Blog Tour: Cliches of the YA Genre by Taryn Browning

Everyone, I'd like to welcome Taryn Browning to my blog! Read on for a wonderful take on the cliché's of the YA genre.

Goodreads Synopsis:


For 17-year-old Seeker, Janie Grey, ridding the Baltimore streets of the undead is an inherited duty passed down from her Cherokee ancestors. Seeker Training Lesson #1: Never trust the undead. After her father’s tragic death, Janie creates her own life lesson: Love isn’t worth the risk. Both lessons are easy to follow until she encounters the flawed Kai Sterdam. At first, she believes he is the hybrid she is trained to hunt. But, when he has human traits, she determines she doesn’t know what he is. As Janie’s intrigue over who Kai is pushes her deeper into his mysterious past, she discovers a shocking truth that is even more harrowing than the evil they are up against. It’s a secret Kai wants to keep hidden, especially from Janie.

"Cliché in the YA Genre"

The first cliché or misconception I think people have about the young adult genre is that it’s only for teens. I’m a prime example of how this is not true. I’ve been reading YA since I was a teenager, and let’s just say, I’m at least a decade past those years. I even think I started reading more YA when I was in my 20’s. I believe the Twilight Saga helped show the world that young adult books are not just for teens. Especially since many Twi-Hards are the mothers of teenagers. So, thank you Stephenie Meyer for helping make YA the popular genre it is today, I love YA because it can cross many genres within one story. For instance, Across the Universe by Beth Revis is dystopian, sci-fi, mystery and romance all wrapped up into one great book.

Another cliché would be that all YA paranormal romance is filled with vampires, werewolves, fallen angels, etc. Yes, much of the market is saturated with these mythical creatures (which I happen to love), but there are still ways to make them new and exciting. For instance, Dark Seeker includes a new type of vampire called Daychildren – a demon/vampire hybrid. They are much more dangerous than your “average” vampire and also possess demonic abilities. So, yes, even thought the YA market is filled with mythical creatures there are still ways to make them fresh and exciting. I know I’m not ready to let them go.

And finally, the “bad-boy” supernatural being wants to kill the human girl and ends up falling in love with her instead. This is a cliché that I happen to love. I’m a sucker for those bad-boy characters. It’s funny, even thought Kai is definitely a bad boy with a flawed and complicated past, my heroine, Janie, can hold her own against him. Haha, in Dark Seeker she’s the hunter & he’s the prey. Watch out Kai, Janie’s feisty!

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Thank you so much for having me on your blog to talk about clichés in YA. Overall, YA is an amazing genre that I love to read and write. Cliché’s or not, YA rocks!!

Naj's Note: Thank you Taryn for stopping by and gracing my blog with this wonderful guestpost. I totally agree with you, the hot bad boys are the ones who get me the most in books. :D They're just so much hotter. :D

NEXT STOP: The Magic Attic


Below is a little piece of the cover of the 2nd book in the series! Find more of the puzzles pieces on other stops of the tour to complete the cover!