i am tired of books like these | Casey Aonso 

that would be amazing. The main female "not like everyone else" character not getting the guy at the end, with him ending up with the "popular" or "slut" or whatever and the protagonist realizing that this girl he loves is actually not a slut and it's actually a great person who just lives her life would be great too.

Right? Totally agree~

Egirl Winter It definitely would be more realistic. Believe it or not, the majority of people do not like it when their partner acts jealous and petty towards the same sex (I’m saying this because even though girls are the most associated with it, guys can be guilty of it too). Don’t get me wrong, some people do cheat on their partner but most are faithful and want their significant other to know that they truly love them and to trust that they would choose them no matter who or what comes along.

Yesss

YES that would be so cool to see

As a sophomore, I can confirm. Really we’re more focused on sleeping in class or trying to pass school and graduate. Most of us really don’t give a shit.

My high school's social hierarchy was actually based on how: 1. Rich you were 2. Good looking you are 3. Smart/athletic you are The people there were ruthless and cared about how much influence a person has, how they looked like, even down to the things they had and whether they were cute or expensive or something you got really cheap or secondhand. Bullying was the norm and cliques were def there. Take note, this was a Catholic school and the nuns basically turned a blind eye to all these Edit: also re the spreading of rumors? Tea Spillers have NOTHING on how everybody from my school was

exactly. if anything it's one upping kids on the lack of sleep you got from studying too much

Natural pretty nerd girls? Has the author ever seen the cosplay community? Those nerds are makeup GODS.

The thing is theese writers cared and no one liked them for it so most of their lit is the high school fantasy

🗣🗣🗣

Imke Merckx Thank you! This is the female equivalent to the Nice Guy(tm), the ones who have to bash on other girls to bolster their own stock. That never works. Ever.

Say it louder

Like that scene from The Social Network when she’s like “you’re gonna go through life thinking girls don’t like because you’re a nerd, but really it’s because you’re an asshole”

yeah,.. nobody has a problem with you being a nerd you're just so terribly adjusted nobody can talk to you

I am a writer on Wattpad and write a romantic comedy called "The Wild in Love " about two brothers and two sisters and so on.According to me ,i think my characters meet your demands.My username is iphantomath and I will feel so happy if you read it. P.S it's going to be a little amateur because I am not a professional writer and basically am a teen.But still thanks though

Try Anne of Green Gables. More than 100 years old, but it’s more modern than many girly girl hating books.

Everyyoueverymiau very true. It’s like these authors think u can choose to only be girly or a “nerd” but Anne is so much more complex

you can try reading Through Your Eyes by ladyliteral on wattpad. it's not like the usual wattpad books. it deals with serious issues like racism, toxic masculinity and bullying. also the female lead doesn't judge anyone and she's so sweet. the same goes with the male lead. he's hispanic and has faced racism and we get to see his journey of self love. please give it a try.

y'all act like its not the most socially accepted thing in the world for women to like clothes, makeup, and boys

Or you can justify better why the character loathes the other people. Like maybe they’re entitled prats, they bully other people or they’re genuinely irritating in some way.

I mean, in a way, I feel like insecurity often results in assholery irl. I find that when I'm being judgmental towards myself, I tend to apply that same judgemental mentality to others. Thankfully, I'm able to catch myself, but the cliche saying "you need to love yourself before you can love others" seems to have some truth to it. The problem with characters like her is that they're never called out on that asshole behavior and are even implicitly praised for it by the author.

"[the whitest boy possible]" hhhskak

Henna Faunway and [irrelevant band] is always also super basic, not that I'm against popular music, it's just hypocritical. The protagonist will be like "she likes 1D but I like Metallica, I'm better than her ETC ETC" And I'm like no Sara, Metallica is the most basic rock band of all time.

Gabby West exactly.... I mean shut the fuck up sara! Take your basic ass personality somewhere else.

Gabby West oml my name is Sara i feel violated

Favorite comment ever

Merlyn Xx to

elder poptart Me too

They are called "cool girls trope"

In one of my stories, the “pick me” girl is actually the villain lol

@@forgotmyun that sounds interesting!

Honestly, that seems very plausible

Dza TRUTH

Accurate

The title alone sounds like a Wattpad story

tiffany blew me Lmfaoo right? People in Band were more popular than the track team, at least in my school 😂😂

us string beans deserve better 😤😤

That’s true. Only the nerdiest people in our school do track lmao

Spot on!

