Sunday Swoons

Sunday Swoons is here again and...well...just as grand as ever I suppose. You'll have to bear with me this week, I'm more than a little brain dead, but hear it goes anyways!

This weeks theme is: Romance Pet Peeves (That Happen All The Time in Cookie Cutter YA)

The Friend Zone

Oh the horrors of the friendzone. I'm so sorry for anyone who has experienced this in real life. That's a shame. In books, this happens all too often. If there is a best guy friend it is an immediate given that there has to be something going on there, and so they are thrown haphazardly into the cold cold depths of the friendzone, because we wouldn't want them to be too involved, would we? Besides, he's like a brother to her! Them being a couple, that would just be too weird! Right? 

Wrong! Why is it not ok for them to be bestfriends and boyfriend and girlfriend? That's what all the best relationships are made of and built upon! Also, why does he have to be involved romantically with her at all? Why can't they just be bestfriends, neither one friendzoned, and neither one interested in the other like that? That does happen in life. People can just be friends!

"Quadrangles," Love Triangles Gone Wrong, Ect.

I don't care if it is because you couldn't make up your mind when you wrote it or if it is because you just wanted everyone to get a chance at love; if the multi-person love relationship thing in your book doesn't vastly improve and advance the story, whatever other reason you may have had for writing it that way is not a good enough one. All too often love triangles, "Quadrangles" and other similar situations ruin an entire story because the story becomes about that tangles group of relationships and emotions rather than what the story was originally supposed to be about and it takes away from the entire book, not to mention the fact that these situations don't happen all the time in real life, so the rareness and unrealistic-ness of it is a turn off for readers. 

The Idea that He/She is Out of My League

I'm planning another more in depth post about this one, because it is actually a complex topic. It is a common belief in life and it happens frequently in our fiction so at least we can say it's realistic. In every cookie-cutter YA book there almost always comes a time when the guy or the girl in the relation ship comes to the decision that their "other half" is "out of their league" or begins to question if they are good enough for their love interest, or rather than something so profound as that, they begin to wonder at how much hotter their significant other is than themselves which leads to an inevitable line of dark musings and questionings. That's always fun to listen to! If it's not the person in the relation ship that feels this at some point in time, it's a nearby and very attractive (usually female) character. Whether it is through a look that is then interpreted by the main character to mean "there is no way that person is with you they are way hotter than you/ too hot for you/ out of your league, oh and totally in mine," or they actually comment something to that effect, they some how bring that doubt into the equation. I think this idea is silly and that it is horrible that it exists in life and in media because people are self conscious and nervous enough in relationships without opening that door. Also, not every relationship has a point where someone in it feels that way, or that someone outside of that relationship comments about leagues. I'm dying for someone who'll admit their beau is hot as hades and not feel intimidated by that and doesn't worry about leagues because they know that their loved one chose to be with them. 

I have many many more pet peeves that would fit into this category, but it's late, I'm brain dead, tired, and I'm planning a bunch of "Let's Rant About..." discussion posts that cover a lot of these topics and I don't want to repeat myself too much (though I will a little bit. Sorry!)! 

What are some of your relationship pet peeves in books (cookie cutter YA or not)? What should we talk about next week? Are you ready to get your discussion pants on?