What Makes a Good Book

Happy Thursday everyone!

Let's start off with a small chit-chat. I am almost done with Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas, with 15% of the book left to read. I am loving it so expect a positive review to come out by next week! Everyone is a different type of reader with different preferences and ideas. When it comes to YA books, I believe I am pretty lax in judging them, but there are certain traits or story telling skills that make certain books better than others. Here are some things that I believe makes a good YA book for me. Remember! Everyone has different tastes.

1. When the protagonist is not perfect right off the bat.

One of the things I do when I read books is to put myself into their world. When I read about a character that is so perfect it is hard to relate to them. When a character is struggling or doing an impossible task, it makes me cheer for them and root for them. I'm INVESTED in that character and their development. I love them more for trying rather than succeeding.  

2. Having a bit of humor in your story.

Laughing is a wonderful thing. I think every YA book should have a bit of humor. Characters shouldn't be so serious and brooding all the time. Specially with characters mostly aging from 15-25. Do you not remember the types of jokes people said when you were in high school? Sure, they're young adults that are trying to save the world, town, or someone's life, but that doesn't mean they're stagnant in their emotions 24/7 either. 

3. A concrete story line.

One annoying thing that I hate in YA books is the useless filler chapters authors write. If that event adds nothing to the story or character development, why bother adding it? Authors should not write words for the sake of having a longer book. 

4. Supporting characters are alive, lovable, and not stagnant.

I understand that the main character is the one that everyone has their eyes on but give supporting characters some love too! Give them a small story, give them struggles to conquer, and give them something for everyone to love. Let me know why X character is important to the protagonist. Why is Y character willing to risk their life for this mission, cause, adventure? What makes Z not perfect and what is Z going to do along with protagonist to change that?

5. Give the protagonist a skill or talent.

This mostly pertains to fantasy/ sci-fi YA books. If your main character is set in a world where there are fire breathing beasts or robots that can blow your head off and your MC is just a high school girl that's "AVERAGE" in looks, skills, and brains, there's something wrong with that picture. I'm not saying every character should have magic but give them a skill or talent. What can your protagonist do against X situation? Can they burn an entire army to the ground? Are they useful with their hands and brains to get out of this sticky situation? Don't leave them useless for other support characters to pick up the slack. 

6. Don't repeat things that have been said already.

When an author repeats something multiple times, it annoys me to no end. It is not like we're reading a chapter a year and need to be reminded that X person is this or that. Say it once or twice, but not once or twice in every chapter.

7. Don't give me a cheap answers and endings. Be honest with the situation.

Your characters are in a war and no one dies? Sure, the non - named character died, but no one in your core group suffered? They're not gods, people die in war all the time, from friends, husbands, daughters and brothers. Your protagonist is painfully average in her looks, intelligence, and is SUPER shy, but all the guys are in love with her? Did I missed something in high school because I was all those things and didn't have an army of suitors LOL. X character met Y character about 2 days ago and now X character believes Y is THE ONE. Please. You don't even know how that person takes their coffee. 

That is all everyone! This post was inspired by my best friend. We were talking about things we hated and love in books. I know everyone has different tastes so some of the things I said above you might not agree with. That's okay! What are some things that makes a book great to you? What are somethings you wish authors avoided? Let me know in the comments below :D