Growing out of this phase was the best part of my life and looking back it’s so sad how much I hated being a girl. I hate the trope and I hate it even more that it’s probably popular because so many girls are made fun of for being girls and so they gravitate towards this sort of thing. I seriously wish that this wasn’t such a popular trope bc it’s really sad to know people hate their femininity so much and devalue those who present them. This is kind of a long winded way to agree with you lol

I totally agree. We need to stop putting into people’s heads this idea that somehow displaying femininity is a sign of weakness.

i think at the root of it, "i'm not like other girls" meant "i'm not a brainless copy-pasted version of the same stupid model". it was a way to say hey, i'm my own person. and all in all, i don't think that's a bad thing. it's evolved into a meme basically, because it was so overused and turned exactly into what it wanted to combat: a mindless cliche - which is sort of messed up, if you think about it, the fact that so many girls felt the need to say it so many times, like hey, i'm different!! because everybody just lumped teenage girls into one big you're-all-the-same anyway peace, loved the video casey!

Maria Nedelcu the thing is, other girls ARENT "brainless copy-pasted versions of the same stupid model". There's no need to hate on other people to lift yourself up, especially because no one is as special as they think. We're all unique in our own ways. Just because you don't like popular things, doesn't automatically make you some superior being in a world of lesser people, y'know? (I don't mean you in particular, just the people who think this way) At the end of the day, we just need to let people be themselves

normalgirlcvco same! I love makeup and dressing up but once I started college it’s become something I do only for special occasions, if even that! Too much effort! I rarely get done up anymore and in college no one really cares .... But I still love it ~ ( and collect makeup for when I think I’m going to use it ...)

normalgirlcvco same. I want to wear makeup but I’m too lazy to do it

I literally only go wear my makeup if I'm going for formal occassions or cosplaying. Too lazy to do it every morning.

I wear makeup everytime I go out. Well I wear eyebrows and eyeliner, but I still only wake up 15-20 minutes before I leave the house. The three minutes it takes are worth it to me, but I admire people that have the confidence to go out without make up. It should be a given, but it's not for me🙈

Saaame

This was very refreshing, thank you

Took me most of my youth to realize that. None of the girls dressed up in my middle school and I felt pressured to stop wearing dresses and skirts and swap for sweatshirts and jeans because all the girls at school would’ve thought I was “fake” or wouldn’t have taken me seriously

You're invalid if your personality is crap

@@hellothere69. you'll disagree with everybody if you claim everyone you don't like is 'invalid'

@@sarahrrv That's totally not what I meant. It's one thing to dislike someone who you don't get along with, and it's another thing to hate someone who's an a$$hole in general and treats everyone beneath them. I'm talking about the latter one.

Lulu Socks same

Ugh, I was "not like other girls" for a while. I don't know what changed, but it was like "This is stupid" at some point, and while I'm not into manicures, fashion, or makeup, I accept that women liking that stuff doesn't necessarily mean they're shallow or stupid or bitchy or slutty, and me not liking that stuff doesn't make me unique or cool.

@@FrenkTheJoy SAME. I'm personally not into that type of stuff and tbh don't really understand it anyways (as in why people feel the need to wear make up) but I respect the right of others to do wtf they want. It's none of my business and I should not be judging them. On the other hand I wish girls would stop judging other girls for not wearing makeup and not being into fashion because yes this does happen a lot as well

Most the time women said they were shamed into wearing makeup and covering flaws. I’m the opposite though. I was shamed to not wear makeup or dress pretty. I felt like I had to dress down and act less “girly” to be treated with respect. Took me all of middles school and up until senior year to realize I like wearing makeup and dressing up and shit. I think it’s fun, and it took me so long to have the confidence to do so because everyone around me said that made me “weak” or “fake”

The only "not like other girls" narrative I want to see

I’m not like other girls; I am a man

The only valid version of “I’m not like other girls”

Im not like the other girls, I eat dirt

FizzyPop I’m not like other girls, I stab my foot and eat it like spaghetti

WHAHDBDN

i see that profile pic ;'))

THAT'S WHAT I SAID!!!!

Felice Escalante adfsshds i hate how true that is💀😩😂😂😂😂

*flashbacks to my cringey Directioner phase at age 10/11*Pls no

1.3K with no comments? lmfao

Um No

@@starwarslegendscanon4001 they do actually

@@moon_cafe4148 well we all see different things when we read. Because I didn't see any internalised Misogyny in the authors books.

