Bring Back Men… In Books

Welcome Back to to Hot Takes with Alivia Starting 2025 real strong.

I’m a book junkie.

 I know, I know, such a shocker.  Such a jumpscare.

 But reading and writing go hand in hand like peanut butter and jelly. 

Yin and yang. 

Can’t have one without the other. 

Reading fuels how I write. It also fuels my self-depricating inner monologue that runs on a hamster wheel  24/7. 

But as an AVID book lover, I have a bone to pick with YA books and Authors. 

What on god’s green earth happened to boy main characters?!  I feel like they got wiped out by an asteroid. 

Every book I pick up in the YA Fantasy section is about a girl who has to save the world, save the kingdom, and fall in love all at the same time while using whatever powers they have. 

Enough, I say. Enough.  

Whoever is controlling the YA Fantasy authors- maybe ya’ll sit on a council, I don’t know- Hear my earnest plea. 

Bring back a few men. (Only a few, not an army) 

Now, why is Alivia barking up this tree? (My Dear reader, thank you for asking.) 

Because I re-read the entire Percy Jackson series over Christmas break, and I mean about 12 books. And no, I’m not embellishing that number. And yes, I know it's a kids' book- But by golly, that is an excellent book series. It’s a cold glass of water with lemon and lime in Utah’s heat. 

It’s Refreshing. 

Why?

Because Percy has “boy brain”.

Remember how I mentioned my mind is always throwing words around and spinning on a hamster wheel? Well, for the most part, boys’ brains don’t do that. ( Trust me. I have three brothers, I know. )

And sometimes this girl’s brain wants to escape the phenomenon and step into the boy brain. 

Now here is my disclaimer: I am not against girl main characters. YA has so many girl main characters because there are tons of amazing women authors in this genre. (Keep kicking butt.)

However, like action movies, we now have an imbalance. Not enough representation. Too many “Tom Cruises”. 

And I’m only saying in this certain genre. I’m sure in Adult, Sci-Fi, historical fiction, etc., it's more balanced. But YA, it’s just not. 

Reading is all about expanding how you think- stepping into other people's minds and, ok,  entertainment. 

But how is it entertaining if the MC (main character) is the same in every single book? How are you growing? 

The answer is: you are not. 

People need differences of opinion and a heartfelt story with character arcs. Not just powers and romance. (Please stop making romance more important than the world ending.) 

Readers yearn to meet and understand people who think differently, feel differently, and describe the world around them differently. 

So, the council of YA authors- yeah, we are going with that- hear my plea: please write stories from the other side of the fence. And make that other side of the fence hot with biceps, but doesn’t know it, with a side of yearning. 

Yours truly, a concerned reader and major fan of YA.

PS. Please stop making crazy romance scenes and marking it as young adult- move them over to adult. #bringbackclean books xoxo

Until next time,