#ya protagonists

[parcai]

the way all ya protags are 17

like hello universe 🙄 i've been 17 for months now, when am i gonna run into a dark haired, violet or other fake eyed-colored-guy who's broken on the inside and sarcastic on the outside, and then some girl much prettier and more confident than plain old me that i initially feud with but later befriend, and then my childhood best friend isn't gay and is actually in love w me, and then i also save the whole world 🤨🤲

[parcai]

okay follow up, i can't remember if you got into thg, but like, would the hunger games be less/more effective if katniss was prim's age instead. or if the pevensies were in their 30s when they first went into narnia. those two specific examples specifically djdjdj

yeah, i got into thg. never as much as some other books, but still. and yes, i think it would be less effective for both of those examples.

thg relies on this idea that katniss has been providing for her family all her life and has been shouldering responsibilities and burdens like an adult. katniss being nearly an adult in age but acting older is the whole point throughout her characterization. it’s why she’s so angry, which is why she chooses peeta, which is why she she makes decisions based off how advantageous it is to her family rather than just the greater good, which is why ____ (any moment of thg).

the same goes for tcon. the story relies on lucy being the youngest, kindest, and most naive as well, but the most faithful; edmund being second youngest but lumped as a boy in the same group as lucy instead of a young man, thus leading to his bitterness and betrayal, and finally quiet contentment instead of lucy’s loud happiness; susan not having as much authority as peter, never being as close to her siblings because she’s not the eldest, favorite savior, etc.; peter on the verge of being an adult (like katniss) and providing for his family and shouldering responsibilities and burdens and acting older than his age.

i think you’ll find that all good ya should have a reason for aging its protags the way it did because ya is inherently age-centric. as i said earlier: ya is the idea of people on the brink of adulthood integrating into a new portion of society.

[parcai]

what is your opinion on YA protags typically being 16-18, do you think someone younger or older can still be appealing with the same content

sure they can!! actually idk if u know this (and i don’t want to come off as patronizing if u do), but publishers and agents tend to split ya into two categories bc so many adults read ya. so you’ve got your lower ya, which is more like middle grade, and then upper ya that has new adult/adult crossover appeal.

it definitely depends on ur plot/themes imo tho. throwing like 14 yo protags into upper ya just...doesn’t make sense and vice versa. they’re in a totally different stages of their lives than like a 17 year old, have different maturity levels (but ur proof this is not a steadfast rule 🙄).

so ig in general, your question is just difficult bc ya encompasses so much. i don’t think lower ya/upper ya can change protag ages w/out sacrificing the whole point of having that division, but i think ya protags can be out of the first age range we tend to think of

[parcai]

whats something you dislike about ya?

this is such a good question 🥰🥺 <3

obvi i dislike many things lol, but smth that especially bugs me is the way insecurity tends to be handled in ya!

i feel like this is predominately an issue w white female protags, but it definitely pertains to some male characters too, also white: a lot of ya authors fail to acknowledge that insecurity usually, oh idk, stems from something??? it doesn’t just come out of thin air lol, like there is history linked w it. and i feel like that trivialization of insecurity is so harmful and so...victimizing of people w insurmountable amounts of privilege, yk what i mean? and even beyond its problematic nature, it’s just straight up dull and trope-y and frustrating to read.

when a character of color speaks amount their insecurities, they usually tie in w their ethnic background, and that makes sense!! and ya’s trend from like 2005-2015 of having that blonde protag who’s biggest problem insecurity-wise is being short just cheapens the whole experience.

[yellowlight55]

The thing that most people miss when writing YA protagonists is that when you lose a parent or parents before the age of 18 you develop an extremely dark sense of humor around it that makes everyone around you uncomfortable

[tik-b-tok]

[inwhichiramble]

ROUND ONE RESULTS

Juliette Ferrars (Shatter Me) VS Tris Prior (Divergent)—WINNER: JULIETTE

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles) VS Jude Duarte (The Cruel Prince)—WINNER: CINDER

Alina Starkov (Shadow and Bone) VS Celaena Sardothien (Throne of Glass)—WINNER: CELAENA

Nova Artino (Renegades) VS Bella Swan (Twilight)—WINNER: NOVA

Mare Barrow (Red Queen) VS June Iparis (Legend)—WINNER: JUNE

Lara Jean Covey (To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before) VS America Singer (The Selection)—WINNER: LARA JEAN

Pippa Fitz-Amobi (A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder) VS Hazel Grace Lancaster (The Fault in Our Stars)—WINNER: PIPPA

Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games) VS Clary Fairchild (The Mortal Instruments)—WINNER: KATNISS

The bracket for Round Two stands as follows:

Round Two will last one week and then we will head into the semifinals!

[desmond-the-queer-dragon]

I always hate it when characters in ya tv shows, movies, or books complain about having nice parents and when they’re parents are actually great human beings, they are rude to them to fit in with the cool kids.

Oh, your dad made an innocent dad joke and embarrassed you in front of your “friends?”

Mine just verbally and emotionally abused me.

Uno reverse card bitch

Stop fucking complaining