@@starwarslegendscanon4001 okay but did you miss the part about the main girl bringing down other girls for the way they dress. thats a key characteristic of internalized misogyny; thinking that femininity is less and that other girls are less valid because of how they perform/dont perform femininity. im not saying the author is, cuz it is possible to write characters who you wouldnt agree with, however you'd be pretty blind not to see that the character was very much a 'not-like-other-girls' girl in some way.

BLAND OMFG... girl I instantly think of white rice and wonder bread toast

A GIRL WHO’S NOT LIKE OTHER GIRLS... BECAUSE SHE’S A HORSE

Ha I did shave my head in sixth grade-and this comment does make sense, I was pretty weird. I mean I cat meowed in class so that’s something

i was (am) really weird and can't help it and i feel really self conscious about it. i have the strangest sense of humor and practice paganism and a lot of people don't want to be my friend. i'm also not very attractive, in the conventional sense at least, i have a big nose, small boobs, and dark eye circles. however, i still like makeup and dresses and "girly things" despite not being pretty. i never have read a book with a character who acted or looked like me. even just one book would mean the world because i feel like there's no one out there who relates to me, not in a quirky way, but in an incredibly lonely way.

so you're not like the other girls who are not like the other girls?

Brave Kate I wanna like this but the like count is at 69

Gabby West Same, every time! XD

Both gender are complex.

You said it +zigaudrey

I think guys and girls are equally complicated, but some people are just really basic, lol.

Preach.

Scififan9000 :P There is a book like that. It’s called Restart by Gordon Korman. I’ll just write the summary. Chase’s memory just went out the window. Chase doesn’t remember falling off the roof. He doesn’t remember hitting his head. He doesn’t, in fact, remember anything. He wakes up in a hospital room and suddenly has to learn his whole life all over again.... starting with his own name. He knows he’s Chase. But who is Chase? When he gets back to school, he sees that different kids have very different reactions to his return. Some kids treat him like a hero. Some kids are clearly afraid of him. One girl in particular is so angry with him that she pours her frozen yogurt on his head the first chance she gets. Pretty soon, it’s not only a question of who Chase is- It’s a question of who he was... and who he’s going to be. There’s no love story it’s just Chase and his discoveries.

There's a book I read once about this goth girl who has to infiltrate a cheerleading squad to hunt for werewolves and it was really refreshing because she actually got called out for acting all high-and-mighty around others and realized that she actually was being a judgmental person.

That's a nice subversion of the typical cheerleader/goth dynamic. Typically the cheerleader is awful to the goth, but it does go both ways. I'd read Restart too, it has an interesting premise. I thought about Mean Girls just now too. The memes for it are hilarious. 😂

Emporer Kuzco lol

@@Tronomics2000 sauce?

I'm not like other girls. Because I'm a dude.

yapdog YOU ARE VALID #dudesalsoawesome

*+yapdog* So the MC of this book is... Oh, my God! This changes everything!

Brave Kate Oh god hell no. Most women I've interacted with are mediocre and boring af. I mean don't get me wrong, I am one myself. So while I'll give individuals a chance, I'd heavily disagree with the notion that most women are worthwhile people. People in general aren't exactly stellar, but men at least have some variety about them. Edit: I'm not defending the use of that trope though. Especially in this books case, it's just a confirmation that she's exactly like other girls, and one of the stupid ones at that.

Simon 413 I’ve personally found that women are a lot more interesting than the vast majority of men. It’s literally just the people you are surrounded by and that doesn’t speak for the whole population

I'm 18, and even thought I'm about to leave high school I still think I've been there long enough to speak for it. Even though I mostly agree, there is that 1% of couples that a lot of people do get invested in, and that's it they're really fun. Not so much important (like president) or just nice or popular, but fun. Like if one of them did something like idk painted the principal's office blue, and people are constantly checking in to see what they're up to next, then they would be interested in their love life.

Even then it's mild interest. Like everyone might know about it, but if things so south people just go, "oh".

Yeah lol even with the occasional couple that people care about it's not common enough for YA books to use it so often and it never happens in the way they act like it does in those books.

