I once read a piece called “Condensation of all gaming fiction“. That poked fun at all the overused stereotypes rampant in gaming fiction. Having read one teenage horror/romance story starring a teenage girl in the lead (see previous post) and now halfway through a fantasy book with a teenage girl in the lead, I am beginning to become weary of chicklit.
Some caveat’s:
- Both these books were written by women. I do believe that guys wouldn’t factor in the below observations in the same manner (i.e., equally annoying ;-)
- I am basing this post on a statistically very unsound sample: one teenage “dark romance” book, and one fantasy book. There’s scores of chicklit out there which I do not plan to touch, which may differ. (or maybe not)
Be that as it may, I do believe I have stumbled upon several tricks of the trade in at least a class of chicklit. Here we go:
- Main character: female teenager, feeling as if she is very unskilled compared to those around her.
Not fitting in well with the group. - Two guys (at least).
While blatantly obvious for the necessary romantics, somehow this stays at the level of getting goosebumps from the one guy, and a lot of “hmmmms, maybe him, but he’s cute too…”
Really, a lesbian lead would probably so much less annoying at times. - The Rival(tm)
This is the bitch that hated our lead from the start. Apparently. Halfway through the story we learn that while our lead is feeling totally worthless, the Rival is so angry with her because she is totally freaking awesome.
Unlike guy books, the rivalry doesn’t turn to Best Friends Forever status, nor to Mortal Enemy status. An uneasy truce is reached, usually backed by some mutual understanding and parents/mentors/teachers/responsible adults telling them to stop behaving like little children and start acting their age. - Power Explosion:
The lead turns out to be already a lot more valued than she herself would estimate. People (enemies) are interested in her. Guys too, although not too blatant, because that would detract too much from the outsider feeling we get.
Basically, it’s the coming-of-age story told once again. Difference with the Belgarion (and some other fantasy stories) is that here, the environment is considered by the lead to be normal.Contrast that with the Belgarion, where Garion finds himself in the sudden company of a rattish, thieving, scary guy and a bear-turned-human warrior. To then learn about Mister Wolf being able to move mountains at a whim. Definitely he’s the only sane and normal person in the bunch. Drizzt? Same thing: while his society doesn’t perceive it, he feels he’s the only sane and normal person there. Angsty teenage chicklit: everyone else is normal, I’m the outsider…
While I do believe my emotional range transcends that of a teaspoon, I can’t imagine all girls feel as total outsiders sufficiently for this sort of literature to establish a report with teenage girls. But, apparently, it does.
Anyway, back to my book :) Where I get to read more of “If X noticed EVENT, (s)he didn’t show it”. (That sentence crops up every 15 pages and it is becoming soooooo annoying. Other than that: so far, so good. Do switch your chicklit-filter to medium if the above points would annoy you otherwise though ;-)