Discussions Only We Know: 14 Words/Phrases that Should be Banned

Discussions Only We Know

14 Words/Phrases that Should be Banned

I was taught in English/Lit classes throughout school to avoid clichés. And I talk a lot about clichés here at Somewhere Only We Know. Most of the time what I’m complaining about revolves around repetitive plot lines, conflict devices, and characters. Today, what I really want to talk about is phrases and situations that seem really minor but are terribly overused…especially in modern YA literature (in my opinion). I’d be perfectly happy if these phrases were never used again. Ever.

Cliché

a phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought.

Some of these are really just personal pet peeves. Most of them just sound super cheesy to me, which isn’t a real reason for other people not to use them. Yet I’ll always end up rolling my eyes when I come across them. Either way, I thought it might be fun/funny to list a bunch of them here and see if any of you guys are tired of these too? Here they are:

1. Meet cute - Wikipedia defines meet cute as "a scene in film, television, etc. in which a future romantic couple meets for the first time in a way that is considered adorable, entertaining, or amusing. The term has existed since at least the early 1940s." And in my opinion…should never be used again.
2. Romcom - A combination of the words “romantic” and “comedy”. CHEESY
3. Trifecta - Google defines this as a bet in which the person betting forecasts the first three finishers in a race in the correct order, or a run of three wins or grand events. Today in YA literature, “trifecta” is often used to describe a character who has it all: looks, popularity, and the perfect boyfriend. Or some combination of three qualities to be envied. Anytime I see this word I cringe.
4. Holding court - Holding court is what used to happen when subjects would come before the supreme authority (king/queen/etc) for an audience. The authority would hand down a directive and the subjects did their bidding, whatever that might be. Today this is often referring to the popular group of kids at school—specifically at lunch or break—where everyone who wants to be popular or is slightly popular will seek the approval of those who already are. It’s an overdone cliché, especially in this high school setting.
5. Queen bee - Similar to “holding court”, Queen Bee is in reference to the queen of a bee hive. All of the other bees are subject to the queen and live and breathe and function to serve the queen. This is also usually only used in reference to a character that is also intolerable and mean. I realize that this cliché is as old as nature, but seriously, is there no other way to describe a character like this other than this phrase? I’m over it.
6. Ice queen - Again, similar to “queen bee” this refers to a mean girl. Someone “as cold as ice.” Bleh.
7. Cocking one eyebrow - How many times have you read a book and character A cocks one eyebrow and character B thinks “oh that’s so cool, I wish I could do that” Ten too many???? Yeah, me too. Cocking one eyebrow is fine. I don’t mind when a book references that in and of itself, but when the next character goes so far as to discuss how they wish they could do it too then I begin to roll my eyes.
8. Sea of bodies - Used in describing a large crowd….especially when one tries to walk through the crowd and “parting the sea of bodies” can be used. Meh.
9. Green eyed monster - Used in reference to jealousy. Corny. Enough said.
10. Worship the ground he/she walks on - We get it. Some character is really fond of another character. If this one doesn’t betray a lack of original thought then I don’t know what does.
11. Didn’t realize I was crying/let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding/heard an awful scream that I realized was coming from me - Seriously? I guess I’ve never truly been in shock to be so completely outside of myself that I don’t realize what my bodily functions are doing. I’ve never not realized I was crying. I’ve never not known it was me who was screaming. I HAVE held my breath and didn’t really realize it (stress can 100% cause this), but it’s used and used and over used. This isn’t a plot device. It moves the story along in no way. And it really doesn’t even serve to connect me to the characters emotions either. So…pointless.
12. He looks like Adonis - My smirking, sarcastic face really comes out with this one. Is this the only description available for a really hot looking guy? NO!!!! Don’t use it. Ever again.
13. Smile that makes a girl throw their panties - So this one is usually reserved for new adult….but really? No matter how hot a guy is, I’ve never had an inkling to throw my panties at him. Now, I know some girls actually do this as it happens at like music concerts…or so I’ve heard. BUT…surely there’s another way to describe a guy who has a really attractive smile?
14. If he/she knew, XYZ about me they would run in the opposite direction. - How many books (especially new adult) have some character that has some history/baggage that causes them to think that they’re the worst person in the world and if anyone else knew their baggage then they would want nothing to do with them? All of them? Well maybe not but close. Too many. That’s for sure.

