u/Additional_Watch5823

Friendly reminder to keep discussions positive and respect each other's opinion.

The most popular book of an author puts them on the map and gives them opportunities. But sometimes, popularity doesn't equate quality, and their magnum opus is actually something that might've flown under the radar. Here, in my opinion, are some examples:

1. Adam Silvera

Most Popular Book - They Both Die at the End

Actual Best Work - History Is All You Left Me

This is in no way to say that TBDATE is bad. Beyond being my gateway to MLM YA, it's a profound look at death and how it could become a wake-up call to live your best days before they're gone. It has a beautiful message, and I loved how it tied all the seemingly unrelated narratives. It embraces both the beauty and cruelty of the end of life. Also, Mateo was such a great character, and Im sure a lot of shy and soft spoken teens felt represented, like me.

However, I think Adam Silvera should've gotten his big break with History Is All You Left Me. I can not STRESS how much pain, anguish, and literal trauma this book caused me. The premise is simple: A boy mourns his ex-boyfriend's death. But the way it describes grief is so deep and shattering that you will definitely feel like you're the one who lost the love of your life, too. This is one of the few novels that truly shows how messy grief, rage, privilege, love, longing, and trauma are altogether. The heroine isn't perfect, and honestly, someone I would avoid irl, but that's exactly why he was unforgettable. This doesn't deserve to be reduced to a YA book because its the rawest look on something so human. I will always remember that one Goodreads review of a 40 year old man who couldn’t stop thinking about the book.

2. E. Lockhart

Most Popular Book: We Were Liars

Actual Best Work: Family of Liars

Granted they're from the same series but I needed a few examples and the ones I thought of aren't YA anymore. We Were Liars was very atmospheric, captivating, and mysterious. Although it fell flat in my numerous re-reads, the writing style really carried it. And that M. Night-style twist was pulled out of the rabbit's hat that it tilted between good and bad until now. Still, I understand why it was popular. There's not many books where the plot twist is literally in the MC's thoughts.

Family of Liars, on the other hand, is exactly what I expected going into We Were Liars blind. It's darker, twister, bloodier, more summer, and more intense. It balanced the gothic tone with the more contemporary characters. There's more lying and more family drama. I like how the twist here slowly unraveled rather than dumped like in the first book. >! The twist being that we were in the anti-hero's POV the entire time and Carrie was not a hero, and she wasn't really sure if she was killing her sister or Pfeff !< I'm honestly interested in seeing this adaptation even if I didn't watch the first season because I never really imagined Josh Dallas as the partiarch lol.

Im curious about everyone else's process because when crafting a villain, I immediately think about their motivation. I always draw that motivation from my real-life pains and resentment since it makes it easier to get into the right headspace (Write what you know, after all). For example, all my teenage years I have never experienced love that all those novels and movies promised. I'm now 18 in college, and nothing still changed. It really damaged my self-esteem and view of self-worth. So the villain motivation for this contemporary mystery novel Im writing is the fact that she was never loved as a child, and when she finally found it, she became controlling and obsessive going as far as to kill people to protect what's "hers".

In a similar vein, I think to myself "If I have the power and money to screw over anyone I like, what would I do?" when it comes to their actions against the protagonist/s. And it definitely led to some dark moments in my stories. My methods are admittedly morbid, but writing is my outlet about my frustrations towards the world and life.

Im sure it varies per genre: Mystery, Fantasy, Romance, Sci fi, etc. And I'm sure some of your stories probably don't even have actual villains in their story. But nonetheless, I wanna read your guys methods and see if we're similar or different 🫶

(I mean I've been in this sub for only a few months so maybe someone said this back when S4 came out cause its actually obvious but anyway)

I am 95% sure that Pope's S5 arc will be about him feeling guilty for >! killing Lightner. !<

It's a classic for crime teen dramas in the same vein that the characters need to do what has to be done to save each other. And then part of the next season would be exploring the weight of killing someone crash down on them.

He'll probably end up pushing Cleo and the Pogues away, probably some alcoholism or two that will never be mentioned again. But I hope they use this plotline, if ever, to put even more depth into Pope's character cause he's always someone who played by the rules and whenever he tried to break them there's someone who always pulled him before he crossed the line. But now that he has crossed the line, even for self defense, we get to see what it actually means for his psyche. Cause he's the only pogue who ended someone's life (for now).