. Haha. This is a great post! I should probably bookmark this and come back to it every time I'm desperate to enter a new dystopian or fantasy world myself. :D
ReplyDeleteSame, I'm glad I'm not alone in that! Haha, thank you!
DeleteBAHA! Love this post! I also catch myself thinking "Wow, can I be Alina?" Then I saw you what you said about Siege and Storm which made me really think about it-I would HATE to be in all those situations that Alina has to go through xD
ReplyDeleteI feel ya! I want her guy problems...nothing else ;)
DeleteGreat post! I agree with all these points!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteAww, this was so good! Yeah, I'd never survive in a dystopian or post-apocolyptic world. And if I was a fictional character like I was in high school, no one would like to read about me because I was whiny and selfish and a lot of readers are hard on those type of characters. I usually give them a fair shot because I know what it's like. lol
ReplyDeleteHaha, good point! I am a bit too critical on YA characters and I think people would be very annoyed with me!
DeleteOh, Sunny, this post is right on par with how I read. I love the stories so much, but I do NOT want to be those girls. It's funny, though, because that's my challenge question on Goodreads: If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose. And I get this in answer back a lot: NONE of them...their lives are too hard. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, that's great!
DeleteYou are the funniest ever! I love your fun discussion posts. I think I'm way more judge-y in fiction than real life though. I think it's easier to see from above in book form than on the ground. And why are all of these girls so beautiful but very few of them work out? I need to discover that mystery! GREAT POST.
ReplyDelete^_^
DeleteOH MY GOSH YES. Why does no one work out? HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE.
Hah hah, your list is hilarilus. As much as we like to criticize YA heroines for this or that, I gotta admit, I would probably be one of the first ones to die in The Hunger Games or scream like an idiot if a ghost showed up in my attic. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteWendy @ The Midnight Garden