Let’s face it, there are a MASSIVE number of YA speculative fiction novels. Speculative fiction is any story that takes an impossible premise and keeps asking “What if?” until you’ve got an entire book. This genre encompasses everything from science fiction to historical revision to the ever so popular dystopian novel. And yet, even with all of this creative freedom many books end up using the same character types, the same plot arcs, and ultimately end up running into the same problems. Here are 7 problems that I have with YA speculative fiction, and how authors can avoid them. (I will be drawing heavily on comparisons between Neal Shusterman’s Scythe and Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows because those are the books I have most recently read. Spoiler alert for both of these books.)
1.) Boring characters
For someone like me who has read a lot of YA (both as a teenager and now as a teacher trying to curate collections of books for teenagers), I care WAY more about the characters than I do about the actual plot. An adventure novel is an adventure novel is an adventure novel– but the characters are what make the thing worth reading.
The two main characters in Scythe are possibly the most boring people I have ever had the misfortune of reading about. I literally cannot think of a personality trait or characteristic that sets them apart from each other– they are essentially male and female version of the same uninteresting person. I would not be able to ask students to do a character analysis of these two characters because there is not enough character to analyze.
Six of Crows has an ensemble cast of six primary characters, with Kaz Brekker being the main character. Ensemble casts are great because they provide multiple interesting personalities and perspectives through which to tell the story. It also ensures that almost every reader will have a character that they identify with or root for above all the others. It also means that that even if there is a character that you don’t like (*cough cough* Matthias) you won’t have to spend that much time with them.
2. ) Underdeveloped universe
Six of Crows places itself more in the fantasy/steampunk lane, while Scythe is more of a true dystopia. The world building in Six of Crows creates a layered universe full of distinct people groups, languages, religions, culture, and politics. Each of the main characters serves as a representative of a different group in this world and their interpersonal relationships serve represent larger trends in society. This is a universe fully entrenched in fantasy where magic exists, and yet it couldn’t feel more real.
In contrast, Scythe takes place in America of the distant future where humans have used technology to become immortal. The problem of overpopulation has been solved with legalized murder via Scythe. Now, I am probably not the first one to say this, but for me the leap from overpopulation problem to legalized murder is not the first one I would make. If everyone is immortal, why are people still having kids? Wouldn’t it make more sense to outlaw children? I would’ve been willing to buy into whatever historical events lead everyone to be on board with the Scythedom, but it is never addressed which leaves the universe feeling flat and underdeveloped.
3. ) Bad romance
If a YA novel doesn’t have romance, does it even count as a YA novel? I personally do not have a problem with romantic subplots (as a high schooler, these were my favorite parts of the entire book) provided that they are done well. Aside from being a romantic relationship between two PROFOUNDLY uninteresting people, the romantic arc between Citra and Rowan in throughout the entirety of Scythe is just poorly conceived and completely unnecessary.
Lets compare our leading couple from Scythe to our leading couple from Six of Crows, Nina and Matthias (yes, Inej and Kaz have a moment, but it does not amount to anything, and yes, Wylan and Jesper flirt with each other A LOT, but again, nothing comes of it so I am not counting these). On a character level, Nina and Matthias have a history and they have chemistry. They are witty, enjoyable to read about together, and their feelings for each other are complicated and interesting. Additionally, their relationship is representative of the larger conflict between the Fjerdans and the Grisha– and on a thematic level, the conflict between fear and understanding, hate and openness.
Citra and Rowan know are perfect strangers to one another. After knowing each other for only two months, then being separated for 3-5 months, and then being reunited for under a week, they decide to commit treason on each other’s behalf because…… Rowan thinks she’s hot? Yeah it’s not great.
4. ) Unexciting plot twists
Aaaaaand the butler did it! No but seriously, I am actually going to fault both of these books for having plot twists that were less than stellar (major spoilers are about to happen).
Scythe Faraday faking his own death is presented like this giant twist at the end of the novel. The problem? Not only was this predictable, but it carried no emotional weight. Faraday wasn’t a beloved character. He was stoic, at times confusing, and he wasn’t alive long enough for the reader (or the two main characters honestly) to develop any attachment to him. I think I cared more about him when he was presumed dead– at least his martyr status gave some characters more tangible motivation, he represented a positive ideal more than an actual person, and finding out about his romantic past with Scythe Curie was heavier in the context of in memorium.
Six of Crows has some EXCELLENT plot twists, don’t get me wrong. The problem is that most of these twists hinge on Kaz always knowing more than the reader and the other characters. This is effective a couple of times, but after a while it starts to feel predictable because we are now expecting him to always be one step ahead. The true plot twist would be Kaz finally getting blindsided by someone– except no reader wants that to happen because we’re all rooting for him!
5. ) Violence for the sake of violence
It is no secret that a lot of YA novels, especially in this genre, have a lot of violence. However, violence does not equal suspense, violence does not equal emotion, and violence does not equal character development unless it is utilized effectively.
Scythe is a book about violence; the entire job of a scythe is to kill people. There are so many depictions of murder in this book that is not shocking, it is not horrifying, and it’s not even treated as sociopathically mundane a la Clockwork Orange, it just kind of…. happens. By the time we get to directly witnessing Scythe Goddard’s mass gleanings, we have already been so inundated with the clinical and “merciful” gleanings of Curie and Faraday that all of it blurs together.
Six of Crows is about a group of gang members breaking a drug kingpin out of prison. All types of violence are present and abundant– armed robbery, torture, military combat, sexual slavery, gladiator fights– you name it, this book has got it. But the moral repercussions of engaging in these acts is never understated. There is also a palpable difference between violence in the name of self defense or survival and violence in the name of revenge or greed. The scene where Kaz throws Oomen off the side of the ship gave me actual chills.
6. ) Too many flashbacks
As much as it pains me to say this, Scythe actually does a better job of managing the flashbacks. Especially in the last third of the book, the flashbacks in Six of Crows interrupt the action sequences in a way that is actually frustrating to read. A character will literally have their life hanging in the balance and then everything screeches to a halt in the service of a flashback. Scythe relegates most of its flashback material to the gleaning journal entries included at the end of every chapter. The exposition is still conveyed, but it doesn’t interrupt the flow of the action.
7. ) Unsatisfying Ending
Both of these novels are the first book in a trilogy so obviously not all the loose ends are going to be wrapped up. However, I liked the ending of Six of Crows waaaaaaay better (who is surprised) than Scythe. The conclusion of Six of Crows wraps up the main conflict arc of the book, breaking Bo Yul-bayer out of prison, while introducing new conflicts to be resolved in the next book– Nina’s parem addiction and Inej getting captured. Scythe barely resolves the main conflict of the novel, I guess Citra and Rowan both get to live– no mortal combat necessary, and the conflict of the next book is left pretty unclear since the main antagonist dies. Nothing about the ending of Scythe makes me excited to read the next one; however, I already have Crooked Kingdom on reserve at the library.
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