Overused Tropes
Many of our favourite comfort reads are familiar and predictable and that’s because most of them used the same tropes. Here is a list of some of the most commonly found tropes.
The Hidden Heir
Where the orphan protagonist finds out they are descended from royalty or power.
Books this can be found in: Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan, Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin and Eragon by Christopher Paolini
The Chosen One
A protagonist who has been chosen by some sort of power and are the only ones capable of resolving the plot.
Books this can be found in: Divergent series by Veronica Roth, Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series by Ransom Riggs, Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling and His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman.
The Evil Overlord
A trope where the villain is plotting to take over the world or already rules over the setting of the story and must be stopped.
Books this can be found in: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S.Lewis, A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, Eragon by Christopher Paolini and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Reluctant Hero
The protagonist who just wants to be normal.
Books this can be found in: The Power of Five series by Anthony Horowitz, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan and Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz.
The Quest
Wherein the characters undertake a journey to reach their goal.
Books this can be found in: Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne, Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien and Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.
Outsider Protagonist
The trope in which the protagonist doesn’t have many friends or fit into many social circles and in a lot of YA fiction is bullied for being different.
Books this can be found in: Cinder by Marissa Meyer, Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, Daylight Saving by Edward Hogan and Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher.
Dead Parents
Where either one or both of the protagonist’s parents are dead or missing.
Books this can be found in: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling and The Maze Runner Series by James Dashner.
Useless Adults
A trope that appears in many YA and younger fiction, where the adults surrounding the children are not helpful.
Books this can be found in: IT by Stephen King, The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket.
Prep/Boarding School
A trope in which the plot and setting is centred around a school that is isolated from others.
Books this can be found in: Gallagher Girl series by Ally Carter, If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio, S.T.A.G.S by M.A. Bennett and St. Jude’s Academy series by Lucy Carver.
Ye-Olde Dystopian World
A world set far in time from when it was written, where the government is bad and needs to be destroyed.
Books this can be found in: Matched by Ally Condie, Divergent series by Veronica Roth, 1984 by George Orwell and Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.
Protagonist cannot see self-beauty
The trope where the protagonist cannot see how attractive they really are and don’t understand why the love-interest is with them.
Books this can be found in: The DUFF by Kody Keplinger, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy.
Insta-Romance
Where the romance takes place over a matter of days and the characters aren’t given time to get to know each other first.
Books this can be found in: The Wolves of Mercy Falls by Maggie Stiefvater, Five Feet Apart by Rachel Lippincott, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon.
Love Triangle
Where two characters are fighting to be the love-interest of another character.
Books this can be found in: P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer and Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
White, Abled-Bodied, Straight Protagonist
A trope that calls out the lack of diversity in protagonists across all genres of literature.
Books this can be found in: The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss, Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz, The Drowning of Arthur Braxton by Caroline Smailes and Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer.
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