Introduction

Young Adult Prompts Gone Wild is a collection of all the things wrong with the current verbiage that passes as Young Adult literature. Each trope in this genre has a corresponding anti-trope, which shows the ridiculousness of the trope in the first place. The book is relatively short, but it is delightful.

What is Good

The book starts with the author suggesting a couple of different ways to use the book. One is a party game where the participants pick a page at random and come up with a situation based on the anti-trope in it. The other is to read it on its own, like a magazine without regard for structure. I can see both approaches working well since each of the prompts is so well-written and thought out. 

 I am not a big fan of the Young Adult genre after overdosing on it a few years back. I thought I had identified most of the tropes - a love triangle, the chosen one, the introvert hero and others. But when I read this book, I had an epiphany of sorts. I didn't realise that there were so many things that slipped past my attention in this genre. The author, Aaron Barry, has done his research quite well. He has identified not only the standard patterns, but he has also put down specific examples from the famous works.

What Could Be Better

I cannot think of anything that can be changed to make this book better. It hits all the right spots in terms of humour, length and pacing.

Concluding Thoughts

Young Adult Prompts Gone Wilds is thoroughly enjoyable, especially for people who have read plenty of Young Adult fiction. I had a blast reading it and will be reading more books from this author.