I want to talk about princesses. Not just any princesses, Disney princesses in particular. I know, not exactly YA paranormal, but I think you’ll find it interesting nonetheless and there is an element of romance. Actually, now that I consider it, most of the princesses are teenagers, and there’s almost always some kind of magic or other paranormal aspect to the stories. So I am on topic after all. 🙂

What’s got me a bit baffled is the unprecedented success of Frozen. Please don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of the film. Not a fan like my four year old daughter, to whom it is a form of cinematic crack, but still, it’s a lot of fun. The characterization is wonderful, as is Kristen Bell, who I’ve loved since Heroes. Elsa’s a very strong female protagonist / antagonist, and it’s undeniably cool that she has freezing powers. Hans is a great bad guy, and Kristoff is so loveable. Okay, Olaf is a tad annoying, but I think that’s balanced by Sven and the trolls, who are just plain adorable. Plot’s a little weak, but when you’ve got ice powers, plot is practically incidental, right? Plus it’s got not one, but two princesses, even though technically Elsa does become the queen pretty early on. But all of those elements, how do they equal the perfect formula? Why is it that Disney hit the jackpot with this film?

*******SPOILER ALERT*******

I have to put that, so the three hundred or so people on the planet who haven’t seen this film won’t get upset. Chances are good that anyone who stumbles upon my happy blog has already seen it multiple times.

Here’s the thing: I’m not a fan of the ending. Maybe it’s because I grew up with the traditional Disney princesses: Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, even Ariel. All of their tales ended in the same blissful fashion: the girl gets her prince at the end, and they live happily ever after. “True love” always meant girl/boy relationship. With Frozen, I think they’re trying to say that it was Anna’s true love for her sister? I’m still a little confused…maybe it’s Elsa’s love for her sister? I say this because Elsa reveals afterwards that love is how she melts the ice, but honestly it seemed like Elsa was just sad when Anna froze. I would think she’d be feeling regret more than love. Whether it was Anna’s love, Elsa’s love, sisterly love in general (who knows), regardless, the whole thing was a little weak. The love interest (or deuteragonist, a fancy word I learned from the Disney Wikia site) doesn’t have to save the day, that’s not what I had an issue with. Anna just sacrificed herself for her sister, I guess that was kind of anti-climactic. Hans being blown away when she froze was totally a plot device, because otherwise he would’ve just stabbed Elsa as she was sobbing. Maybe it’s the whole “what the hell just happened” moment when Anna’s heart melts and I can’t figure out why. Maybe it’s the fact that when Anna becomes frozen, Kristoff just stands there, and does nothing at all. Would that happen, if he were really in love with Anna? Wouldn’t he want to at least be close to her? The whole scene just felt off to me.

Yet everyone seemed to buy into it. Parents were happy it was the love between the sisters that saved the day, even though it really doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Maybe they were just happy it wasn’t another princess waiting to be saved. The trend has been more empowering over the years, anyway, I think as far back as Belle. The newer princesses have been more involved in the final showdowns, some even saving the day themselves, as you can say (arguably) happened in Frozen.

I have a few working theories as to why Frozen was and is so ridiculously successful. The first theory is the music. It’s got a lot of catchy tunes, not to mention the main song “Let it Go,” sung in perfect key in all its complexity by four year olds everywhere. The second theory has to do with Elsa. I think her situation appeals to the young psyche – a girl who had to be good all the time, and then she finally gets to let her hair down and be herself, no matter how evil that truly is. I think the bonus features had a bit on how they were going to make Elsa a little darker; I almost wish they did – she seems dark to me. The whole metaphor of cold and how she was able to completely isolate herself from people – she’s clearly introverted, almost to the point of misanthropy or she would’ve gone crazy. Perhaps it’s Olaf. Even though he annoys me, I think he’s got that Jar Jar Binks* kind of appeal to kids. Could be it’s what I liked the most about the movie: its main protagonist, Anna. Her personality is so innocent and sweet and carefree. I love the contrast of her to Elsa.

Perhaps I’ll never truly understand the secret behind its success, and why it’s fared so much better than other films. Take for example, The Princess and the Frog. That movie is by far my new favorite Disney princess movie (Cinderella will always have a place in my heart, meek as she was). Tiana is such a positive female lead; I guess I can relate to her sense of purpose and wonderful work ethic. She’s not even looking for a prince, she wanted to do it all on her own. Plus the villain – Dr. Facilier, so evil! And the songs, the supporting characters (can’t help but love Mama Odie and Ray), the plot…that movie had everything. Plus it was real animation – a rare and beautiful gift in this day and age. It could just be me being nostalgic, but I love the softness of the lines and characters in real animation. The CGI stuff is so exact, to the point of it looking harsh. Beautiful in a different way, I guess.

Afterthoughts
Well, we know they’re coming out with a sequel…so what will Frozen 2 be like? Will it be as horrible as The Little Mermaid 2 and Cinderella 2? So-so like Cinderella 3? Or will it be the rare exception, better than the original, like Star Trek 2*? If it’s anything like the short that recently came out, I’m sure it will be fun and utterly captivating, if for no one else than all the four year olds.

Snowmen boogers…ingenious.

