Brooding YA Hero by Carrie Ann DiRisio

November 29, 2017     erinthebooknut     Book review

Brooding YA Hero by Carrie Ann DiRisioBrooding YA Hero: Becoming a Main Character (Almost) as Awesome as Me by Carrie Ann DiRisio
Published by Skypony Press on October 17th 2017
Goodreads

Have you ever wished you could receive a little guidance from your favorite book boyfriend? Ever dreamed of being the Chosen One in a YA novel? Want to know all the secrets of surviving the dreaded plot twist?

Or maybe you're just really confused about what "opal-tinted, luminous cerulean orbs" actually are?

Well, popular Twitter personality @broodingYAhero is here to help as he tackles the final frontier in his media dominance: writing a book. Join Broody McHottiepants as he attempts to pen Brooding YA Hero: Becoming a Main Character (Almost) as Awesome as Me, a "self-help" guide (with activities--you always need activities) that lovingly pokes fun at the YA tropes that we roll our eyes at, but secretly love.

As his nefarious ex, Blondie DeMeani, attempts to thwart him at every turn, Broody overcomes to detail, among other topics, how to choose your genre, how to keep your love interest engaged (while maintaining lead character status), his secret formula for guaranteed love triangle success, and how to make sure you secure that sequel, all while keeping his hair perfectly coiffed and never breaking a sweat.

How does something that is so funny and on point on Twitter become so wooden and irritating as this book? Well there’s a simple answer: Broody doesn’t work as long form comedy or criticism.

Yes, we’ve all seen Brooding YA Hero on Twitter. I’m sure you’ve laughed at his tweets or yelled “YES, THIS!” while agreeing with one of his many self criticisms of the trope. So naturally a book version of Broody should be just as funny, maybe even endearing. Wrong.

What works so well as short form comedy on a quick thought platform like Twitter does NOT work nearly as well in long form. This book is PAINFUL to read. At first you start out laughing at Broody’s unintentional self flagellation. His arrogance and the tell tale characteristics of the trope are amusing and entirely too correct. But it doesn’t stop. As Broody continues to be…well…himself the criticism loses its humor and Broody begins to grate on your nerves like nails on a chalkboard.

And it just goes on.

Where short little jokes at Broody’s expense are hilarious on Twitter, the drawn out effect in the novel makes it intolerable and kills any humor they had. Besides the fact that half of these jokes/points are just recycled from the Twitter account its not actually even written that well. It makes for an entirely unenjoyable experience, any parody that could be gotten from the trope is lost in the slog that is wading through this novel.

I will admit that some of the concepts of this book are really interesting. That characters don’t do much in their world if their not being written about was really cool (and my brain wants a story based purely on that). But it’s the incidentals that grab my attention, not anything pertaining to Broody or the story itself.

I’m glad I just got this book on Overdrive rather than buying it like I had intended. If you’re into the humor and criticism behind Brooding YA Hero just follow the Twitter account, go back and read through previous tweets, and don’t bother with the book. It’s a much more effective vehicle for the character than this disaster of a book.

What did you think of Brooding YA Hero? Share your thoughts in the comments.

From my shelf to yours,

Erin

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