As TvTropes will be quick to inform you - not all tropes are bad. This is due in part to our differing opinions on what we like and dislike to see in a narrative, and in part to the fact that absolutely everything is considered a trope nowadays. A Lawful Good protagonist - trope. An ambiguous protagonist - trope. A supervillain mastermind protagonist - also a trope. A protagonist Just Like Us™ who finds him/herself in over his/her head? You guessed it - trope.

 So in this overwhelmingly trope-y world where so many storytelling devices have been recognized, it's impossible not to actually harbor a (not so) secret fondness for some tropes - and to shamelessly seek them out in the books we choose to pick up.

 You know you have them. And these are ours.



1. Friendship squads
Picked by: Lexie

As a reader, I like nothing best than being mindlessly tortured. You know what it's like - it's not enough to just like a book and marvel at its complexities and intricacies. Rather, I like to actually suffer once a book is over and resort to re-reads and panegyrics on its behalf and miss its characters like I would actual friends if they abandoned me. And this is hands-down the easiest with the books that feature friendship squads.

 They band together to fight, or wreak havoc, or cause mayhem. From time to time, they also band together to have ice-cream and party. They're all a little bit in love with one another, and they're fiercely loyal, protective and trustworthy - but only with each other. When they fight, they shatter hearts (and sometimes buildings).

As seen in: Six of Crows, The Raven Cycle, The Unexpected Everything

2. Bad-ass female characters
Picked by: Natalie

You can't deny that reading about a strong, badass female is the best thing ever. Meeting, becoming and stepping into the shoes of a tough girl who suffers no fools makes a book so much more interesting. No longer do we want to read those girls who rely on a man, we want those girls who have to save their sorry behinds, showing who the real boss is and not having a hair out of place while doing it. And if they do? They certainly don't care. They got the job done.

 As seen in:  Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, The Murder Complex.


3. Grey and gray morality
Picked by: Lexie

 If you are at all frequent around these parts, you'll have seen this one coming. To the newcomers - welcome aboard! We play in the morally-gray areas here. The bad side kind of has a point, and the good side has its problems. The villains are sassy and the good guys are morally ambiguous, and absolutely everyone is some kind of gray.

 Most prominently - the anti-hero. (Who, in these stories, nearly always takes the cake. Any cake. Every cake. Pick a cake - but be quick about it, or the anti-hero has taken it.)

 The end justifies the means for most - it's just the nature of said end that diverges... slightly. The bad guys want chaos and mayhem. The good guys want contained chaos and mayhem. And oftentimes it's anyone's guess as to which guys are the former, and which the latter. Let the morally-questionable actions begin!

 As seen in: The Song of Ice And Fire, Vicious, This Savage Song

4. Cheesy HEA endings (Happily Ever Afters)
Picked by: Natalie

Not going to lie, I love a happy ending. Whether it's cheesy or even kind of unrealistic and predictable, I want the characters to live the life they wanted in the end. It's also important to me that the character who has been through so much deserves to have the happy ending with a partner and children. Why not? Let them have the life they've suffered for and have the 9-5 routine. Haven't they been through enough?

 P.S. I am also an eternal defender of the Harry Potter epilogue. Cheesy or not, let Harry be happy!

 As seen in: Anna and the French Kiss, Thoughtless, Slammed.

5. Unreliable narrators
Picked by: Lexie

 It's just a lot more fun when a protagonist is lying to you. (What, that's just me?) Whether the protagonist has amnesia/hallucinations/a mental disorder, or whether they're outright lying to amuse themselves and take the reader for a ride, unreliable narrators guarantee that said ride will be chockful of twists and turns.

 As seen in: The Mara Dyer trilogy, Made You Up, We Were Liars

6. Love/hate relationships
Picked by: Natalie

 We all know these kind of relationships in books. The characters constantly argue to hide their true feelings, even though it's 100% obvious how they feel. Aren't those the best kind to read about? We're kept on our toes, as are the characters, and the banter and flirty chat is always so entertaining to read. It's also the question of 'will they, won't they?'. And often it's the opposite of instalove, which we all dislike with a passion. Keep writing these!

 As seen in: Throne of Glass, Obsidian, The DUFF.

7. Pets! Dragons! Magical creatures!
Picked by: Lexie

As a general rule of thumb, you either like fictional pets, or you're a soulless demon who rose from the pits of Tartarus. (Possibly there's a third option, but hey. We never promised to be unbiased. Except when we did. But we're ignoring that now.) I am both an avid pet-lover and a former Tartarus-dweller, so it all works out well for me.

 Why more authors refuse to add pets and magical creatures to their stories is probably closely related to the (in)famous Absent Parent(s) trope, rampant in YA. It's difficult to add a snuggly little furball into a chaotic, dramatic, oftentimes warring world and have them live through it all. (Because if you happen to introduce a lovable pet and then kill them down the line, there's no either-or: you are a soulless demon from the pits of Tartarus, and - dishonor on you, dishonor on your cow. You know the drill.)

 But that is no excuse, dear authors. Because in a world where tiny, vulnerable pets run a high risk of death, dragons, wyverns, and blast-ended skrewts don't. So pets are always possible, and always appreciated, and they'll buy all kinds of goodwill with us.

 As seen in: The Scorpio Races, Harry Potter, Throne of Glass

8. Comic relief sidekicks
Picked by: Natalie
A lot of the time, the protagonist has a best friend who is the one always cracking the jokes. I, for one, never have a problem with this. They're there to lighten the mood and to give us a rest from the constant negative attitude from the main character and story, which is definitely what we need at times. Not only that, but a lot of the time, the sidekick ends up becoming an underdog and secret badass who in the end does something that is incredibly helpful to the good side winning in the end. We all love humour and the lovable sidekick, so I'm absolutely fine with them in every book.

 As seen in: Shatter Me, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Gallagher Girls

9. Role reversal
Picked by: Lexie

 Prince-Charming-turned-Big-Bad. Villain-turned-awkward-friend. Enemies-turned-lovers. Lovers-turned-enemies. Contract-killer-with-a-redemption-arc. A-mentor-or-sidekick-with-a-dark-twist. Basically, any sort of role reversal qualifies.

 In the case of epic betrayal (usually a 'good' character revealing to have been working with the dark side due to all their fabulous cookies), this trope comes with an added bonus of a plot twist. In the case of a character from the wrong side of the conflict slowly turning over a new leaf, meanwhile, it's incredibly endearing to watch them struggle (and sometimes fail) to appeal to the good guys. 

 This trope plays well with the morally-gray trope, and for that it gets an extra dark-side-cookie.

 As seen in: A Court of Thorns and Roses, Lord of the Rings, Shadow and Bone

10. Yet another trilogy
Picked by: Natalie

 See, this I don't mind. If it's done right. We all hate it when they try and drag out three books out of a short story, but it's only good if there is story to fill it all. There is nothing worse than finishing book one and saying to yourself 'um, the story is done?' but that's not always the case. Finding those series that are so jam-packed full of thrilling adventure and excitement, and finishing the first book remembering that there are two more books to go: yes! The more story, the better. We're not ready to leave the characters just yet!

 As seen in: Unearthly, A Court of Thorns and Roses, Angelfall





Embrace the trope! Love the trope! Everything has been deemed a trope anyway, so you have no choice. (And if you feel let down by humanity for this, please welcome yourself to one of the tropes listed above for an idea as to what to do about it.)

 Or, even better, let us know what your favorite tropes are in the comments below (and which books correspond to them)! We're always looking for more to channel in our reading and our writing lives.