So…are any of these words/phrases that you stumble upon and have you rolling your eyes? Do you ever think “do people really think this way?” or “do people really use these words?” Have you ever wanted to shout out loud “CHEESY!!!!” when you come across any of these? What do you think? Let me know!

Stealing Parker - Review

Stealing Parker (Hundred Oaks, # 2)

By: Miranda Kenneally

Published: October 1st 2012 by Sourcebooks Fire

242 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Source: Borrowed from the library

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Red-hot author Miranda Kenneally hits one out of the park in this return to Catching Jordan's Hundred Oaks High.

Parker Shelton pretty much has the perfect life. She’s on her way to becoming valedictorian at Hundred Oaks High, she’s made the all-star softball team, and she has plenty of friends. Then her mother’s scandal rocks their small town and suddenly no one will talk to her.

Now Parker wants a new life.

So she quits softball. Drops twenty pounds. And she figures why kiss one guy when she can kiss three? Or four. Why limit herself to high school boys when the majorly cute new baseball coach seems especially flirty?

But how far is too far before she loses herself completely?

So I have no idea where my original review went for this book. I know I typed it because I remember some specific things that I said about it. However, when I went to go prep this blog post, I couldn’t find it anywhere! UGH! That’s so annoying. Especially because this is a book that I had a lot to say about…or at least, I had a lot of feelings about. But just to be frank and upfront…this was not a book I enjoyed so I’m not looking forward to reviewing it again. That being said…this probably won’t be as long or as thought out as my original review. It might be a little nicer (but probably not).

First of all, this isn’t mentioned in the description so it might be considered as a spoiler, but I wish I’d known about it before picking up this book. Parker’s mom’s big secret…she “announced she’s a lesbian and ran off with her friend who was more than just a friend.” Parker is understandably hurt by her mother’s decision. Sexual orientation and preferences aside, 9.9 children out of 10 that have experienced a divorce will tell you that this severely impacted them emotionally. Add to that the other and you’ve got an emotionally screwed up Parker.

Parker’s family attended church and because of her mother’s decision Parker faces a lot of judgmental people. Her mother and father’s former friends now talk about them behind their backs, they turn their noses up, and they tell their children not to play with Parker because the lesbianism might rub off. (I’m exaggerating here, but only slightly.) That being said, Parker turns her nose up at the church. She still goes because her father makes her, but she’s not really interested anymore and even at one point blames God for her mother’s decisions. (“Why did God let this happen to me?” and then later “I don’t see how a loving God would split a family up like he did mine.”) The only person who’s stuck by her side has been her best friend Drew who she secretly wonders if he’s gay too. (Can you guys feel the amount of sarcasm I’m trying to hold back?) This hits on three of my biggest pet peeves in YA literature these days. 1) these types of Christian characters, 2) the best friends of the opposite sex can only be best friends if a, they’re in love with each other or b, one of them is gay, and 3) just gay characters in general being forced down out throats in another book about "acceptance". Tired. Overplayed. Worn out. Used up. Get a better storyline.

So not only does Parker respond to her mother’s behavior by rejecting religion, but she also decides that she has to do everything she can to prove that she’s not a lesbian like her mother. This leads her into dangerous territory with the opposite sex. She hooks up. A lot. She doesn’t move past making out, but her reputation is beginning to grow that she’s “easy.” She doesn’t see the harm. Besides she loves flirting and hooking up and making out. So much so that she doesn’t even blink her eyes at going after the new assistant baseball coach. He’s young for a coach/teacher, but he’s still a teacher nonetheless. If this freaks you out, it should. While I have no issues with age gaps necessarily (my husband’s 12 years older than me), the idea of my daughter hooking up with a teacher is not cool…at all.

My issues don’t stop there. While the idea of my teenage daughter having any sort of relationship with a teacher/coach at her school freaks me out, there’s something else that bothers me about their relationship. Parker and Bryan start off having a really good dynamic where their entire relationship is built around conversation. They have several things in common and so it’s easy to see how there could be an attraction there. However, once things crossed any kind of physical boundary it’s like all conversation went out the window. I guess this is possible. But it just felt weird to me that they had such a verbal relationship in the beginning only to swap to a relationship where no talking was really involved. It didn’t feel consistent to me. Despite that, I didn’t want these two together anyway, so I was okay with how things ultimately ended up as far as they’re concerned.

