Tag: reader

Reasons I would be that one YA fantasy protagonist who dies in the first 30 pages // Because I have no survival skills whatsoever!! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Aline @ Fully Booked34 Comments

Welcome, to my book blog!! I am Aline. I like food. A lot.

Do you know what YA fantasy protagonists often lack? FOOD. (And a ton of other things, but FOOOOOOOD)

I could just end this post right there, because me? Accomplishing anything without food? AS IF.

Fantasy protagonists always go above and beyond in their survival skills (which does makes sense in certain circumstances due to how they were raised, but that’s not the point!) and it just makes me laugh at my incompetence seeing these 16-17-18* year olds accomplish so much under such horrible conditions–and me just… not. 😂

Which is why I thought it would be fun to compare the skills of those YA fantasy protagonists which allow or help them survive with my lack thereof!!

Hence why I would most certainly fail in a fantasy book!!

LET’S ROAST… ME.

*Not getting into the whole YA protagonists acting way older than teenagers, especially in fantasy but ,,,,

Having the physical strength to TRAVEL SO MUCH (and fight.)

GUYS I’M WEAK. A month long of hiking, of walking dangerous paths, of traveling and traveling and traveling, with minimal food, supplies and rest…………. I wouldn’t last very long???

Having good hand-eye-foot coordination to fight

Some characters were trained from birth, others just seem to have this ability to just pick it up super easily, but me? I HAVE TWO LEFT FEET, and will most certainly trip over my own feet and throw things in the complete opposite direction (unintentionally) during a fight, okay.

I would be lucky to not end up accidentally murdering my ally

Remembering important prophecies after hearing them once

I forget my friend said HI 5 minutes ago, and here we have 15-lined prophecies full of riddles and fancy language being memorized in a couple of minutes? GIRL, BYE. (Also give me your skills for my next exam holy crap)

(Not gonna lie, this was 100% inspired by my read of the third book in the An Ember in the Ashes series lmao but this has happened SO OFTEN!!)

Spying on sketchy people/villains and discovering crucial information without getting caught

Okay, so none of you have been around me in real life but I AM THE LEAST STEALTHY PERSON EVER. If I tried to spy on you, YOU WOULD KNOW. And I would die!! (If you were the evil, murdering type. You know. Which you would be in a fantasy novel)

SO MANY TIMES the lives of fantasy characters are saved or plot is moved forwards by characters spying on evil people and hearing them reveal some sort of their plan or some secret of theirs!! I get this, narratively, but I have two questions:

A) HOW do you manage not to be heard?? (squeaky floorboards?? Breathing??? Trying to stealth-walk and still being super loud?? HELLO ARE YOU A GHOST)

B) How do you hear everything so freaking clearly??? MY HEARING SKILLS ARE… NOT GOOD. The villain could be talking all about their plans to have the princess as bait and I could hear that they want cake. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (IT COULD BE TRUE OK.)

Accidentally stumbling on important revelations

La la la, here I am, minding my own business AND WOW LOOK HERE IS MY ENEMY MONOLOGUING TO HIMSELF HOW NICE.

The plot is saved! I can go report to my rebel group and save everyone! Because of my excellent ability to ,,, sense an evil monologue? My ability to walk around at the right time?

Though, to be fair, if the evil villain were monologuing in the middle of the night and I was hungry and went to get food and had no intention of being a sneaky spy…. relate. Because of course the most use I would have is when I didn’t plan on doing anything sjhadjahdjh.

Frankly, I am just not quite as bloodthirsty or honourable to succeed.

All these characters have lost something or someone, or want something so badly they’re willing to sacrifice everything to get it. They have killed, or they will kill, to ensure it.

Me? I’m just your simple bookworm just looking to not die under my enormous TBR and willing to sacrifice a few souls for an immortality potion, no biggie. No similarities here. 😉

But, I do admire the passion YA characters have for their cause! Whether it be for their people, or their family or friends, or world domination or being filthy rich,,,, you do you, ya know?

I would just lose motivation the second I run out of food. 🤷🏽‍♀️

Pain + torture tolerance?? don’t know her

I AM A WEAKLING. I do not like pain (well, who does) and I will break wayyyyy too easily under torture, so y’all, I would not fare well in keeping my mouth shut I’M SORRY.

But maybe in terms of survival that would actually be an asset???

