Top Ten Tuesday- Book Turn-offs

Top Ten Tuesday is a really cool original feature/weekly meme created over at The Broke and The Bookish.  Each week they post a new Top Ten List that bloggers join in on answering... and today (October 1st), I'm one of them :)

Today's Topic:

Book Turn-Offs

So this is a topic that I suggested to the Broke and Bookish girls... and they actually chose it :)  I was very excited to be able to give an idea to my favorite feature!  Anyway here are the things that totally turn me off when I'm reading a book:

1. 

-Can we talk about teen talk please??  You know when you are reading a book and the author is trying so damn hard to make these teens sound like actual teens.... except the author has no clue how teens talk and is just making them say insane things??  If you are an author, figure out how teens actually talk and don't make up ridiculous slang.

For Example: In the book The Lonely Hearts Club By: Elizabeth Eulberg, the character says "What to the evs".  Ummm??  No.  Just no.

2.

-I can overlook one misspelling.  But if poor grammar and spelling are catching my eye more than once or twice while I'm reading, I'm pissed.  Books are supposed to have editors for a reason!

3.

-I am really getting sick of the same tired stereotypes and cliches in YA.  The one that's been the most recent turn-off for me is:  All popular kids are mean and evil.... all geeky kids are really cool, interesting, nice, and awesome.  It's just not true.  I'm all for an underdog, but can we get over the fact that all the geeks deserve to be put on a pedestal?  Believe it or not there are nerdy-types that are mean too!

4.

-For instance, when it is SO DAMN OBVIOUS that a guy is in love with the M/C and she acts like she has no clue.  Turn-off.



5.

-Michelle really does not like to read third person perspective books.  She doesn't feel like she can relate to the character as much.  Or at all.

6.

-Don't tell me how the characters are feeling at every moment.  Don't tell me every move and thought and feeling.  I want to be able to feel it myself without having to be told.

7.

-Whiney characters are the worst.  I can't stand to hear someone whine about their life.

8.

-Names in YA are getting out of control.  I don't like when everyone in the book has to have an odd name.  Especially when it's contemporary.  It seems completely unnecessary.  I get that authors want their characters to stand out... but by having all your characters walking around with ridiculous names, they aren't standing out in a good way.

9.

-Even though in real life I have a pretty bad potty mouth, I don't like excessive swearing in a book.  I have no problem with swear words in books, but I like them to be used with a purpose.  For instance, in The Duff by Kody Keplinger the characters swear when they're just talking about the weather.  It means nothing to me if you're saying it every other word.  Say it for emphasis!


10.

-Very rarely is there a party in a YA book that doesn't make me cringe.  Either you have parties where everyone is eating chips and drinking pop (which come on, that doesn't happen).  Or you have parties like from the movie Can't Hardly Wait (which come on, those don't happen).  Why can't we get some more parties like the ones I actually remember going to.


Other turn-offs that almost made the list:

• Bad Parents- ones that are either absentee or ones that treat their kids like crap.  I don't like em.
• Insta-Love- ICK!  And I rarely will ever go for a YA couple that meets during the span of 1 book saying "I love you" to each other.  STOP saying I love you to people after a week!!  It's SO annoying.
• Hipocritical Characters
• Obsessive Guy Characters- ones that "can't live without" the girl... stalker!!!
• Constant Label Dropping- This is especially true if the book is set in NYC.  Not everyone in NYC has to wear Gucci shades and an Alice + Olivia dress.
• Inconsistencies- I swear I can spot inconsistencies from a mile away, so do your homework.
• Constant Recapping- A little is ok, but some books go WAY overboard on catching people up.
• Rushed Endings

So that's my list.  What are your book turn-offs??