In light of this post, I decided to tackle the same issue for Fess Up Friday.
Here goes: Do boy protagonists in YA novels interest you more when there's a romantic element in their story? Or do you prefer them dealing with other issues, such as identity/family/evilwarlockfromHades?
Sound off below!
P. S. I dig boy characters, in any way they're presented to me. As long as I care about the boy and about what happens to him, I'll read the whole book. Even if not a single page deals with him falling in love or getting the girl.
Um, well, I'm guilty of needing romance no matter what the gender of the protagonist is. But if the book is from the guy's point of view, I want it to be realistic. And I definitely want it to only be a small part of the book.
ReplyDeleteI still prefer reading YA novels with female protagonists, but my fav of all are dual gender pov books. :D
I haven't read many books w/ dual gender POV, but Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles intrigued me. I'd like to see more of that! Also, I enjoy both gender POVs, but not in all genres. For instance, Dan Brown doesn't do it for me. The first time he went into detail about the stealth airplane, my eyes glazed over (which makes reading really hard).
ReplyDeleteSo the challenge for writers who write from a specific gender POV is to touch on conflicts universal to both genders (love, loss, identity, good vs evil)--IF the intention is to appeal to both.
If not, there's a big market for chicklit. ;-)
Well I thought I'd have something witty and clever to say, but I think you three pretty much summed it up.
ReplyDeleteI like boy protag's if the character is someone I care about
I love me some romance.
I love dual perspectives.
Talk of war games and stealth airplanes and football tactics make my eyes glaze over. :)
I'm with you, Amparo! I prefer action to romance in my YA novels.
ReplyDeleteBut that doesn't mean that I don't like romance! When I'm in a romantic mood I, um, read a romance novel. Haha, I'm embarassed to admit that but it's true! :o)