Who am I kidding, they’d probably torture me, get the answers, and then kill me for good measure cause they can. Whelp.

God, being a fantasy protagonist is STRESSFUL and so much work ajddhjshajsdhajhd let’s NOT.

Soooo, I’m not going to pretend here I have any of the skills and characters of the traditional YA fantasy protagonist?? If I don’t die from my lack of skills, *maybe* I could live through my strong sense of self-preservation–> that is, I run and flee and never do anything heroic ever. Oops.

See that’s why it’s a good thing I am NOT a fantasy protagonist lmao 😅

And let’s be real, as much as I would like to imagine otherwise, I would not have a Wren (Girls of Paper & Fire) or an Elias Veturius (An Ember in the Ashes) or a ANY fantasy warrior by my side either smh. 😭 I WOULD NEVER WIN WHY.

How would you fare in a fantasy world?? 😂 What are some other skills YA fantasy characters have that you may not have? (Or what are some hidden talents YOU have that most characters don’t?? 👀)

Bias in boosting diverse titles? // The complexities of being an advocate for diverse books

Aline @ Fully Booked19 Comments

In case you’re new here… Hi! I love boosting and advocating for diverse books!!

They’re important, they reflect our beautifully diverse world, and they tell stories which FINALLY focus on having marginalized people be the forefront just as much as the typical, allocishet white characters.

And personally, I believe everyone should be an advocate for diverse books! If you’re NOT a supporter of diverse books, I highly recommend you take a step back and reevaluate your values and how you see the world because… yikes.

(Also, here’s your reminder that diverse books are not a trend, or a genre, or anything of that sort! They are HERE TO STAY and they deserve to be present across ALL genres (and audiences, though that’s another beast).

However, what I wanted to look at is WHAT KIND of diverse books are getting talked about! Because “diverse” is a very large umbrella term!! That encompasses: POC, Native, LGBTQ+, mental illness, disabled, ethnic, cultural and religious minorities… and within each of those, there are SO MANY different populations.

What I feel like often happens, is that certain “types”, for lack of a better word, of diverse books get more attention than others. People out here reading one popular coming out story of a gay white boy* and think that’s supporting LGBTQIA+ books, or even diverse books as a whole? Sure that’s great if you’re starting out, but your support should include so much more.

Reading books with bi, pan, trans, non-binary, asexual/aromantic characters! Including queer POC! Queer & disabled! Queer with mental illness! All the intersectional identities!

And that’s only talking about one portion of diverse books!

*I love Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda and Love, Simon with ALL MY HEART, it means so much to me, but that is NOT the epitome of LGBTQ+ books and that’s that 🤷🏽‍♀️

It just seems like, sometimes thatdiverse books about disabled characters, or books about mental illness are not talked about as often as books with POC or LGBTQ+ rep. I know that’s a hard claim to make, especially since a lot of our perception of what books are being talked about depends on who we’re following, and I do follow people who DO talk about disabled and mentally ill characters (thank you!!), maybe I just don’t follow enough of those people?

YET THAT’S THE THING. There are so many diverse books advocates out here and I love that and appreciate all of you guys so much, but I don’t think there should only be a handful of people who do talk about those minorities! Of course, if you aren’t part of those minorities, do not speak over them, but boosting books with good rep for all minorities is a good thing!! That is SUPPORT. Linking to discussions about those minorities is a good thing!! Etc. BE AN ALLY.

I just feel like books with disabled characters or mentally ill characters just need to be boosted as much as we boost books with POC or queer characters, you know? They’re just as important and it’s unfair to leave the boosting and support of those books only on the shoulders of those who are also disabled or mentally ill. We should be doing it as a community.

I feel like that’s also where bias sort of comes in. Bias is everywhere when it comes to books; as readers, our own experiences and identities just inevitably cause us to have biases, even when we try to stay as unbiased as possible? For me, as someone who identifies as a queer, Muslim POC, I recognize that I particularly look for LGBTQ+, POC and/or Muslim rep in books as well. That doesn’t mean I ignore all other types of diverse books, but just that I pay more attention to these ones?

But I should, and want to do better!

I want to support ALL diverse books. It’s totally valid to value the diverse books that represent your identities, but I think to put the effort in to boost all different types of diverse titles is equally important–what’s not part of your identity is 100% a part of someone else’s, and that’s just as important to respect and support.

