forum Things You Want MORE Of In Books

Started January 21, 2019 by @evastardust groupRRAAAARRL

tune

Maybe no one being obsessed or clingy in a relationship?

Maybe no one being obsessed or clingy in a relationship?

better.

Or it existing, though not to a terrible extent and then being acknowledged as a bad thing and then perhaps dealt with. Frozen 2

Well, it depends what you mean by "clingy."
If it's healthy but perceived as clingy (ie: constantly saying how much you love your partner, always wanting them around but not being angry or upset when they're not, that sort of thing).
I guess what I'm saying is let men love out loud? But not unhealthy clingy. Been there, seen that, and it's not pretty.

Ooh I love that. We so rarely get to unless it’s with a girlfriend

Well, it depends what you mean by "clingy."
If it's healthy but perceived as clingy (ie: constantly saying how much you love your partner, always wanting them around but not being angry or upset when they're not, that sort of thing).
I guess what I'm saying is let men love out loud? But not unhealthy clingy. Been there, seen that, and it's not pretty.

I guess the sort of clingy where it's just like the women act like they need their boyfriends because they'd be totally helpless with them?

So unhealthy

People who are really kind, who don’t say no to helping people, and not gullible or naive, or anxious. Just. Like really kind people.

Preferably main characters or men bc the Motherly Friend or whatever shouldn’t be the only really nice person

i would not describe my motherly friend characters as "really nice"

More books where race matters that aren’t Race Books. It matters. It’s a pervasive thing. Obviously research if you have no experience but if you’re character is brown and lives in this world, race is definitely something that is thought about a lot. At least based on my experience.
I want characters griping about authority, mocking white people, dark humor (pun intended) etc

-lgbt+ youth that isnt a throw-away side character and is normalized!

-also lesbian/wlw/nblw characters with stories that arent sexual and normalized

-the "mean popular" and "quirky weird outcast" characters. please, just let them have good traits and good lives.

-more aro/ace characters

-more realistic relationships (including friendships)- first off, i like indecisive characters (when it comes to crushes and stuff). yes, there can be overall arc-long love interests, or just some that are for a joke. also, every friend group has its ins-and-outs, and im not talking about cliche mean-person-makes-friends-with-bullied-kids-and-realizes-the-flwas-of-their-ways. im talking about genuinely good people fighting. no friendship/love interest is perfect!

-STOP ROMANTICIZING MENTAL ILLNESS (especially depression and eating disorders; neither are fun, cool or personality traits)

See I like both actual witchcraft based witchcraft too! But I also have fun when they don't and they're just like "eye of newt and tongue of frog, abracadabra" bc it's fun lmao

AGREEE i have a story about witches (more cartoony witches) but i still incorporate my practices (NOT meaning like human/animal/blood sacrifices that is NOT what we do) so just have a healthy balance it makes some really charming characters/magic systems. one webcomic i like that does this super well is unfamiliar :)

unfamiliar- https://tapas.io/episode/429206

I had three things and I forgot one.

I wanna see casual trauma. Not the center of the book. Like a character casually mentioning something about dealing with ptsd from manipulative parents and their friends being aware of it but it’s not a big deal it just is.

Also I wanna see more guys with trauma. And not the sad emo boy/abusive boyfriend way. Or because they fought in a war. Men deal with serious trauma too.

#3 goes here ‘cept I forgot

And something I’ve been thinking about. People do a lotta things. Like yawning. Have you ever seen a yawn that isn’t relevant to the story? That’s bull. Dudes should casually yawn for no reason. And sneeze. Etc.

TRUEEEE like bro pollen exists not everyone is an extreme germophobe/extremely concerned about their friend for sneezing/coughing like nobody irl is like "oh my god are you okay are you sick do you need soup do you wanna go home?" when someone coughs

I'd rather read about the girls getting into physical altercations and throwing punches and stuff instead of just the same old "girl fight" cliche.

(from across a middle school hallway)

GIRL FIGHT GIRL FIGHT GIRL FIGHT FIRL GIGHT GIRLS FIGHTING YOUNG FEMALES HAVING PHYSICAL CONFLICT

(You have Not Lesbians™️ too?)

and they were roommates

See I like both actual witchcraft based witchcraft too! But I also have fun when they don't and they're just like "eye of newt and tongue of frog, abracadabra" bc it's fun lmao

Yes! Just not when they try to take paganism or witchcraft and be like "this is how REAL witches are" and then do stuff that witchcraft…doesn't do *glares at Sweep*
Or like, takes a religion and makes shit up about it *glares at Sweep again because just because wicca sucks doesn't mean you can just make shit up about its history*

See I like both actual witchcraft based witchcraft too! But I also have fun when they don't and they're just like "eye of newt and tongue of frog, abracadabra" bc it's fun lmao

