What I Find Annoying About YA Fantasy

(Image by dell-fin - Pixabay)

I go through phases of wanting to read YA fantasy, reading YA fantasy… and invariably ending up disappointed.

And that makes me declare, for the umpteenth time, that I will never again pick up another YA fantasy novel.

Some months pass, I see another pretty cover, read the blurb and start to relent, telling myself that surely this one will be different, but sadly, no.

As I’ve said enough times on this blog, I’m a fussy reader, and that does not help me one bit.

I had a bit of think about what in YA fantasy annoys me, and I’ve come up with a list.

And here are some of the reasons, in no particular order:

• The love interest that’s inevitably a ‘bad boy’, the one the female protagonist knows, without a doubt, she can change for the better.
  Just for a change, why can’t he be a nice, normal guy?

• Love triangles, where the female protagonist either has to choose between her childhood best friend and the bad boy, or between the hot, experienced prince and his friend, also hot but not so experienced.
  Again, why can’t it just be a love story between two people?
  There’s plenty of drama around two people working through their feelings, their differences, whatever is conspiring to keep them apart, so they can be together.

• ‘Insta-love’, where the main characters instantly fall in deep love the moment they meet without knowing the first thing about each other.

(Image by DoniShala - Pixabay)

• The beautiful female protagonist who’s convinced she’s ugly, believing she’s burdened with plain looks and, more often than not, mousy brown hair.
  No matter how many times those around her tell her she’s beautiful, she only believes it when the dashing, hot guy says it.

• The chosen one, almost always an orphan, or a lost child, lives with a single parent, or the grandparents.
  Instead of a tragic backstory, it would be nice to read about a hero with a complete loving family and a stable childhood.

Painting of a country farm scene (Public Domain Pictures)

• Older people usually being shown up by the youngsters.
  Despite their years of experience, most older people are depicted as bumbling and foolish, and are usually shown up by the young protagonist, usually a teenager.
  The exception is the wise old person who always knows the right advice to give at the right time, no matter the situation.

• The protagonist knowing how to fight, how to use weaponry, ride a horse and similar skills with minimal, if any, training.

• The lack of strong women who are feminine.
  There are many women in real life, young and old, who know how to be feminine while displaying inner strength, like Archduchess Maria Theresa; Isabella Bird, the adventurer from the Victorian era; and Edith Cavell, the nurse who risked her life to help soldiers in the First World War.
  Being a strong woman doesn’t mean you hate dresses or that you basically have to act like a man.

Painting of Archduchess Maria Theresa as a young woman by Andreas Moller (W.Commons)

• Tied to the previous point is the lack of masculine men who know how to be respectful.
  Manly men are usually portrayed as crude and ignorant.

• The dreaded info-dump.
  Chunks of exposition appearing at various points, slowing the story down.

• Related to that point is the “as you know, Bob”-ism.
  That’s when a character says something that those around them should and do know, but it’s being said for the benefit of the reader; an example being when a new character is introduced, and someone points out who his well-known father is.

• Magic, when it’s the deus ex machina that gets the protagonist out of every bad situation, thus doing away with any high-stakes tension.
  If magic is part of the story, make it make sense, and let there be consequences for using it.

(Image by Ann_Milovidova - Pixabay)

Having said all that about YA fantasy, I’ve come across similar things in adult fantasy, which has put me off reading fantasy by authors I’m not familiar with.

When I have read fantasy recently, I’ve gone for the ‘safe’ option, picking up books I’ve read before that I love.

Anyway, for reasons unknown to me, I now find myself wanting to get back to fantasy again and try more recently published books.

I’ve had a look around the internet and have decided on a mix of adult and YA fantasy.

I’ve also dusted off my old library card in the hopes they might have some of the titles I want to try.

In time, I’ll post reviews.

I really am hoping I’ll enjoy at least a few, preferably all, the ones I choose.

If you have any recommendations of fantasy, YA and adult, that you’ve enjoyed, please do share them in the comments.