And this goes for people who aren’t marginalized as well! We should all do our best to support ALL diverse books. ❤️

Also, in honour of Autism Acceptance Month / Autism Pride Month, I also wanted to remind y’all to support autistics!! This should be all year-round, but especially this month it means a lot to boost the voices of autistic readers/bloggers/people. 💕 It shouldn’t be all on them to talk about the many issues that autistics face, and we should do our part.

Writing this post really made me reflect on how I should be doing better in terms of advocating for all diverse books, and how certain minorities may get overlooked due to personal biases and general popularity in the community? But maybe I’m just imagining everything and this is just a me problem, which is totally fair lmao. I’m working on it!

We can’t be responsible to hold ALL the diverse books ever on our shoulders as individuals all alone, but if we all try our best to lift as many different diverse voices and books as we can together, then hopefully one day we’ll get to a point where diverse books are found everywhere, equally, and ALL diverse books get the attention they deserve.

I know this was a heavier, dense post, but I hope that all made sense? (Seriously what are words) There are just SO MANY stories out there and I just think it’s such a disservice to them to focus on some, and not all diverse books, especially in this time of publishing! This is not a criticism, only a reflection on myself and diverse books! I totally understand how hype allows certain books to become more popular and hyped over others, and that’s fair! But that shouldn’t mean we can’t promote other books just as much.

What are your thoughts?? I don’t mean to exclude anyone in this discussion! If you’re an advocate for diverse books, do you think certain books get more recognition than others? Are there any underrated diverse books you recommend? Am I imagining everything?

I hope you have a lovely Friday!! I’m going to go eat now and read some diverse books lol I’m hungry

(Hungry for the food or the diverse books we may never know)

(Both.)

How extra of a reader are you? // the things readers do for the sake of books…

Aline @ Fully Booked58 Comments

A reader, does many things.

For one, they … read.

Well, that’s it. They read. That’s how they are a reader. They have read.

BUT THEN.

You have the Reader! The Reader is the Extra version of the reader!! If you don’t know what that is, it’s okay! that’s what I’m here for. 💁🏽‍♀️

I’m linking up with this week’s TTT (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) prompt, Outrageous/Crazy/Uncharacteristic Things I’ve Done for the Love of Books (i.e. skipped meals, camped outside a bookstore, broke up with someone because they don’t like to read, traveled long distances to bookish events, etc. – submitted by Aggie’s Amygdala)! I don’t think I’ve actually done anything super “outrageous” for the sake of books so I changed the prompt slightly to be more applicable to me ahaha.

Reminder: This is all for jokes!! I’m not trying to shame anyone who does these things, I’m also guilty of some them, the point is to poke a little fun at the things I’ve seen readers do that aren’t necessary to be a reader, but we do anyway!! BECAUSE WE CAN AND WHY NOT.

Also, if you so chose, each number on the list is actually a number of “EXTRA points” you get if you relate to the associated action! So you can add them up as you go if you like for a result at the end. 😊

1 EXTRA pt: You’ve pulled all-nighters/stayed up late to finish that book

I’m certain every reader has done this!! SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK

(Truth time I’ve actually not done this in SUCH a long time because I’M WEAK OK I FALL ASLEEP ksksks)

2 pts: You’ve overpacked to bring several books on your vacation

Do you *really* need to bring that thick book AND two other books on that week-long vacation where you’re sightseeing??? 👀 DO YOU REALLY???

Um, no. “But Aline”, you tell me, “who needs space for clothes anyway??”

I AGREE. But adding 20 pounds (BOOKS ARE HEAVY) to your suitcase to bring several books on your vacation when you really don’t need to…. NOT THE BEST IDEA.

(Here is where people with e-readers are like NOT MY PROBLEM 😌😇💁‍♀️

and,,,,,,,, THAT’S FAIR smh)

3 pts: You’ve gotten into a… passionate discussion (argument) with someone about a book you love

Okay, I’m typically the peacemaker type and hate having to argue with people (outside my immediate family anyway lmao) so this would usually not be likely of me at all!!

But, only a couple of months ago, I got into an “argument” (I like to say passionate discussion) with someone who didn’t understand the appeal of Rick Riordan’s books* (!!!!!!!!), or younger middle-grade books to older readers.

Here, hold my book lest I use it as a weapon thanks.

