Anyway.
Recently, a new Sarah Dessen novel has come out. Ever since reading Just Listen (quality book--I definitely recommend it), I've been following her new releases like a kid waiting for dessert. I enjoyed reading as a child, but no book in my mind could bring the same thrill as Dessen's words could--not even the Clique series (which brought about the wretched time, when, every time I thought something was cool, I called it ah. mazing.). I read and re-read The Truth About Forever about a billion times, even though it's pretty easy to catch on that the truth about forever is that *gasp* it lasts a really, really long time.
So, last time a new Dessen novel appeared, it was 2009. Enter 2013, when The Moon and More comes out. I didn't exactly rush to the bookstore (well, I did, but that was to buy $70 worth of other books). I suppose this could be "book breakups, part II" because I've noticed the un-flattering truth about YA novels: they follow a rather specific formula.
Sarah Dessen, for instance, follows this plot: Girl comes from broken family. Girl moves around a lot. Girl feels out of place and insecure. Girl has academically pressuring parent(s). Girl gets job, girl meets reclusive yet socially smooth boy. Girl has talk with self that she shouldn't fall for boy. Girl falls for boy anyway. Girl has grand epiphany about self.
And with that, I had to admit the inevitable: Yes, John Green follows a formula. He does so with more literary merit, symbolism, and round characters, but there are obvious patterns amongst his characters. Oftentimes, his main character is a nerdy and quirky boy who has a small yet vivacious group of friends. This boy falls for a pretentious/adventurous girl who makes him take risks he wouldn't otherwise take. That being said, The Fault in Our Stars was the definite outlier. But once you create a character, it's easy to stick to that comfortable voice.
But we see this outside of the YA world as well. Even as writers found their voice and differ in plot, the characterization and voice is often similar. I look forward to reading Daniel Handler because I know he will feature somewhat isolated characters and some sarcastically witty observations about the world. Anne Lamott's hysterical descriptions about a dismal fate bring me back to her memoirs. I don't want to read the same thing, but at the same time, if a writer drastically changed her voice, I would feel deterred, betrayed even.
What do you guys think? Does the formulaic characterization/plot bother you? Or would a drastic shift in book-type keep you from enjoying a certain author?
Namaste.
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