Sheri's Thoughts:
When it comes to contemporary YA, any of the following themes or topics might persuade me to read a different book: Rape, the death of a parent or close friend, ill-fated love, terminal illness, and setting the story during a war or military conflict.
Pam's Thoughts:
Similar to Sheri, when it comes to contemporary YA, I usually like it light and happy and I will stay away from the following topics if they are the focus of the novel:
(1) Rape
(2) Death or terminal illness
(3) Drug addiction
(4) Damaged characters or damaging experiences in general
(5) If I can tell from the summary that it will not end happy
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.
I totally agree, I don't like those serious stuff in books too, it just makes me depressed!
ReplyDeleteMy TTT:
http://evelinesbooks.blogspot.nl/2013/07/top-ten-tuesday-8.html
If I want to spend hours feeling depressed I would watch the news. Thanks for stopping by! ~Sheri
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DeleteI also avoid books that don't sound like there's going to be a HEA. I NEED that HEA. I've abandoned series halfway through because I could tell it wasn't going to end happily in the end (Evernight and Nightshade are two).
ReplyDeleteTTT @ Krista's Dust Jacket
This is why I read fiction! ~Pam
DeleteTerminal illness isn't a dealbreaker for me. I liked The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and Slammed by Colleen Hoover (but that wasn't the main character but still influenced the story).
ReplyDeleteAnd paranormal... I'm so in love with vampires, demons, anything that goes bump in the night. I don't even know why. I think it's because I love the idea of soulmates. But I don't really think that that works for me with regards to reality. I don't want people who just meet to be instaloved up. But when it's paranormal and dependant on mystical mythical forces... I allow it. And it lets me believe in all that... garbage? I suppose that I'd hate otherwise.
That said... I hated Twilight.... So maybe I'm just one big contradiction.
Great list!
Kate from whYAnot Reviews
I did like The Fault in Our Stars, but I only read it after I heard how good it was. Normally I would not want to read that. And I agree with you, I'll overlook a lot in paranormal and dystopian books. Almost everything that works in those does not work in contemporary books. ~Pam
DeleteWonderful lists. I don't mind if a book's ending isn't completely HEA; as long as it has a little bit of hope shining through I'm happy. Most of the time, though, I'm heading straight for those HEA's!
ReplyDeleteErin @ YA Book Crush
Yeah, I just love it when I finish a book with a smile on my face. ~Pam
DeleteI ditto the rape! Ugh, I just can't handle it at all!
ReplyDeleteMy area of research in my real life requires me to read more accounts of sexual assault than I would like so I just don't need it in my downtime. Thank you for visiting our blog! ~Sheri
DeleteI'm with you ladies about books that are unhappy and too issue-y. I almost always shy away from books dealing with death/illness and I definitely can't handle rape. Great lists!
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting our blog. Have I already told you how much I love your AVATAR. I know this is probably a really shallow comment to make but it reminds me of how important reading is and continues to be to women! ~Sheri
DeleteBooks about rape are so hard to get through and besides, most of the times they end up victim-blaming or slut-shaming which I hate. I think the only book that I've enjoyed and it had a happy ending and everything was Just Listen by Sarah Dessen. She handled everything so well! But still, at the slight mention of rape I'm like NOPE.
ReplyDeleteThank you for telling me about Just Listen. I will definitely have to check it out and consider it for my classes. It is really hard to find a book that strikes the right tone with this topic. ~Sheri
DeleteI agree with them all. Those themes do not work well for recreational readers.
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by our blog. Loved your top ten list! ~Sheri
DeleteIt's funny, there are a lot of your no topics I will say yes to. :)
ReplyDeleteHere's my TTT!
Jess @ Such A Novel Idea
At first I wasn't that excited about this top ten but I have loved reading people's responses and realizing how many different things we stay away from and how many we all agree need to stay out of YA fiction. ~Sheri
DeleteI agree about death and terminal illness. But dementia/Alzheimer's are a big no-go for me, as well. It's so heartbreaking.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my TTT :)
Chiara @ Books For A Delicate Eternity
Since I also love to cuddle up with my cats while reading I was inclined to like to your choices ~Sheri
DeleteVery serious topics can be off-putting. I wouldn't say that I'd immediately turn away from those topics, but when they're done wrong... not given enough attention or thrown in for plot... then it's too much. If I may ask, why no to Greek mythology? Are you not a fantasy person or is it that too many books lately have involved GM?
ReplyDeleteThe one exception to this general rule is that I enjoyed the Percy Jackson books because they explained who the Gods and Goddesses were and their background stories and significance. I have found that other books often just assume the reader knows the background of the Gods. To be frank I don't enjoy most of the stories of the Gods because they didn't seem like particularly nice people/Gods : )Sheri
DeleteNo one wants to read a book without a happy ending. I can't live with books that don't have happy endings - they haunt me forever.
ReplyDeleteGreat list! (:
My TTT
Its so true about how haunting they can be. I know I can stop reading them but I also can't imagine not finishing the stories. ~Sheri
DeleteHmm, yeah I tend to stay away from more serious and dark topic books... they're just so sad and I usually am reading as a means of getting away. Thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteI steer away from books that mention the deaths of parents in the description, too. Maybe it's because I (fortunately) can't relate? It just isn't a topic that I want to read about.
ReplyDeleteI should have added rape to my list as well. I definitely avoid books with rape in it. just horrible.
ReplyDelete