(I totally won that discussion) (Maybe terrified the guy like,,, a lot)

(Ok not really but I’M VERY TERRIFYING OK)

*I think it’s fine if personally, you didn’t enjoy his books but to go as far to make generalizations and say you don’t get why ANYBODY likes them just because you didn’t??? YOU’RE ASKING FOR A FIGHT. And honestly, this is still an issue in the book community as well. 🤷🏽‍♀️

4 pts: You read the book before you watch the movie.

I used to very intent on doing this, as I did with Hunger Games, Divergent, Lightning Thief (huihjsdhfjsd), Harry Potter, Twilight… Literally all the more “classic” YA book to movie adaptations?

And I like reading the book first, but I don’t particularly try to read the book first anymore! If I do, I do, if I don’t, I don’t. Sometimes it happens by accident anyway, where I’ve already read the book and a few years later the movie comes out.

Case in point: I did watch the Crazy Rich Asians movie without having read the book!! (LOVE THAT MOVIE SO MUCH) I don’t think I had exactly planned on picking up the book ever before the movie, it just wasn’t on my radar but I definitely want to pick it up sometime!

ALSO: If you DO do this, Netflix is making the Grishaverse come to life, and if you haven’t read Six of Crows yet……………….. :))))

5 pts: You didn’t purchase a book/purchased a book because of the cover

I’m not even going to pretend I’m not guilty of this!! HOW CAN I. I don’t have a ton of money to spend on books, particularly because my parents have this idea that I’m “buying too many books” (can you IMAGINE) but I like my books to look pretty!!

Generally I prioritize buying books I loved already, and those usually have nice covers, but I wouldn’t just pick up any random book to buy if the cover wasn’t appealing (alongside the synopsis), you know?

You’re free to judge me now.

(See if I had the funds, I would totally buy all the books with pretty covers. I don’t, so I’ll just be writing posts about buying them smh. 😂)

6 pts: You’ve changed your profile name to having something to do with a book you love

Okay, I haven’t done this yet (mine is set to #Save ODAAT) but I was highly tempted to after reading The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali ahahaha but this one is mostly inspired by all the people on Twitter I see with book-related profile names or Twitter handles?

I’m mostly thinking of all the people screaming about Descendant of the Crane ahaha, because that’s just what comes to mind immediately, but also there are many people who have names related to King of Scars/Grishaverse, etc. I love this idea so much!! It’s so cute and so fun to support books you love or are excited to read this way. 💕 (And so extra lmao I love it)

Not to be self-centred or anything, but while you’re here, you might want tofollow me on Twitter? 😇

7 pts: You’ve named a pet/stuffed animal/object after a book character?

I don’t have a pet, but there are so many who do, and who have the cutest fictional-character names I LOVE IT.

Personally, I have this little bear named Violet, a) because she was purple and wasn’t I so clever?????, b) because I was reading the Series of Unfortunate Events and Violet Baudelaire was my favourite I think? I also liked Sunny. But anyway.

My stuffed-bear naming skills is amazing, thank you.

I’m going to call my next one Nina ❤

8 pts: You’ve created playlists, aesthetics, fan art or fanfiction for a book/books

Okay, can I just say if you’ve created a book playlist, PLEASE send it to me omg I love them! So far I’ve found Spotify playlists for Girls of Paper and Fire that were so good, as well as Red, White & Royal Blue?! Love.

But anyway!!

I’m not artsy enough to do fan art (I LOVE looking at them though omg, people are so talented), but I’ve made aesthetics before!! They’re so much fun! I made a few for To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, Harry Potter, Shades of Magic, The Hate U Give, and such. If you make bookish aesthetics, tell me!! I love looking at them. 😍

If I could find mine, I’d show you guys but I have no idea where I saved them oops.

9 pts: You’ve purchased book/reader related merch

Well, I purchased Owlcrate once! I bought their January box, and I really loved it (especially the blue and silver edition of The Gilded Wolves omg), although ultimately it’s too expensive for me to keep up with. :/

Source: http://readsleepfangirl.com/post/157301534472/needs-more-six-of-crows-merch

Bookish merch is sooooo tempting though omg, some of the designs and quotes and items are just SO CUTE AND PRETTY AHH. I just can never go on Red Bubble or Society6 ever, and then I’ll be fine. 😭😭

(I do think bookish merch can do sooo much more though in terms of books they’re inspired from, they’re terribly limited to the same few popular fantasy books ahaha, as much as I love them.)

