Hey everyone! Happy Top 5 Tuesday! This post is a little late…. with Canadian Thanksgiving yesterday, I didn’t have time to write this post. Then my morning was chaos……. I hate chaotic mornings! This has taken me long enough, so lets just get to it!
Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme where I explore different topics. If you are interested in participating I would love to have you! Here is a list of my Upcoming topics in October – please remember to ping back a specific post of mine so I get a notification and I will add you to the participants list!
LACK OF PARENTS – ONE OR BOTH
What’s with this?? Seriously?! I read a lot of YA, and it makes me wonder, why do so many teenagers have no parents? Either they’ve left or they’ve died, but characters rarely have parents and it’s annoying! I realize that authors use this as a reason for them to struggle and be put into a situation where they need to struggle, fight, and gain strength. But, honestly, it’s a cop out! You’re taking the easy road and I would appreciate it if you would stop!
LACK OF COMMUNICATION IN RELATIONSHIPS
This is possibly my most annoying trope. I don’t enjoy reading a book where 99% of the conflict between characters could have been solved if they just talked. It’s not realistic in ANY way! Talk to each other! Stop hiding things because you think you’re protecting them (because you’re not!), and stop keeping secrets and lying because you “just don’t know how to tell them”……. BE OUT WITH IT! Speak! It’s not that hard!
INSTA-LOVE
This is a harder one for me. I’ve been that person…… I saw my husband playing in a band when I was in grade 8 and told myself that I would marry him some day. I didn’t see him for about a year after that day and, when I did, I instantly remembered him and did everything in my power to put myself in his social circles. We’ve been together for 20 years! So, I am proof that insta-love is real LOL! But, for some strange reason, I hate reading about it lol! I can’t explain why either. I think that it’s related to the next thing I’m going to mention…….
BAD ASS FEMALE PROTAGONISTS WHO LOSE THEIR FOCUS WHEN THEY MEET A BOY
This drive me up the wall. We have this totally strong and bad ass female character. She’s described as ruthless, fearless, and determined. But then she lays eyes on a hot guy and it all flies out the window! WHY?!? She goes from wanting to tear down the world to forgetting what she’s doing and focuses on his sky blue eyes………. STOP IT! Sure, guys take some of your attention, but don’t forget who you are and what you’re doing!
A CHARACTER’S SEXUALITY BEING USED AS A PLOT TWIST
Oh this one makes my blood boil! I’ve read a few books where a characters (main or side) sexuality was used as a plot twist. We suddenly find out that the character is gay and they’ve been lying the whole time. Ok….. I get it. In some cases it’s valid. A character struggles to accept their own desires and maybe struggles with abuse or threat of violence if they speak their truth. They may not be sure where their heart lies and need to figure things out. I understand that. But for the love of god do it tastefully! We need to see support of that characters thoughts and emotions! Don’t just throw it out to make people jaw’s drop when there is NOTHING to support that characters announcement! I remember reading a book where the side character was clearly written as a straight person. There wasn’t a single indication that the character was bi or gay, but the author used it as a twist at the end just to catch people off guard. That’s NOT fair! A persons sexuality is who they are – not a plot twist! And it’s beyond disrespectful to treat it as such. Rant over lol
TOP 5 TUESDAY PARTICIPANTS:
- Meeghan Reads and Bakes
- Lili’s Blissful Pages
- Laughing Listener
- Many Things Bookish
- Robyn Reads Books
- Birdie Bookworm
- A Fictional Bookworm
- Beach Bookworm
- Laura’s Little Library (The Girl With All The Books)
- JW Martin – Storeys of Stories
- Alexandra Wolfe
- Static Books
- Buried Alive By Books
- Kristin Kraves Books
- Read By Dev
- Kyera’s Library
- Sleepy Sam Reads
- Kristina Reads
- Happy Bookshelves
- Bath and Books
- Absolute Shannonigans
- Books Are Only The Beginning
- Words Gremlin
- Libby Reads
- Read You Leyre
- Paper Royalty
- Bookishly Rebecca
- Shades of Paper
- Beware of the Reader
- Ink Trails
- Third Person Limited
- Diagnosis: Bookworm
- A Lovely Book Affair
- Stuck In Fiction
- Caren Rich
- Struggling Bookaholic
- Some Books And Paws
That’s the end of the two part trope series! I’ve loved reading your posts and find it so interesting what we love and don’t love in books! Thanks to everyone for participating as per usual!
Until next time, happy reading!
…Dammit. My protagonist in my novel (which I just turned in to my thesis committee yesterday!) is totally an orphan.
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😂 my favourite books have orphan characters (Nevernight, The Book Thief, The Hearts Invisible Furies) so it’s not a bad thing. Really!
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(New participant here: https://absoluteshannonigans.blogspot.com/2018/10/tuesday-tops-meme.html)
I have insta-love on my list as well!
I agree on the others, too.