Another thing that bothered me is Parker’s relationship with her mom. In the beginning of the book, Parker wants nothing to do with her mom. This isn’t because she feels betrayed by her mom “choosing someone else over her family” so much as it is because Parker doesn’t want her own friends to think that she’s gay. So she avoids her mom totally because of this. For one, I think that Parker would be extremely hurt and betrayed by her mother’s actions regardless of who she left her family for. Yet at some point, she "just needs her mom" and all of a sudden everything’s forgiven. I found that hard to believe too. It takes years to work through the kind of pain and trauma that’s caused by a parent suddenly leaving the family. Some children never really recover from those hurts. This isn’t a pain easily recovered from.

And then we get into the overall message of the book which was “do whatever makes you feel good/happy.” You guys, this message is the biggest load of crock I’ve ever heard. Do what makes you feel good? Some people see possessions that they do not own and think to themselves “you know, it would really make me happy to have that,” or “I’ll finally feel good about myself when that’s mine.” Yet they don’t have the means or the money to just buy it. And what do they do? They go out and just take it. Some people find that it makes them feel insanely good by torturing other people and chopping their bodies into tiny pieces. I know that’s an extreme, but where do you draw the line? How do you make a distinction between doing what makes you feel good and when you’ve crossed the line into “wrong”? There has to be some standard of measurement. You can’t just make it up. Not that those who take this stance care much about what the Bible says, but Jeremiah 17:9 says “The heart is deceitful above all things…” Sure as long as it makes you happy, bail on your family, your word, your kids, your promises, your spouse… whatever works best for you. Problem is...often times what we want or what would make us happy also hurts others. Does that make it okay? What feels good to you hurts me. But just so long as you feel good. Whatever. Moving on.

The only (and I do mean only) redeeming quality that I enjoyed about this book was Parker’s transition into finding the guy who is the best fit for her. Often times, people end up with spouses/significant others who are not a good fit for them. And often times those people are even aware of that, but they stay because they’re comfortable. They might not be happy, but at least they know what to expect. Yet Parker does evaluate the two options before her and has to make a decision about which one is right for her. I think she made the right choice in the end.

All in all, I just didn’t like it…period. I will look back on Stealing Parker with nothing but bitterness, annoyance, frustration, and even anger. While I’ve enjoyed Miranda Kenneally before and this book didn’t completely turn me off her other work, I did not enjoy this book. At all. 1 Star from me for Stealing Parker (a first ever). Have you read Stealing Parker? What did you think? Let me know!

Undertow - Review

Undertow (Undertow, # 1)

By: K R Conway

Published: October 11th 2013 by Conway

398 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Fantasy

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above link to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Luckless Eila is unknowingly the last of her kind: Rare. Gifted. Breakable. Stunning Raef is her kind's historic enemy: Soulless. Lethal. Lost. A legendary death 160 years before would set their lives to collide, forcing a beautiful killer to become a savior, a simple wallflower to become a warrior, and ruthless destiny to become a death sentence.

SUMMARY:

Seventeen-year-old Eila Walker’s new home has defied the brutal Atlantic for over 160 years. Abandoned since her 4th great grandmother Elizabeth vanished, the town legend declares that she drowned . . . or was struck by lightning.

Unbeknownst to the town and Eila, however, is that someone does know what really happened to Elizabeth, and he has returned, determined to protect the last surviving Walker from a history of violence.

But what starts out as a quest for redemption, evolves into something more and soon young guardian, Raef, is forced to reveal the truth to Eila. As hidden secrets about their warring families come to light, Eila begins to realize that she may be their best shot at survival, even if it means following in her grandmother’s fearless footsteps to save her killer bodyguard.

Undertow has an overall Goodreads rating of 4.14 at the time of writing this review. I’ve seen bloggers say that they enjoyed this book and mostly I’ve seen 4 Stars reviews. So I had one of those feelings like maybe this book was going to end up surprising me, yet at the same time I kept putting it off. Since I was on a cruise, I thought a book titled Undertow might have an appropriately nautical theme, and plus I’ve had this book in my possession and for review for entirely too long. So I picked it up.

I was thoroughly impressed with the beginning of this book. I was moving right along, interested and intrigued, but by the 50% mark things were happening that had me contemplating DNFing. I ended up deciding to finish the book because I’d come so far that I hated to “waste” the 50% progress.

