#cause idk for sure but one of my fav wattpad authors recced it and im like

[crossthread]

Hot take? Unpopular take?? Imma try to get somewhere with this point but like. I really think reading fanfiction inherently increased my standards for literature.

Cause for a while now I've only solely read fics in the past few years, like probably finished like two published books a year maybe (even though if I count my fic reads I'd easily be in the 100s from word count alone) and like. Recently got into the YA side of booktok, tried reading several of the most popular ones cause i kinda miss published books, and I just. side eye that shit?? Best example is ACOTAR. Read like 4 books in that series. Kinda get why it's popular cause the overall the main plot points (hot romance and kinda Mary sue protag) are good enough to get you into it but like. I genuinely had to force myself to finish it?? I have no idea why this is so popular.

Cause literally when I hold the ACOTAR up to my top 20 fics. Nothing. Not even my top 50 fics. Cause first off the plot is good enough but it's not something I've never seen before either. Same with characters. The writing style?? Straight up nope. Like. Is this really the standards for a good story?? There's so many good authors that write excellent smut and plot and characterization and just FANTASTIC writing style and overall quality of work and just. I don't get it.

I'm assuming this is a me thing, because I tried going through several YA novels and just. The quality of writing reeeally leaves a lot to be desired. The best thing I can come up with for the reason behind me feeling like this about YA is that the last time I was reading insanely, I was a teen, and now I'm in my early 20s so there's a good possibility that the same things don't intrest me anymore. But I keep circling back to the level of writing cause like. Idk. Just. I feel like while the plot and characters for a lot of these novels are good, what falls short is how it's written??? Like wtf.

#someone tell me im not crazy #im aware im not articulating myself very well here #which is cause my brain is fried atm #a lot of YA rn is kinda shit #wtf #i dont get it #i think they are ya #idk whats the difference between YA and normal books tbh #imma try my hand at a few others like assassins apprentice and priory of the orange tree #cause idk for sure but one of my fav wattpad authors recced it and im like #inclined to trust her tastes #but anyway #the point im trying to make is #a lot of the YA thats in the market rn would be absolutely TRAMPLED by a lot of my favorite fics #like is this really the bar rn?? #i like books that are flowy and narrative and soft #best example is #hm #t j klune #wolfsong #i remember having good vibes #and a few of the other books #anyway my point is i kinda hate a lot of the popular authors rn #booktok #books #ya books #fanfiction #ao3 #fics #romance books