Rants about Young Adult fiction writers

      Encountering intelligent personalities has become so rare that it is now a profound experience for me when I meet someone whose level of intellect matches mine. Now I'm not saying that I'm some long-lost descendent of Einstein; I just mean that I've become unusually accustomed to conversing about topics whose matter will in no way increase my intellectual knowledge. You see I don't really understand how talking about the most recent celebrity breakups or their twitter updates is going to benefit me. Nor do I understand how talking about pointless mundane tasks or other people is going to change my point of view of the world; besides questioning the mere single digit I.Q. levels of certain people, that is. This is why I tend to feel incredibly happy if I meet a person who will not only fangirl with me on Moffat's genius but will also discuss topics that genuinely matter.
      An example of this is discussing books; being an aspiring writer myself, I indulge in reading when I cannot write and after reading quite a number of literary titles, I believe I can distinguish between good books and bad books. I'm a harsh critic but to elaborate on what I just said, I mean that after reading a lot it is easy to critique different authors and books. A writer does not necessarily have to be a great writer to write a brilliant book, he or she just needs to have the skill to creatively form a plot and make all the puzzles fit by the end. Or not if you're one of the writers of "LOST", in which case any confusion is thereby forgiven automatically because come on, it's "LOST" after all. Anyway, aside from the pointless babbling, I mean to say that I thoroughly enjoy discussing books because it's fascinating to look at different aspects of a book from different POVs. A recurring theme in Young Adult novels is the presence of paranormal races and most of the cheesy love triangles which turn into squares and even love hexagons if you've read "House of the Night" series. I don't know if it's just me but it seems like most of today's writers seem to exploiting age old paranormal ideas. Whatever happened to creativity and originality? Or maybe researching a bit and using up creatures other than werewolves, vampires or fallen angels.
        Another thing I've noticed in most Young Adult novels is that if it's the paranormal romance genre, a female character will the choice for a protagonist for a majority of writers while if it's fantasy-fiction, a male protagonist is the popular choice. Not to be cliche, but I would like to see a book where the girl does not have low self-esteem and where a guy is not the only hero in a war. I'm not saying I haven't read any such books but judging from the majorities, my opinion is that writers need to, crudely speaking, get out of their safe haven and explore new writing horizons and territories. For once. I'd like to read a book and say now THAT is a writer who could match the likes of George R.R. Martin. Although this wasn't meant to be a rant about writers and Young-adult genre writers, it has unconsciously become the dominant theme of this blog entry. Oh and that reminds me if you ever see Shiver  by Maggie Stiefvater then stay AWAY from that book because the only thing good is the cover and unless all the books on Earth were destroyed and it was the only book left, I would NOT suggest reading it. Although in that case, you could probably rewrite Harry Potter (if you're a Potterhead who has memorized every line) and take the credit for saving Sirius Black, Lupin,  Moody, Tonks, Fred and Dobby.

Until then,
Happy reading and may your swords stay ever sharp.

Note: if you're a Sherlock fan and are still suffering  then I would suggest you read Sir, Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock series because there is still some time till series 3 and there's only so many times we can watch it. Or is there?

*Ordinary minds, hmph.*

V

       I got all my hiking gear ready. It didn't take me much time, and by the time I was done, Lexie was already there. I quickly told her about my plans, and she agreed to join me, just as I hoped she would.
"I cannot believe you had such a brain wave," she exclaimed.
"Oh, shut up, we both know I'm a genius," I replied, laughing.
"This is going to be so exciting," she said, not taking notice of what I just said.
"I know right. I always wanted to go on a road trip," I replied back. 
       I was cosily propped on my favorite armchair, while Lexie was on the other armchair. I had bought a pair of  brown leather home-theater recliner armchairs when I shifted into this apartment. I've always had a thing for cosy armchairs; I instantly fell in love when I saw them in a thrift store last summer.
"So are you done with packing and stuff?," Lexie asked.
"Yeah I'm all set to go. You should start packing too, we won't really have much time tomorrow."
"Yeah, you're right, I will as soon as I go home. What time will the bus leave anyway?"
"It leaves at six, so we should be ready by five fifteen."
"Mm, alright, don't worry I won't be late. Besides, I'm not the one who delays every task to the last minute and ends up in a mess she herself creates," she said cockily grinning.
I just gave her a dry look, which made her grin even wider. She loved annoying me because, apparently, I was pretty 'amusing' when I was in a bad mood.
"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing," I quoted smugly.
"Oh not with the quotes again, you know they're just words said by people that became famous because the people who said them became famous."
I just gave her another dry look. I wasn't really in the mood of an argument right now, so instead of arguing, I changed the subject.
“You sure you in Lex?,” I asked again It would not do to have her cancelling up on the last minute, not that she would, but she most certainly was a very double minded person.

“Obviously! do you honestly think I’m going to miss a trip like that, a trip that could potentially change my life?” said Lexie, her tone instantly serious.
“Did you read The alchemist again?” I asked her, already knowing he answer.
“Yeah, but that's not the point, the point is...”
But I cut her off again, “The point is that till last week you were all about pale emo guys and twilight, and the week before that it was more about tanned Asians when you read the kite runner and before that weren't you all about elves?” I said laughing.
She gave me an annoyed look.
“Stop being so wise.”
“I'm not being wise, you just need better vocabulary,” I replied smugly, knowing that I was right. She shook her head slightly, giving me a very dry look
“So have you decided what clothes you're going to bring?” I asked, casually changing the topic.
“Hmm? not really, I guess I'll decide when I go home…” she replied glancing at the wall clock above the sofa, “…which reminds me, I should be going by now. It’s getting late, and I need to get loads done if I’m to get ready on time,” she continued as she got up.
“Don’t forget to set your alarm clock to..” but she interrupted me saying “to four thirty, I know. It won’t take me long to get ready Alex” she replied grinning, as I opened the door for her. We hugged each other, and she left the house, walking confidently to her car,  waving at me as she drove off; her car's exhilarating speed, making sure she left in a blur.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
End of chapter 1


Yeah I know, took me long enough. But I finally did it! I finally got a brainwave and I completed the chapter.
I'd love to read your comments on how its going so far or rather, how it is.


Thank you! and happy reading. :)