Storylines!

So many books today are SO predictable. Here are a few patterns…

• Girl and another girl are BFFs. One becomes popular and ditches the other girl. Other girl suddenly “realizes” her identity. The end.
• Boy likes girl. Boy gets girl. Vice versa. The end.
• A boy and girl are friends. They go out. Or one likes a different person but realizes their friend is perfect for them. The end.
• Mean girl or boy. Underdog overcomes mean kid and makes him/her nice. The end.
• Popular kid realizes how mean she is and redoes her life. The end.

BORING.

Well, mostly.

Actually, the ones with twists and turns aren’t that bad. Like I read this book where the popular girl got braces and glasses AND had an on and off thing with her friends AND undergoes plot 3. It’s called How To Rock Braces and Glasses.

And NO, I don’t mean the movie. Heck, I hate it when people take perfectly good stories and model MOVIES out of them. They always, always manage to screw up the details of the book.

Here are some “different” storylines for you guys to look at…

Fallout (I know, Fallout Boys, ha ha.) by Todd Strasser is about a boy whose neighborhood is in the threat of a nuclear bombing (war, whatev), yet his father is the only one who actually builds a bomb shelter. And when the war actually HAPPENS, guess who the neighbors flock to after insulting and laughing at! Scott’s dad. And, despite a whole lotta effort, a bunch of people make it in the bomb shelter, one even daring to try and kick Scott’s half dead mom out. Ouch.

The Summer I Saved The World in 65 Days by Michelle Helen Hurwitz should actually be called The Summer I Saved My Neighborhood In 65 Good Deeds ’cause that’s what it’s about: Nina Ross helping even the superstitious, nervous, and doubtful with acts of kindness. Although, like glasses and braces gal back there, it does rest a little on the predictable plots, just with a more interesting twist.

Actually, now that I think about it, boring books are predictable and the good ones depend on unusual plots AND the usual ones, too.