Sound Off Sunday (1)

Sound Off Sunday is a weekly event hosted by Reading Between Classes.  This is your chance to speak your mind.  Each week will feature a new question or topic on which you can share your thoughts.  This is meant as a jumping off point that you can take in your own direction.  I am going to warn you, these may get ranty and they may get rambly but I kinda started this so I would have a place to do just that.  Feel free to join me by linking below.  This may end up being the blogging equivalent of being last chosen in gym class or eating alone in the cafeteria but *deep breath* here goes nothing:

This week's topic is: Love Triangles

I am so beyond done with love triangles.  They are starting to all feel Twilight-esque to me.  And yes, I know, there were love triangles before Twilight, there will be love triangles well beyond Twilight, but I think the Edward vs Jacob debate rocketed Love Triangles to a whole new level.  People sported Team Edward or Team Jacob t-shirts FFS and what is more surprising than that is that EVERYONE KNEW WHAT THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT!  Whether you read the book or not, you knew exactly what that meant and, if you taught jr high like I did, you heard actual honest-to-goodness DEBATES on the subject.  Personally, I am team Guy Who Almost Hit Bella With A Car.  

But back to the topic at hand.  Love triangles in YA feel selfish to me.  As a young reader I couldn't help but think "I can't find one decent guy to date and this bitch has TWO fighting over her?!"  I also never really trusted the guys motives, I suspected that at least one of them only wanted the heroine because the other guy did and, if he ever got her, would promptly lose interest.  

They are also becoming so commonplace in books and tv shows (Vampire Diaries wasn't satisfied with just having a love triangle, they had to make the guys BROTHERS) that it is almost cliche and is starting to come off as lazy.  Can't seem to write about a relationship where the two characters click on a deep and personal level?  Ok, just throw another dude in the mix and hope nobody notices that there is no emotional connection between ANY of the characters.  

I am also infuriated by the fact that the heroine never picks the guy I want.  How many people know of successful couples who a) met in high school b) fell in love at first sight c) overcame some HUGE obstacle in order to be together?  No one. That's who.  The successful couples are the ones who started as friends first, or have things in common, or are able to communicate on a deep and meaningful level.  And one of the two guys usually has some/all of these traits.  He is the guy who was always quietly there for the heroine.  The one who watched her cry over the bad boy, who dropped everything to be with her when she was upset and held her hair back when she drank too much.  But does that guy ever get picked NOOOOOOOOO.  He gets left behind for Mr.IhaveamotorcycleandaleatherjacketsoImustbeabadass who the heroine KNOWS she shouldn't be with, but goes after anyway.

These love triangles in YA have started to get to a point where it goes on the STOP RIGHT NOW list of words/phrases that I keep for synopsis.  Right up there with "The Next Twilight", "Instant Attraction" and "Feelings that she shouldn't be having for her brother". 

Thank you for joining me on this rant post.  I hope you will sign up with your own Sound Off and join me again next week for a new topic ... which I will come up with ..... eventually.....

Toodles!