*Sorry I geeked out there for a second—I do enjoy Sci Fi too sometimes 😉

I’ve noticed a trend in YA Paranormal fiction, particularly those books labeled YA Paranormal Romance, and that’s the presence of a love triangle. Seriously, every YA Paranormal (Romance) I’ve read lately has had a love triangle of some sort, whether it’s a more overt struggle for the heroine to decide who she loves, or a less pronounced additional guy she’s interested in or even an enchantment beyond her control, through some extraordinary plot twist.

All of this leads me to wonder, is a love triangle required to append the description of “Romance,” or is it just another popular trend? My soon-to-be-published novel, Connected, has a definite romance element to it, but no love triangle. Would it be sacrilege to call it a YA Paranormal Romance? Let me know what you think!

Welcome to Connected With YA Paranormal! This blog is designed for readers who love YA Paranormal fiction. I’ll be discussing different trends and various aspects of writing, as well as posting reviews of lesser-known YA Paranormal novels I’ve read, as there are a lot of really great novels out there that don’t have the luxury of a major publisher or PR firm to market them. My intention is to make this blog interactive, so please comment often!

*******DISCLAIMER FOR OVERLY SENSITIVE

POLITICALLY CORRECT PEOPLE*******

I’m going to use the word “she” instead of substituting it with the PC “he/she” or even worse, pluralizing everything and making it overly clunky. It’s not because I’m a feminist or a man-hater. It’s because 90% of the YA Paranormal fiction I read involves a female as the main character.

I’ve learned over the years how very subjective this industry is – even in analyzing books that appeal to me versus what’s insanely popular at the time, it’s clear that it’s more of a personal decision, a feeling when you read something that speaks to you. I’m curious to discover what all of you think, what makes you continue to turn the pages and finish a book, great or not.

Honestly, I’m still trying to decipher exactly what it is that makes a book great for me. I know style factors into it – some authors write in a fashion that I find easy to read, and those are the books I devour. I’ll read them through to the end, even if they have gaping plot holes, blatant plot devices, ridiculously unrealistic situations, and *gasp* excessive adverbs (I won’t name names). I recently read a book that had the worse character names I’d ever encountered, but it was written well with a great plot. So I got over it and kept reading. There are a lot of things, now that I think about it, that I will forgive if the writing, plot and characters are good enough. But there are some things that I have trouble getting past, so much so, that I will abandon the book. Here’s my preliminary list of all things forgivable and unspeakable:

Forgivable

Bad character names, hard to pronounce names, or even trendy names

Some names evoke a feeling within you, good or bad. You can’t help ghosts from the pasts – if you grew up with a Michelle who treated you like dirt, you’re probably always going to cringe when you hear or read that name. But others… I recently read a great book in which the lead characters were named Pagan and Dank. Pagan is unusual at best; I got used to it. Dank, however… I couldn’t help but think of a mold-infested cellar. Not exactly sexy for me. I found myself hoping she’d end up with the other guy just because of the name. Regardless though, I finished the book and I recommend it!

Some misspells, bad grammar and punctuation (just can’t go overboard)

As an English major, this is decidedly a step forward in my treatment of Grammar Nazism. There was a time when just a few errors would send me raging into a tirade that would make a mobster uncomfortable. What can I say? The electroshock therapy is really paying off.

Occasional awkwardly worded dialogue

Not every author has the time to read the book aloud, listening to how the dialogue sounds and carefully considering whether or not someone would actually utter those words in real life (although it is a good practice). I can wince through a few of these and still continue to read, especially if the plot’s engaging.

Unspeakable

Someone other than the main hero/heroine solving the final crisis

The trick to this one is you don’t realize it until the end of the book, so even though it’s unforgivable, you’ve still read the entire novel. I recently read a book that did this, and it was really unfortunate because I loved her writing style, and the plot was excellent. But now I’m not sure that I will continue to the next book in the series. Even with third person point of view, there’s still a main character – someone you’re meant to bond with and cheer for. That person has to be the victor in the final conflict. She can have help from her love interest or friends, but it’s her battle, she has to be the one to win it overall.

Multiple points of view

I know this can sometimes be pulled off, but it’s usually by experienced writers and it’s handled very carefully. Most of the time, it’s jarring to jump from one character’s head to another, and it’s difficult to know who you’re supposed to be rooting for. I recently read a book that did this – though the author at least took the precaution of changing the point of view at chapter breaks, I still found it annoying and ended up not rooting for any of the characters, except maybe the villains. Probably not the intended effect.

Weak hero/heroine, who doesn’t get stronger by the end

It’s okay to start out with a weak heroine, but if she doesn’t show any kind of personal progress by the end of the novel, I find it hard to like her, and she ends up coming off as a damsel in distress. I’m not saying she has to do a complete 180, but she needs to demonstrate (preferably through her actions) that whatever conflict she faced throughout the novel has made her a stronger individual.

Overly macho female protagonists / over the top skill sets

If I find out in the first chapter that the heroine is a black belt with secret ops training, I’ll probably just give up and put the book down. I see this more when men are writing female characters… and it’s too much for me. It’s annoying to the point of distraction, because I know there are so few actual people like that in the world. I’d rather see faults than ridiculous skills, especially in the beginning, I think because it makes it easier for me to picture the character as a real person and relate to her.

That’s all I’ve got for now. Let me know what you think, what makes a novel worth reading for you.