Agent Questions Volume Twelve: 30 Tropes To Be Aware Of When Writing YA

Question: I write YA. How do I know what to steer away from?

Answer: The following YA tropes

The Brooding loner that no girl can resist OR perfectly handsome
Protagonist full of angst
Rebellious princesses- or clumsy princesses with weapons skills that beat the evil master.
Inauthentic dialogue- overdoing slang, dumbing-down, including trends, preaching moral lessons
Overly odd character names
One dimensional BFF
Purely evil villains with no motive.
Surprise royalty or powers
Love triangles
Trilogies
Insta-love
Life changing kisses
People are killed for not conforming
Soul mates without a choice
The only makeup the girl wears is lip balm
Over elaborate plot with a life changing mission
Characters built on quirks/stereotypes
Beautiful girl who thinks she ugly until some angsty boy tells her how beautiful she is- now she can do anything!!
The chosen one- you are the only teen on earth capable of outwitting a league of demons
Strong female protagonist who hates all girly stuff i.e. clothes, crying, makeup, girly actions, she’s a total tomboy with combat skills
The head cheerleader- she used to be the protagonist’s BFF and one incident in the past turned her into a diva and they lost touch
Omniscient government that controls everyone
Super rich teenagers with race cars and live alone in mansions
Best guy friend ends up being Romeo all along
NO parents- dead parents (Orphan protagonist), abusive parents (protagonist in foster care), negligent or oblivious parents (protagonist runs around with absentee parents, no curfew, no one to call if they leave town).
Mary Sue/Gary Stu- protagonist has high standards, tries to do the right thing, villain endangers their loved ones, they sacrifice themselves to save everyone, won’t intentionally kill, won’t choose one life over another, won’t let someone harm themselves, won’t leave anyone behind, thinks villain is likewise honest.
Hero’s journey- hero realization, explaining mentor, adventure road trip with 3 trials/terrors, face-off, hero wins
Unqualified teen protagonist succeeding over qualified adults
Hero refuses to fight in an uncomfortable world, intervention by mentor changes their mind, they overcome fear, hero faces the ordeal, gets ready to fight (weapons training), wins the reward (love), there is chase scene on the road back home, hero saves the day.
Hero wins via a magical talisman