The Saturday Scoop is a weekly posted here on Sweet Reads. Each week I pick a new topic to write about and just rant and rave about that particular topic. Enjoy. :)
This Week's Topic: YA Heroines
I'm so sorry I haven't posted a SS post in so long. Like seriously, what has it been... 3 months? Anyway, I'm really sorry, I completely forgot about it, and I'd been so busy with my other posts that I just kind of forgot about this one. BUT, on the bright side, I'm posting now! And, to top that, I have a cute new logo. If you like the idea of the Saturday Scoop, feel free to use it on your own blog, that would be awesome :)
Soooo! This week's topic: YA heroines.
If you're an avid reader of YA as I am, then you probably know that a recurring problem in YA books these days is the heroines that authors include in the books. Some of them are kick-ass assassins (take Celeana from Throne of Glass or Ismae from Grave Mercy) or Hunger Games tributes (Katniss, Clove, Glimmer, Rue, Johanna, etc.) or just intelligent, witty girls (Kami Glass from Unspoken). And yet some of them aren't. Some of them are weak, pathetic idiots who just give up everything and act stupid all because of a boy.
As a feminist, I strongly oppose these heroines. Sometimes if the book is good but the heroine is pathetic, then it will completely turn me off from the book because I can't stand it when main characters are like this. Take for example Isabella Swan, from *dun dun dun* the infamous Twilight series. I've only read the first book in this series. (I know, I know. . . crazy, but don't get on me for that. The series just didn't interest me.) But from what I did read, Bella was a crazy, stupid lunatic who was unhealthily obsessed with some vampire guy who kept being like, "Don't love me! I'm dangerous!"
*gag*
Anyhow, as you can see, these types of heroines annoy me greatly. Not only are they annoying to read about, but they're also demeaning to women. People could read that and think, "Oh, this is what teenage girls are like nowadays." And it's offensive. Really really really offensive, because we're not. I mean some girls are shallow and all that, but the vast majority of us are good, awesome people who if we were faced with the situation that the girls in books have would choose the smart, intelligent thing to do.
In the book I'm reading right now, Tiger's Curse, the heroine is horrid. Not only is she juvenile, stupid, and sounds like she's straight out of a Jane Austen novel, she is also constently obsessing over her tiger boyfriend Ren and etc. It just annoys the heck out of me. (Oh, expect a lovely review.)
I'm not trying to say that authors should steer away from romance. I love romance books. I think that sometimes when authors are writing romance books, they get too bogged down on the main character's reaction to the romance, rather than who the girl actually is. For example, some of the girls have absolutely no identity, no personality. the only thing we know about them is that they're with this guy. And not all the guys are bad. Take Ellie from Angelfire. She was personality-less. And yeah, ok, she was "kick-ass" in the sense that she killed monster-type things. But I hated her. And in fact, I liked Will, the guy she was with.
Ooh! Ooh! A better example of a personality-less character would be Luce from Fallen! Ahh, perfect. I can't believe i didn't think of that sooner. She was stupid, obsessed, and just all-around annoying when it came to her love interest, in this case he was a horrible angel Daniel. Exactly what she saw in him I have no idea. But this book was an offensive portrayal of females and this character if she was real I would smack her so hard in the face that she'd never see the light of day again (whoah, violent much? sorry).
Ok, I'm done ranting now, but do you see my point? I hope I'm not the only one who feels this way because that would really suck if I was.
Do you feel that YA heroines are portrayed in an unfair way? How so? Leave comments!!
I agree with everything you said. Especially the stuff about Luce. I bet you haven't read Halo other wise I think Beth would be on your list. She's just as bad as Luce. Then there's Zoey from the House of Night series who acts like she's five and at one point she is dating three different guys. Oh and then there's Anna from Sweet Evil. I can't even begin to explain my dislike for that character. She full of terrible ideas. Oh and Ellie from Angelfire. I really didn't like her either! I remember she made this comment about not being able to keep her shirt clean so she didn't know how she was going to save the world (or something like that).
ReplyDeleteI think my favorite badass heroine is Allie from The Immortal Rules.
Luce is by far the worst, but Ellie's bad too. I've heard Halo was really bad so I haven't read it. Omg, I remember that comment from Angelfire, it made me roll my eyes so much!
DeleteI really want to read the immortal rules since I've heard only good things about it :)
thanks for commenting!
Hehe. The Saturday Scoop goes really well with Sweet Reads :P
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you on this! It really is insulting when us girls are portrayed as people with no personality who rely completely on their boyfriends.
I also hate the stereotypes of the girls in the book that are NOT the main character. Either they are the bubbly (and kind of stupid) best friend or the "mean girl" cheerleader or the mindless fangirls of the love interest (I have read a book ounce where they actually had to FIGHT off a crowd of girls because the love interest was so hot). I also hate it when girls who wear makeup are talked badly about and slut-shaming the girls who date around a lot.
O_O My comment just became a huge rant. Can I make a suggestion for your next SS? It would be awesome if you could talk about male characters are portrayed in books. Because normally they are all "dark and mystery" and we all know that most boys act like... boys :P That reminds me of a post written by Jo. It is hilarious: http://weartheoldcoat.com/2013/03/02/on-writing-the-boy-is-mine/
...
I talk to much.
That's a really good point about the girls who aren't the main characters I never thought of that before.
DeleteTOTALLY agree on the makeup thing. In fact I was going to talk about that in my next review ^^
Thank you for the suggestion! That's such a good idea. I'll definitely look into it thanks! :D
Talking is good ^^
It's been so long, SS! And you got a new banner/picture thingie! It looks gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteOn to the post! Actually, I think all the heroines portrayed in YA books are like clones. Once in a while there will be a refreshing character that is just itself, but I am seriously rethinking YA books. Yes, there was a whole phase of weak heroines that annoyed the HECK out of me. It seriously frustrated me to NO end how wimpy they were and how dependent they were to their love romance. On the other hand, there is arising too many kick-ass heroines that you can't say "oh, this girl was so kick-ass" cause most of YA now are kick-ass girls. And they aren't dependent of guys and are either stony-faced or they just want to be left alone or something else.
I wish there was a middle of characters and authors wouldn't copy each other, even if it's the reason for more money. *sigh* Sorry, What I'm trying to say is that YOUR POST IS AWESOME! I actually do prefer kick-ass girls that fight creatures not of this world then wimpy girls who wait around for others to make their decisions. KEEP DOING THESE SS, I LOVE THEM! <3333