Aaaaargh. I can’t take it anymore.
As I review the current crop of Young Adult releases, I was extremely annoyed to find the same story lines with the same heroine/hero in the same situations with the same experiences. I could close my eyes, throw a dart at the book catalog and chances are, it’ll hit a title that features a girl, beautiful, of course, somewhat of an outcast because of her rebellious personality/magic ability/unique talisman her long-lost great-grandfather left for her in a long-lost box buried under the long-lost tree out in the long-lost backyard. She didn’t know initially that she holds the key/power/ability to save the world, that she was the chosen one, that she will rise up and defy authority and…and…and…by gosh, did I say SAVE THE WORLD???
But first, readers will find out that her parents are not around (either dead, off traipsing in the Amazonian jungle somewhere, abducted by a troll, or simply nonexistent), and she is sent to a “special” school for “special” kids, or enter a magical realm through a portal one can only see on Wednesdays during leap year while standing on one foot, where her powers will come to be.
And wait, there will not be one, not three, but two, yes, two, to-die-for guys just crazy about her. And why wouldn’t they be? Afterall, she’s “the one”! The guys will be totally “hotties”, one a disturbed bad boy, the other a kind-hearted, sensitive soul. They will lose limb and heart over her and stand by her and fight to the end.
The predictability makes me want to vomit.
Due to the success of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, there has also been a suffocating rash of dystopian novels all centered around a strong, powerful central government and oppressed people. Sigh.
Akin to songs and movies, there really aren’t too many “new” ideas out there, mostly old ideas with new packaging or presented with a different twist. I get it. But I have little patience for obvious copycats trying to sell a book/song/movie. Do you have any idea how many novels were released recently riding on the coattails of The Help by Kathryn Stockett? The topic of racial tension in the South is hot again and publishers are stepping over one another to release similar books.
As for middle-grader and even early reader chapter books, the main characters are more often than not, a boy and a girl. I could hear them now: “Why yes, we MUST appeal to both girls and boys and that’s the quickest way to do it!” If the protagonist is a boy, his new best friend is a girl, and vice versa. A young man could be having an adventure perfectly well on his own, but before long, he’ll come across, yes! A girl! What a surprise! I could pretty much time it flipping through the pages.
I know I know. If people are buying it, they’ll continue to supply it. I guess I’m just an odd duck. That’s why whenever I come across a book that is truly unique, I hold on to it like a lifeline. The elixir to quench my thirst of reading. It is caressed and loved and cautiously recommended until I stumble onto another one. Unfortunately it’s too few and far in between.
Dorothy (done venting, for now)
