To be clear, I added the word hate in quotes for this week’s Top 5 Wednesday because while I don’t hate anything or anyone, I just have strong opinions about what I don’t like. So my “hate” means that I usually don’t like those tropes. But there are some books that I did like, even though the trope was typical or basic.
5. Friends to Lovers Trope – I love the Friends-toLovers trope, as cheesy and corny as it is, because to me, it’s how it should be in relationships. Becoming friends and having a strong bond first before getting into anything romantic is the most interesting trope. Discovering April kinda worked backwards, because the April and her next-door neighbor Jared were childhood friends who drifted apart after Jared’s parents died. But then certain circumstances happened and they got closer again. Plus, the book itself is just funny.
4. Strong Female Character Trope – I’m so tired of every female character that has to be strong, confident, beautiful, gorgeous, much like an otherworldly being other than a normal human being. People forget that being a “strong female” means showcasing vulnerability and emotions instead of a version that is sustainable for the male-gaze. So when books like Shadowshaper come along, where lead character Sierra is discovering her own magical abilities and family history, she’s not afraid to show how scared she is. She made it ok to fear for your life and not know what to do, even when everything is working out for you. We need more female characters, more WOC females like her to show that it’s ok to be human and not a badass firey machine.
3. Chosen One Trope – I don’t read much Chosen One trope books, I find them to be kind of typical in YA or urban fantasy. But there are some that are done tastefully, like Harry Potter, Shadowshaper, The Hunger Games and Anomaly. They show the vulnerability of having the world on their shoulders.
2. Evil Parents Trope – I find the Evil Parents trope to be kinda ridiculous because while there are a lot of nasty parents in the world, there are a lot of good parents too. With that said, I’ve found the parents in Starfish were hopeless. Kiko’s mother was not only borderline racist and prejudiced towards her Korean American family, but she ignored all the signs that Kiko was hurting after being sexually assaulted by her uncle. Those are signs of an evil parent, not so much abandonment.
1. Instalove Trope – I think the only instalove that I enjoyed was The Sun is Also a Star, because they progressively fell in love throughout a day, but it wasn’t right away. Natasha was skeptical of Daniel from the very start, but it was him who kept their weird relationship to the end. Or at least until they met again years later.
Which are your favorite books with the least favorite tropes? Comment below!