10 pts: You’ve gotten a tattoo inspired by a book

I HAVE NOT!! (Can you even get a tattoo at 17?? I’m terrified of needles and the permanency of it all regardless but is it over 16 or over 18??)

I’m not sure if temporary tattoos count 😂 I was going to say yes, but I’m going to keep it a permanent tattoo just because that is very out there and a lot more extra than a temporary tattoo hahaha.

If you’ve done this, that’s so cool!! I’m in awe hahaha. If you have gotten a bookish tattoo, what is it and what’s it inspired by?!

Okay, I know this is a fun TTT list, but if you wanted to see, this is the verdict for the point tallying!! HOW EXTRA ARE YOU??

0-10: You’re not usually very extra, but you have your moments!!

10-25: You’re pretty extra! Very lowkey about it, but the signs are there!

25-40: You’re VERY extra, you might seem like you have a slight obsession?

40-55: This list just has your name all over it 🤷🏽‍♀️

I got: 35 points! This was adding all of them except for the last one (10), the 4th one about reading the book first since I don’t do it anymore, and the 6th one about the profile name ahaha.

Honestly, very tempted to say say a bonus of 100 points if you are a book blogger, booktuber, bookstagrammer or book influencer online in any way!! Because, let’s be real, that’s probably the most extra thing to do as a reader. In the best way possible!! 😂 💕

How extra of a reader are you??? Do you have a pet named after a fictional character?!? You don’t really have to add up your points obviously, but if you did just for fun, let’s compare?! What are some things you do/don’t do as a Extra reader??

all of the great contemporary reads, lots of stress but lots of books! // February 2019 Wrap Up

Aline @ Fully Booked23 Comments

GUESS WHO’S BACK AND HAS READ 15 BOOKS* IN THE SHORTEST MONTH OF THE YEAR!!!

This gal!!

I’m actually so happy with this, February was a busy month for me (hence my unexpected two weeks wish hiatus!!) so THIS IS A SUCCESS.

*Fine, two of them I had started at the end of January. BUT IT COUNTS OK.

  • King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo: 4(.5?) stars / I have a very gushing review you can check out, but I really enjoyed this!! I adore Nina and Nikolai to no end. ❤️
  • The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan: 4.5 stars / I am very biased because I FELT SO SEEN through the rep of a Bangladeshi-American sapphic teen in this book, and I have no regrets!! I CRIED.
  • Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz: 3.5 stars / I wish I had enjoyed this more, because it was a sweet story, but it was a tad bit too slice-of-life for me? (or maybe I just wanted them to GET TOGETHER SOONER ahaha oops)
  • The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf: 4 stars / ft. a historical setting of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, a Malaysian Muslim teen with OCD, broke my heart!
  • Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds: 3 stars / ft. a black teen, unexpected A Christmas Carol vibes, and social awareness 💔 It just felt too quick for me to connect to the character?
  • Our Year of Maybe by Rachel Lynn Solomon: 4 stars / ft. a bisexual Jewish boy and his best friend Sophie who’s in love with him; sort of messy, but the greatest character development and I’m soft for the m/m romance !!
  • Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi: 4.5-5 stars / ft. a Thai protagonist with anxiety, and a troubled boy who likes to bake!! The sweetest, slowest-burn romance omg over text. I ADORED THIS SO MUCH
  • Written in the Stars by Aisha Saeed: 4 stars / such a heartbreaking, powerful read tackling forced arranged marriages ft. a Pakistani-American protagonist 💔😭
  • Odd One Out by Nic Stone: 2.5 stars / I really do appreciate all the diversity in this book, especially the ownvoices black main characters but I just did not enjoy this book? And I’m so sad cause I loved Dear Martin! I just did not enjoy any of the leads, either through another character’s POV or their own. It made it very frustrating.
  • On the Come Up by Angie Thomas: 4.5 stars / A book from the QUEEN! I loved Bri’s story, so much love for the family relationships and social awareness omg
  • Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy: 3.5 stars / ft. summer romance, a slice-of-life novel following a queer protagonist and journey of self-discovery 💕
  • Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde: 4.5 stars / ft. the softest romances, all the nerdiness, a biracial and bisexual Asian-American with ADHD? (in a f/f/ romance!) as well as a fat character with anxiety and on the autism spectrum! 😍
  • Always Forever Maybe by Anicca Mrose Ricci: 3.5 stars / deals with an abusive relationship that was so hard to read ahhh
  • Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno: 4 stars / ft. a SOFT AF f/f romance and magical realism!! (also tackles rape 😭💔)
  • Noteworthy by Riley Redgate: 3.5 stars / ft. acapella, soft friendships and an Asian-American protagonist!