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Yay and welcome!!! I get you added to the list 🙂 insta love has made it on so many lists today…… hopefully authors see this 😂
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The first three is in my list too.But I totally forgot about Badass female turned weak just because of a guy. God, I loathed that trope. But the last, thankfully i haven’t encountered yet, or if I did, maybe it was done well so I didn’t notice it.
But lol, to that story about your husband… So cute though. I feel giddy thinking about you guys’ love story. But I’m sure insta-love will never happen to me since I seem to distance myself everytime I meet a guy. haha.
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If an overused trope is done in a unique way, then it’s not so bad!
😂 guys used to scare me. I would run the other way. But something about my husband said go for it!
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Dang! I hate all the above as well, can I add them to my list? Ha! Ha! But seriously, I hate the insta love crap, and one or no parents? Jesus, just how many families are like that anyway? Very few I suspect. Kick-ass list.
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Lol exactly! How many teenagers can go through the same thing???
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It gives YA readers a very lopsided view rather than any sense of reality and true life. 😉
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YES!!! To all of these!!! I despise the whole lack of communication thing too.
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I so agree with lack of parents! It makes the book some more unrealistic. Of course it’s different if they’re an orphan because that’s a whole different story.
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I’m so annoyed with the trope of “badass” female protagonist in itself.
I mean, I’d totally like to read about an YA heroine who uses her brain (and not her brawn) to save the world/kingdom.
How cool it would be to have a mathematician/data-wizard as a lead female than an assassin/hunter!
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Omg I would be allllll over that!!! I think that’s why I love stories with thieves and con artists so much. They have to use brawn but it’s the brains that makes the whole plan come together!
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Zero Sum Game by S.L. Huang. MC is a badass BECAUSE she’s like super-humanly good at math. Worth checking out.
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Not the original commenter, but I’m totally taking your recommendation!! Thanks.
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My pleasure
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Hey, thanks for the recommendation. Would definitely check it out. 🙂
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Uff, lack of communication in books pisses me off when without that there wouldn’t be any plot.
In a way it’s kinda realistic as lot of people mess it up, but the fact that they can’t talk to each other should not be the main attraction in the story 😀
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Exactly!
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Mine is up as well…
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Perfect! I’ll get you added 🙂
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thanks, i forgot to tag you when I post the post last night… I just remember this morning
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I feel like my pingbacks aren’t working. 😭 I usually always link back to your topics for each month post. I’m trying to see if I’m having a problem on my end.
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This has happened before! I know I’ve gotten a few of them but not every week. WordPress is a serious pain sometimes! If you aren’t sure, just comment on my post with your link instead. That way you know I’ll see it 🙂
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I agree! It can be a pain.
Okay! If I notice WordPress being dumb then I’ll just comment my link. ☺️
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Perfect! Sorry you have to go that extra step, but WordPress isn’t the greatest sometimes
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It doesn’t bother me. ☺️
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I didn’t get a notification today either…. but I checked and you linked to my post! So I don’t know what’s happening 🙁
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OK I am with you on using the sexual orientation of a character as a plot twist! If you don’t back it up it’s kind of degrading.. As usual my post late …http://bewareofthereader.com/are-you-an-easy-reader-or-from-the-grouchy-variety-top-5-hated-tropes/
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Got you 🙂
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The female losing their head really annoys me. If you’re a strong, feminist woman you should be able to be in a relationship without losing your morals
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Exactly!!
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Thanks for the great Top 5 Tuesday theme, on fire grrl! And “99% of the conflict between characters could have been solved if they just talked” – that would have been my #6! So frustrating the lack of communication when it would have been exactly the moment your average human would go ‘Look, let’s talk about this.’
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lol that should be a literal line in the book – “Look, let’s talk about this”. I mean, it’s just that easy!
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HA! Yes to all the above and something I was going to write about as well. So many out there, tho, it must be that everything’s been thought of and there just isn’t anything new.
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I completely forgot about the absent parents trope! It’s really disappointing because I feel like they’re either killed off for the sake of it or absent for no reason in particular. Bring back the parents haha!
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😂
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I agree so much with everything on this list, especially insta love! (Though that story about your husband is so cute 💕)
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Yes!! Lack of communication drives me crazy! I know that not everyone is open and honest, but there is no reason to hold back important information. Ever. It’s not realistic. At all.
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Agreed!
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OMG! Yes!! Really hate the miscommunication trope – it’s so bloody frustrating! Just open your mouth and talk! 😡 really don’t like it when it’s the plot twist in the end and everything turns out fine when they just starts talking. Rant over 😉
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😂 I feel the same way! I could rant about it forever!
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ugh I also really don’t like lack of parents and especially lack of communication..
(www.evelynreads.com)
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okay, i got my post written, 2 cents in, and linked back to your post as well.https://rosepointpublishing.com/2018/10/19/overused-tropes-and-cliches-can-we-get-a-break/ guess we aren’t the only ones.
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I’ll check it out 🙂
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