Eila was an okay character. She was more enjoyable in the beginning of the book versus the latter half. Eila’s parents died when she was young and she lives with her mother’s best friend. She receives an odd inheritance in the form of a really big, expensive, and historical house in Cape Cod. Once she moves to Cape Cod she is introduced to a couple of people who become her new friends. She goes to a new school. And well things start falling into place—or out of place, however you want to look at it. This is where things started to go awry for me. Eila immediately gets on the bad side of the cheerleading squad/most popular girl, Nikki, for no good reason at all. And well cliché after cliché hit from here.

So we’ve got the popular mean girl that is described as “queen” of the school with phrases like “holding court” being thrown about. We’ve got the new girl that sees herself as being very plain hooking up with the new boy who gives off “I’m dangerous, but loveable” vibes. Our main female character has gifts/talents/abilities that she doesn’t have a clue even exists, yet, she’s supposed to be super, mega powerful. And well loveable-bad-boy just happens to be toxic to new girl’s abilities. We’ve got a situation where everyone around the main girl knows the big secret, but getting them to share the lowdown with her is like pulling teeth. And it just so happens that all of the new girls friends happen to have a talent of their own. New girl has no idea how to use her talent and has never really tried but just when she needs it most she miraculously does not only what she was trying to do but better. She saves the day. Except, oh crap, she learns how to use her power, the loveable-bad-boy who happens to be toxic for her must now maintain his distance from her for her own protection. Did I miss anything?

More than anything, the further I got into Undertow the more I felt like I’d read this book before…like possibly 100 different ways/variations. It was the exact same story regurgitated with different supernatural beings, different character names, and a different location. I hate to be unfair to Undertow or to KR Conway. This wasn’t an awful book. It wasn’t difficult to read. I just didn’t find any of it to be original. The conflict resolution was too easy. The twists weren’t surprises at all. Overall everything was just average. I’d give Undertow a hesitant 3 Stars. Have you read Undertow? What did you think? Let me know!

The Bet - Review

The Bet (The Bet, # 1)

By: Rachel Van Dyken

Published: March 26th 2013

240 pages

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary

Source: Borrowed from my SNL, Holly @ Words Fueled by Love

( Goodreads | Amazon (currently $2.99) | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--"I have a proposition for you." Kacey should have run the minute those words left Seattle millionaire Jake Titus's mouth. It's been years since Kacey's seen her childhood friend Jake, but the minute Jake mentions his ill grandmother, Kacey is ready to do anything for the sweet old woman. And if that means pretending they're engaged for her sake-so be it.

But Kacey wasn't counting on Jake's older brother Travis still being there. She calls him "Satan" for a reason: she's never forgotten the way he teased and taunted her. Yet when they meet again, Travis's gorgeous smile is a direct hit to her heart . . . and Kacey's more confused than ever. As the days pass, only one thing starts to become alarmingly clear-she never should have accepted Jake's deal . . .

I saw The Bet on NetGalley, and I recommended it based off the description to my SNL, Holly @ Words Fueled by Love. She ended up requesting it from NetGalley, but before she actually read that one, she read and loved another book by Rachel Van Dyken—The Elite, I believe. Anyways, she ended up enjoying The Bet and so I decided I’d check it out.

The Bet was a quick read for me--one that had me antsy to come back to it when I would have to put it down. That was a good sign that I’d enjoy it. But I can’t say that I loved it. The Bet hits a lot of clichés with the whole fake engagement and with Jake being a typical, New Adult leading male. Fortunately, The Bet wasn’t really about Jake so much. I mean yeah, he’s there, he narrates some, and he definitely plays a part, but The Bet is largely about Kacey and Travis. And for that I was thankful. Jake was easy to hate. But that brings me to my next point…

I felt like Rachel Van Dyken was writing this story in a way that was intended to be more about leading the reader in how she wanted the reader to feel than as if it was a genuine and real story that she has the pleasure of telling. It didn’t seem like she had all of her facts or backstory straight. What I mean is, she would put filler information in that fit the moment, but not the entirety of the book.

Overall Travis is probably what made this book for me. I liked the idea of him teasing Kacey as a kid because he liked her and that he never really learned that teasing is akin to torture for a girl and that just isn’t the way to her heart. Travis has watched from the sidelines as his brother has swooped in time and time again to Kacey’s rescue from Travis’s proclamations of love torture, all the while Travis is the one who has always really been there for Kacey even though she never saw it. Travis is The Bet’s redeeming quality for me.

After all is said and done, The Bet gets 3 stars from me. Have you read The Bet? What did you think? Let me know!