I mean, I only have like 4 to choose from, but I loved writing my discussion on the lack of romance tropes for marginalized identities! Diversity in books is something that means a lot to me, and I want so much to see so much more in YA books regarding diverse populations, including tropes. 💕

  • I!! Had!! So!! Much!! Work!! School KILLED ME 😭
  • I got my report card and went down in some subjects, but up in others? I’ve been able to maintain my 90+ average so far, but idk how lmao pray for me
  • Valentine’s Day was a flop but I bought chocolate for myself and it was delicious 💁🏽‍♀️
  • I went to an escape room with my friends to celebrate a friend’s birthday! WE ESCAPED 💪😊
  • Someone stole my money at work last weekend!! I had a good amount of cash (plus two toonies) and an Indigo gift card, and they were all gone 😦 My debit card and Tim’s card was still there, but I’m wondering if I should be worried the person took a picture of my debit or something?? Am I just being paranoid? No purchases have been made but what if they use it to buy something online?? AM I CRAZY?
  • This month was pretty bland otherwise!! Mostly stressful though omg.

I see some people doing this and thought I’d give it a try! I don’t usually set a ton of goals for myself, so we’ll see lmao

  • Read 8-10 books! (March is VERY busy for me, and even though I have spring break I really doubt I’ll get as much reading done!)
  • Follow my blog schedule! I want to be more organized (in one aspect of my life anyway, it’s not happening for school) and I’m hoping to post a bit more often this month!
  • Blog hop more often/more regularly! I don’t know how feasible this is based on my schedule, but I’m going to aim for Friday to be my blog-hop night 💪 I love reading and commenting on other posts, I just have no time!
  • STOP PROCRASTINATING. (Says me as I procrastinate on homework by writing this post, whateverrrr)

What was your favourite book you read in February?! Mine was probably The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali and Emergency Contact! I can’t believe it’s already March oh my gosh. Do you have any goals, or anything special coming up for you?! Let’s talk, I missed you guys!! 💕

Is there a lack of romance tropes with marginalized protagonists? // We need more diverse books!!

Aline @ Fully Booked30 Comments

Romance tropes, to the say the least, are slightly* very overdone.

(I mean… That’s why they’re called tropes??)

There’s the love triangle (cringe), forbidden romance, hate-to-love, friends-to-lovers… all the good stuff that you swoon over in books!

And as entertaining as those are, I feel like there’s also the issue of people being tired of these tropes? That, as much as there are books where we really enjoy these tropes, people don’t always want them as much. *cough* Love triangles *cough*

We might say it’s because they’re all the same, they’re overdone, and unoriginal or unrealistic and sure, I get that! I’ve even said it myself.

Yet as easy it is to write off love triangles or forbidden romance as being “dead” or “overdone”, SO MANY YA books containing those tropes feature the same kind of characters; allo cishet, able-bodied, white protagonists, and THAT’s my issue, more than how much tropes appear in books.

Which is what this post is all about!! I’m focusing on the appearance of queer POC protagonists in particular, but this absolutely applies to any marginalized population as well.

*VERY, in case you couldn’t detect the sarcasm ahaha

FIRST – THE TROPES.


In case you needed a little reminder of your favouritetropes!!

