Average Novels Everywhere

I could read a novel a day as a child.

It didn’t matter what it was about, who told the story or where it was set. As long as there was protagonist with a problem to solve, and preferably a dash of magic somewhere in the mix, I was hooked. I fell into stories more easily than I fell off the monkey, which was impressive, considering my innate clumsiness.

Storytelling was storytelling and it was as simple as that. The semantics didn’t matter.

Now, I struggle to find novels that keep my attention.

The problems that stand in the way come in a wide array. Sometimes, the protagonists are simply annoying. Other time, I like the protagonist, but the antagonist is entirely unbelievable. When the characters all sit well, the plot could still be mind-numbingly slow.

The worst scenario is when the novel starts flawlessly - the protagonist has a clear goal, the antagonist presents a clear problem, the characters are interesting - then tanks in the second half. It happens so often, especially within the young adult market and fantasy genre. It’s like some authors think if the character is seventeen, then it’s automatically believable. Recently, there has been a surge of fantasy novels, all of which are inspired by the success of other high fantasy novels currently. This would be great if everyone had the capacity for worldbuilding that Sarah J. Maas, Leigh Bardugo, and Kristen Cashore. Unfortunately, high fantasy novels take more than a few swords, spells, and witches.

I know how self-righteous I sound. I mean, really, what authority do I have to judge anyone’s novels? I’m an unpublished nineteen year-old college student who often struggles with her own works of literature. This entry could be more indicative of my shrinking attention span than of any author’s failure.

Either way, the point is I miss the childhood ease of reading, but I do love being able to identify crisp writing.

I guess that’s what growing up is all about - trading off ease for excellence.