Yes! Just not when they try to take paganism or witchcraft and be like "this is how REAL witches are" and then do stuff that witchcraft…doesn't do *glares at Sweep*
Or like, takes a religion and makes shit up about it *glares at Sweep again because just because wicca sucks doesn't mean you can just make shit up about its history*

tbh i forgot I made that post but yeah exactly! it's ok if you wanna have not real witches, just don't…say that that's how real witches/paganism is
can i ask who Sweep is?

it's a book series that's like "oooOOooO the seven wiccan families and you're one of them so you're a super powerful witch and you can start fires with magic because you're Speshul" even though none of that is how wicca works

(You have Not Lesbians™️ too?)

and they were roommates

Oh my Godddd they were roommatesssss

it's a book series that's like "oooOOooO the seven wiccan families and you're one of them so you're a super powerful witch and you can start fires with magic because you're Speshul" even though none of that is how wicca works

wait wat

Ok here's a few things:

• First kisses that aren't perfect. Most first kisses tend to be a little on the awkward side (or at least that was my experience) but of course their always perfect in books and it's kinda unrealistic.
• I feel like I've said this before, but since it's been a while more autistic characters. I'd especially love to see an autistic character in a story where the story isn't about their autism. I want like some fun, fantasy adventure where the MC just happens to have autism.
• People with wings. Not angels. Just people, but with wings please God.

• I feel like I've said this before, but since it's been a while more autistic characters. I'd especially love to see an autistic character in a story where the story isn't about their autism. I want like some fun, fantasy adventure where the MC just happens to have autism.

It's not out yet, but Stolen City by Elisa A. Bonnin comes out in September and is a YA heist fantasy with an autistic lead. I also thought the autistic rep in The Gilded Wolves was done well (also YA heist fantasy but set in Gilded Age Europe). Otherwise the other good ones I've read have been middle grade

It's not out yet, but Stolen City by Elisa A. Bonnin comes out in September and is a YA heist fantasy with an autistic lead. I also thought the autistic rep in The Gilded Wolves was done well (also YA heist fantasy but set in Gilded Age Europe). Otherwise the other good ones I've read have been middle grade

👀

brb adding these to my tbr.
Literally the only books I've read with autism rep were Gone by Michael Grant, which was problematic af and The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang, which was better but still a little cliched and the story was not really my cup of tea. I've heard some mixed things about the rep in Gilded Wolves but maybe I'll try it anyways.

It's not out yet, but Stolen City by Elisa A. Bonnin comes out in September and is a YA heist fantasy with an autistic lead. I also thought the autistic rep in The Gilded Wolves was done well (also YA heist fantasy but set in Gilded Age Europe). Otherwise the other good ones I've read have been middle grade

👀

brb adding these to my tbr.
Literally the only books I've read with autism rep were Gone by Michael Grant, which was problematic af and The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang, which was better but still a little cliched and the story was not really my cup of tea. I've heard some mixed things about the rep in Gilded Wolves but maybe I'll try it anyways.

I really love The Gilded Wolves but it does kiiinda do the "genius savant" thing with how skilled Zofia is at math. One thing I really loved though is that she gets a love interest and even if her feelings do confuse her a little, she's clearly attracted to him–I feel like whenever autistic characters are in something they're either 1) children or 2) adults who are either dehumanized or infantilized and as a byproduct of that don't get relationships. And even beyond that since obviously romance isn't the end-all be-all, she's valued by the Wolves for more than just her intelligence and shjdsjkg I just really love the characters a whole lot.
I recently read Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen and The Many Mysteries of the Finkel Family, both of which are by Sarah Kapit and I thought they were really well-done. Both MG. Vivy Cohen is told via letters and emails whereas Finkel Family is told in just normal formatting. I related more to Vivy Cohen but I really liked how Finkel Family had two autistic MCs whose autism manifested in different ways–Lara and Caroline are both autistic and Caroline is nonverbal and communicates via a text-to-speech app while Lara is not.

(You have Not Lesbians™️ too?)

and they were roommates

Oh my Godddd they were roommatesssss

:O

Morally complicated abused characters.
Not sad and sweet but not just bitter and cynical
I would love to see a character that is a manipulative person but bc they feel they have to and dislike it

ace/aro
the "good guys" either being morally grey or doing morally grey things

Representation of minorities such as
Gender (Like NB genders)
Sexuality
Aro/Ace pleeeaaassseee (that kinda goes into sexuality but putting it there anyway)
People of color
Deaf/blind
Religion
Body positivity !!!!!
Autistic characters (I've not read many books with an autistic character)
Dyslexic, anxious, depressed
Any mental disorder actually
Physically disabled

There's so many but like here's a small list

Read the webtoon Kiddos it will tear your heart out but it has things like religion disabilities depression people of color and people of LGBTQ and all of them are if you read the title kiddos.

Complicated relationships w bad people like abusers