03.25.09

Whither the Superpowers?

Posted in Random at 9:41 pm by Janet

Lately I’ve noticed a number of books in which characters have superpowers that aren’t called superpowers.

1. Grace–Graceling by Kristin Cashore. Katsa has a killing/survival grace. Po’s might be fighting, or maybe mind-reading. King Leck can control your mind.

2. Savvy–Savvy by Ingrid Law. Members of the Beaumont family have a “savvy”–moving moutains, causing hurricanes, making electricity, being perfect.  

3. Fairy–How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier. Rochelle has a clothes-buying fairy, Fiorenze has an all-the-boys-will-like-you fairy, Steffi has a never-getting-in-trouble fairy, and Charlie is trying hard to get rid of her parking fairy.

Fantasy fans, can you think of any more superpowers that aren’t called superpowers? Is this a fantasy convention, or is this a new trend? Why not just call a superpower a superpower? Finally, what kind of  superpower, grace, savvy, fairy, or whatever do you want?

Intermezzo

Posted in Random at 9:19 pm by Janet

The Tarts Wardrobe has been empty lately. Bridget is taking a break (I’ll leave it to her to explain, or not, later) and I’ve been busy. For the time being, I’ll keep blogging. But it’s lonely in here by myself. I might start to feel funny talking to myself. I feel like the Moaning Myrtle of the Tarts Wardrobe.  So I’ll just make some short posts until I have someone else to talk to. No extended topics, unless I get really inspired. Thanks for reading…

03.04.09

Memo to YA Writers

Posted in Random at 11:11 pm by Janet

Stop naming your characters Kat. I have noticed a proliferation of characters in YA literature named Kat or Kat-something. This must not continue. The market is saturated with Kats. There’s Cat Royal in Julia Golding’s Cat Royal Adventures. I just started reading The London Eye Mystery. Kat. Cherry Heaven. Kat. Then there are the characters in fantasy or science fiction. Katniss in The Hunger Games. Katsa in Graceling. I’m sure there are more.

When I first encountered a character named Kat, I thought, oh how nice, this name makes me think of someone who’s spunky, graceful, and a little unconventional. She’s not content to be called Katie or Katherine like everyone else! Look at her! Then the novelty wore off.  As for the fantasy characters, calling someone Kat-something is giving someone a name that’s like a normal name from our world, with a twist. It’s saying, this fantasy world is not our real world but it’s a little bit like the real world, or some period of the real world’s history. There are other ways to do this.

Furthermore, YA novelists, naming a character Kat does nothing to help your reputation as cat people. (Can you tell I’m a dog person?)

To fix the Kats, please spice things up. How about Jo, Fish, or Randi? For sci-fi/fantasy, I recommend some characters with variations on other common names. Saratron. Caralon. Laurinouf.  You get the picture.