Happy Thursday, everyone! Welcome to this week’s Thursday Discussion. Essentially, this is a biweekly meme where you write a post based on the prompt for that week. The post can be as long or as short as you want, and you can talk about as much or as little as you want. Visit this page for the upcoming topics! It happens every other week, and I generally post the topics a month(ish) in advance.
This week the topic is books with tropes you dislike that you still enjoy. Honestly, I don’t mind tropes. They’re there for a reason: they make media interesting. But, there are some tropes I like more than others, and some tropes I dislike (shameless plug: I did a post a little while ago judging different tropes in fantasy novels, go check it out!).
Every Day by David Levithan, insta-love: I think Every Day is the epitome of this trope. Yet, despite all it’s flaws, I love it. Sorry.
Harry Potter by JK Rowling, the chosen one: I feel like Harry Potter is the most obvious modern example of the chosen one. Harry is literally referred to as the Chosen One lmao. BUT I still love it and it’s one of my favourite series ever.
Beastly by Alex Flinn, ~not like other girls~: generally, the not like other girls trope is a deal breaker for me. However, in this book, I don’t think Lindy herself ever perpetuates it. The love interest views her as ~not like other girls~ because she’s different from the girls he’s used to, but (as far as I remember) Lindy never makes the distinction.
The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchinson, the “really strong character doesn’t cry until someone shows a display of love towards them” trope: you know the one. I hate it, and I hated it in this book. But I loved the rest of the book, so it didn’t bother me too much.
So those are some books with tropes I dislike that I still enjoy. Have you read any of these? What were your thoughts? Are there any books with tropes you dislike that you still enjoy? Let me know!
Ally xx
Ally Writes Things 
I usually hate the insta-love trope, too! I’m okay with it in Cinderella retellings, though, since that seems to be a required part of the source material. 😉
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I feel like insta-love is pretty much a requirement for Cinderella, so it gets a pass in those stories haha
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Exactly! But if insta-love isn’t required for the fairy tale plot, I really don’t like it.
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I haven’t read Every Day (though I really want to!) and I’m really not a fan of insta-love, haha, but I can definitely get over it when the story is good. Especially since it usually happens in the beginning of the novel so it’s easier to forget it ever happened while I read.
I didn’t mind about the chosen one at all in HP, because it was pretty much the first book I read with this trope. (The HP series were pretty much the first books I read, period, and in my heart they are perfection.) So for me, everything I read post-potter that included the-chosen-one trope was just copying Harry Potter, haha, I didn’t even realize it was a trope until recently XD.
I don’t mind the not-like-other-girl one, but only when the girl REALLY is different! I hate it when the character is absolutely normal and for some reason the really hot guy is like: you’re so different! (Though, that’s a little bit what happens in Twilight and for some reason I devoured those books, haha)
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Ooooh I hope you enjoy Every Day when you get to it! And same, tbh, I usually forget that it was insta-love by the time I’ve finished a book lol.
Okay SAME about Harry Potter. Any book with the chosen one trope is just Harry Potter in disguise in my mind!
YES! If the girl *actually* is different, then it’s totally fine! But I feel like in a lot of YA books, the girl is totally normal, and she (or someone else) is like “wow, so edgy and cool and different”
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This is a cool thing to think about— as sometimes tropes you don’t necessarily like can still be written well where you don’t mind it!!
Yep I don’t like insta-love either but I have never read every day so maybe I would like it as well.
Harry Potter is definitely what I think about when I think of the chosen one but I agree it is done well– I like how it is handled and I love the stories so much!!
I don’t like ‘not like other girls’ tropes either– it just makes me want to eye roll but I’m glad it was okay in this book for you.
Great post!! 🙂
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Thank you! 💖 Exactly! Tropes aren’t inherently good or bad, they’re just executed well or poorly.
So glad you agree! I really enjoy Every Day, but it’s also not for everyone!
Same about Harry Potter! I love everything about the series, tbh, so I don’t mind it!
And so glad you agree again! I feel like it’s getting better, and fewer books are using the trope, though!
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Yes so true!!!
I agree I think you’re not like other girls is less common now which I can glad about 😂
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I hate love triangles, but there was kind of one in The Hating Game and I loved it SO MUCH!! Great post idea!!
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Thank you! I’m the same about love triangles usually, but they can be done really well sometimes!
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