Welcome to my blog where I talk about the oldest and latest books you can think of! She/Her | Literature Major | 24 | Aquarius | NL cr: elektra subblogs: @r-manoff @h-d-barsaum
Bloodlines vs Throne of Glass: The Two Sides of the YA Coin
!If you havenât read either of these series but wish to, I will include vague spoilers in here. Youâve been warned!
In both these series, the female protagonist gets abducted and the male love interest tries to find her and get her back. The difference between these two scenarios though is the way in which the reunion of the couple is handled. Sure, they both go through infinite loopholes to get rid of their pursuers, but things differ the moment they finally have a moment to stop and breathe.
Let me ask you a question: once you get out of a torturous isolation that youâve been in for months, do you think sex is one of the first things thatâd be on your mind?
Because it apparently is for Rowan and Aelin. Itâs been almost 1,5 year since I first read Kingdom of Ash and Iâm still bothered with how SJM handled their reunion. They had their extremely brief catch up wherein Aelin explained how much she suffered during her imprisonment, but right after that they got down and dirty. It doesnât make any sense. Wouldnât they have wanted to just take in each otherâs presence after such a long time of being apart? What is the point of including an explicit scene in a YA fantasy series where the main priority is the plot?
Then thereâs Sydney and Adrian. Yes, there was a brief moment where they almost did do it⌠but they eventually didnât. And that is a choice made by Richelle Mead, just as much as it was a choice of SJM to include that sex scene. Adrian even makes it perfectly clear that sex wasnât at all on his mind when he first had a private moment with Sydney again. He just wanted to hold her and be near her. Itâs literally phrased that way. In my opinion that makes their reunion even more romantic.
Recent YA stories have become much more sexed up because that is what a lot of authors/publishers think would sell better. Yes, there is a group of readers who do like to read smut, and thatâs their choice, but does that mean that Young Adults should be exposed to those kinds of scenes? Itâs not âYAâ at all, and I realize the meaning of that age group is very vague, but letâs pretend this is about 12-18 yo. These are stories for MINORS. Let that sink in!
It just so happens to be that Iâm naming SJM here, notorious for her problematic inclusions of, among many other things, explicit scenes, but that doesnât mean plenty of other authors donât market their NA stories as YA too. Itâs become a huge problem in the literary world and a lot of stories are blending into each other more and more every day bc of these marketing strategies. The same tropes, the same aesthetics, the same character setsâall because one particular story did so well money-wise. So many YA fantasy stories have immortal, drop-dead gorgeous fae in them who eventually always end in up in some sexual scenario. And itâs always the same plot: young woman finds immortal man whoâs fifty times her age, they start out as enemies and learn to accept each other. But, all the while, there all these sexual connotations that could have been left out.
Itâs long been established that in recent years, the lines between what is age appropriate have been blurred. But does that mean we have to agree with what is happening in front of us? An example of what is perfect for a YA with a romance (sub)plot is Six of Crows. How obsessed is the book community with all three main ships? How many of them have actually had sex? I fucking adore the complexities that Kaz brings with his phobia. It makes his attraction to Inej all the more meaningful. Every time he touches her, itâs like heâs winning a battle from another inner demon. For Inej. The woman he loves. It adds to the romance between them, but, more importantly, it is such an integral part of his characterization, his development.ďżź
Most of whatâs being published in the YA genre is so superficial. Itâs not about morality anymore, or winning personal battles, or showing strength. Itâs all about sex. And to me, sex doesnât sell. That is a personal opinion, but I miss the times where I could pick up a book and think, yes, this is something I can relate to. Or a book that just, simply, makes me think after I read it. A story needs to mean something. If it doesnât offer anything beyond the superficial, then what is the point? Especially when weâre talking about the age group 12-18. A group thatâs literally trying to figure out who the fuck they are. What can they make up of solid, useless smut? Explain that to me.
Ps. I know I ramble sometimes but this topic just really frustrates me
Rhaenyraâs kindness and compassion is slowly stripped away as each of her children die. Her children ground her, keep her leveled. You can already sense her losing herself a little and turning into the mad queen that she is described as in the books when she knifed her riderâs clothes.
the biggest epistemological gap between me & 95% the rest of the world is literally just how much i love to look things up on the internet and how much it baffles me when other people don't like to do this. we live in the information age. like i'll google anything i'll read this bmj paper on the toilet i'll look up words i don't know i'll append pdf free to any possible phrase. i don't know how anybody is voluntarily turning this down. sometimes i get so tired of searchinf for something physically inside a store i pull out my phone and google like silken tofu aldi what fucking aisle while im standing right there. otherwise what is even the point
That mothafucka murdered Guinevere Beck and yâall think he had ANY chance of being redeemed? He buried Candace alive and yâall thought he was not the bad guy because he has a tortured past!? Jesus Christ, I thought we all liked him because he was pathetic and evil, not because heâs misunderstood and a romantic.
âHe lost his chance at happiness in season 3 when-â imma stop you right there, he was NEVER gonna be happy because he was always a violent, delusional, weak man who killed any woman he deemed âungratefulâ and anyone else who stood in his way.
If you thought he was going to have a chance at happiness with Love Quinn or Marianne or anyone else whom he moved onto within the next 3 business days⌠I donât know what to tell you. The showâs finale was inevitable.
There has to be some literary study on how fulfilling your desire for revenge doesnât actually fulfill you but rather leaves you hollow and purposeless in the end.
My friendâs (who also is a massive fan of the games) hypothesis about Eugene: considering that he was a firefly, he SOMEHOW found out Joel killed all the people in the hospital to save Ellie, meaning Eugene also found out that Ellie was the potential cure. Joel kills him to protect Ellie. This prompts Ellie to question Joel about what happened at the hospital (the âyou sworeâ from the trailer) which is also the reason why theyâre not speaking.
He was also probably bitten which justifies Joelâs murder of him to the townspeople.