  • Love triangles: Usually featuring one girl and two guys who are in love with her! Extra Stereotypical Points if one guy is super sweet and caring and the other is the broody bad-boy (If you haven’t read one of these YOU ARE LYING)
  • Friends-to-lovers: Um what else do I say here… but often very cute! Though what I often dislike is when it’s like “they’ve been friends for years” and so when the book start the character is like already in love with their love interest even though we’ve hardly seen any reason WHY or any development?? like off I understand how people who’ve been friends forever can fall in love, that’s super cute but in a book it so often feels like lazy writing??
  • Insta-love: STAY AWAY STAY AWAY STAY AWAY
  • Hate-to-love/enemies-to-lovers: The angst! The tension! The best!
  • Forbidden romance: Similar to the star-crossed lovers, but not necessarily the same? But you know the drill, there’s always something that’s preventing this couple from getting together! But it can be sooooo good
  • Star-crossed lovers: (too much) angst!! Passionate kissing scenes and Romeo & Juliet number 3546 😅
  • Best friend’s brother (lmao): hm ok 🤔😅 Haven’t read as many of these? Not super interested in it either tbh
  • The ‘innocent’ girl and the ‘bad’ boy: welp what a classic am I right??
  • The nerdy boy and the Manic Pixie Dream Girl: I just find Manic Pixie Dream Girls (super weird/quirky/super exotic or unfamiliar to the nerdy boy) very bland? I think in attempting to BE ‘different’ from other girls they all become the same oops
  • Soulmates: Usually becomes the same as insta-love but hey, maybe that’s the cynic in me?? (Says me, while being a huge romantic)
  • Fake boyfriend/girlfriend: THE CUTEST I LOVE

*Subjective

Because although when we think of these tropes there are tons of books that come to mind, there is still a LARGE lack of marginalized people being represented in those same tropes we claim as being dead or unoriginal. Let me ask you: how many books have you come across with a love triangle featuring a POC, or a disabled, or marginalized character versus one with your typical white, allocishet Katniss-Gale-Peeta? I’m not saying they don’t exist, but the gap in numbers is quite large, I bet.

I’m not trying to attack books or anyone who reads and enjoys books with your “typical” types of characters (there are tons I love to death myself!), but as an advocate for diverse books and as a POC myself, this is something I’ve noticed and I wanted to speak about, from my own experience!

To be frank, it’s not that hard to answer this question in my mind. It’s a big fat YES. Now, I’m not in any way trying to diminish all the books out there who DO feature tropes with marginalized protagonists!! But I’m trying to say there should be MORE.

All my life, I’ve grown up seeing straight and white as the default. When I used to imagine writing my own books, I imagined the main characters as white because it never occurred to me that there could ever be books with characters who looked like me? And that reality is incredibly depressing.

Now, having found mainstream books that feature characters like me, or of other non-white identities, is so empowering and wonderful and I just don’t want it to stop where it is. When it comes to romance tropes, there is just SO MUCH POTENTIAL for all that could be done for diverse books! Yes, these tropes are common. Yes, we’ve seen them many times before. But not with everyone. And I want this so badly, you have no idea!! Love triangle featuring Asian characters? SIGN ME UP. A queer hate-to-love romance? MINE. Disabled characters becoming friends-to-lovers? YES PLEASE.

Literally take any trope and I will be overjoyed because marginalized identities are so often removed from the narrative concerning tropes. When we say they’re overdone, it almost never applies to minorities and almost solely refers to the “typical” YA character. And that’s an issue!

Take love triangles, for example. Hugely overdone, super common, yada yada yada. Off the top of your head can probably list a ton (Hunger Games, TMI, TID, The Selection, Red Queen…) but how many feature marginalized characters?

………..

Exactly.

I want to step into a bookstore and see more books like When Dimple Met Rishi or My So-Called Bollywood Life. I want to see books like The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali. Books like To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. Books like Let’s Talk About Love. Books like Starfish and Summer Bird Blue. I want to see love triangles, forbidden romances, fake dating, hate-to love with brown characters, black characters, disabled characters, Asian characters, queer & POC characters! I want to see stories with intersectional representation.

The world is just made of so many more different, amazing people other than straight white kids, and it’s doing everyone such a huge disservice not to represent that in our selection of books.

(And I limited this post to simply romance tropes because of Valentine’s Day, but this applies to every trope out there! I want to see brown girls or boys as the Chosen One, queer protagonists the secret heir to the kingdom, see disabled characters part of a prophecy to save the world.)

I WANT IT ALL. And I’m not sorry for that.

Are tropes over?? What are your thoughts? What are some of your favourite romances featuring marginalized characters?! Let’s spread some diverse books love! 💕

(also hi here’s your belated reminder for Valentine’s Day that being single is OKAY and you don’t have to be in love or in a relationship to be happy because you only need books you are an amazing individual who will reach success and great things with or without being in love!! okay bye I hope you had a great Valentine’s Day!!)