I can’t stand a YA novel that opens with a teenage brat. Nothing makes me want to drop a book faster. Usually the character improves over the next few chapters but I always find it a shame that my first impression is of an unreasonable, sulking child.
It’s not that we’re not all capable of a little sulk. Nor is anyone I know above being unreasonable now and then. It’s that, a person’s negative side is not that first thing you want to see. And also, it’s kind of stale.
MOST TEENAGERS I KNOW AND HAVE KNOWN ARE SMART, FUNNY, EMPATHETIC AND CAPABLE.
Note, I didn’t say mature (how can they be) or perfect (who is), but even the most self-absorbed, spoiled teen that I’ve known is capable of a myriad of feelings, just as self-absorbed, spoiled adults are. I mean, without any context, it’s hard to root for someone who’s just being a total jerk.