My favorite is when the author also mentions that this is going on at a big school. I went to a large high school (over 5,000 students) and no one cared in the slightest who was dating who. The closest anyone got being 'popular' was this one guy who was super nice and smart, and that was because he had a Troy Bolton moment sophmore year where he had to chose between being on the varsity football team or the top choir. Other than him I cannot think of a single person/relationship that anyone was invested in. Sure if someone did something crazy (one time a couple was caught having sex in a practice room) the news eventually got around, but it could take months before you knew about and most of the time you had no idea who they were!

Actually, it's true in my high school. Especially with gay/lesbian couples.

Agreed, I feel like so many booktubers live to bash books, but Casey points out things that really helps first-time writers see things from the REAL LIFE ya perspective:) keep it up Casey!

Z file Not found hi Z File, I assume you're taking to me lol. I've only recently started sharing my work with the world, (too much of a wuss to do so until now). So, I'm not published but I do have a story up on Get Underlined, you're welcome to read and leave a comment! www.getunderlined.com/profile/eleanor/ thanks:)

I can't say when it was actually written but a quick Google says it was published in 2017

black women

Lexy I'm black and we talk about either straightening our hair, keep an afro or braid it

Lana Harper these cliche books would never include a black woman. That wouldn't be cliche enough

it was legit published in 2017 smh

Maria M what i hate is when side characters blend into the background and only pop up to fangirl over the main character’s relationship. (also, if i have to read a scene where the main couple kiss and everyone around them starts clapping i’m gonna scream.)

Maria M nicely said, growing in multiple ways and finding beauty within... I look forward to your story. Can you shed light on your perception of inward beauty and how to balance multiple areas and stages of growth?

Sumner Stuart I think the most important thing is confidence. Although I'm still working on it, I've noticed how much even little bit of it changed me. I started wearing clothes that flatter my body type but also I became more active in class (even though it has nothing to do with beauty, but these things affect all areas of your life). However, confidence is not enough. A house cannot be built on lousy pillars so often times you'll find that you are losing this confidence easily. That's why we need to see ourselves as good enough. If you try your best and you still don't succeed you need to appreciate the effort you put in and not cast it away. Also, the coming-of-age time is when we explore so many new things of life. It can be really hard to focus on either confidence or trying to be sociable when all you can think about is art or sport or music. That's why it's most important to see ourselves as enough. I may not be able to be focused on dressing up too much when my main priority is school or family. But that's okay. Sometimes we need to prioritise things in our life. But the more we practice confidence (ie teaching ourselves to accept compliments or approach and talk to other people) it will come naturally. Trough this confidence we will find even more great opportunities to learn from. But that's just my take on it...

Casey Aonso I'm thinking about it now ! English isn't my first language but a simple yet agreeable prose is a good fit for YA

I need this? Wow.

You should try writing this! I bet it'd be great 😄

... That's kinda what happened to me not gonna lie. Like, REALLY close to what happened to me.

This is me

As a small-chested woman, let me just say, there is nothing inherently wrong with big totters. I hate shitty books that feel they have to have the female protagonist tear other women down just to make her own insecure ass somehow feel better. That's a BAD CHARACTER TRAIT. When I read that I'm like "your protagonist is an insecure bitch and I already don't like her."

Stormageddon Great rant, am genuinely sad it was over so soon

Stormageddon Oh I feel you. I don't like wearing low cut shirts because of "cleavage". But one time I had a plus sized friend and she got dresscoded because she "was showing too much" and she was wearing a normal shirt! It's just she was well-endowed. It's just sad.

Charlotte Welsh Yes, I've never really thought about it like that but it's similar with skinny shaming. You can't fat shame, but the other way is absolutely fine (and actively encouraged by certain media).

Kelly Kobayashi i lived in a family that degraded my self confidence my brother would call me Pillsbury dough boy and a hippo because i gained alot of weight in the 3rd grade i went threw early puberty due to a chronic illness i wouldnt find out i had tell i was 20 The worst thing is going threw that being alone being already a outcast at your school because you stood up for a boy who was being bullied i got horribly made fun of because of my boobs how fat i was even sometime i had accidents because my period start was on its own rollercoaster i couldnt tell when it would come or not i was bullied and broken down slowly i was always that fat big titted girl untell middle school i couldnt take being made fun of by everyone so i started to starve myself and work out obsessively i would only eat a half meal a day i had a eating disorder this coincided with me losing a friend who then spread rumors i was a whore i lost that friend because she refused to believe me when i had been sexually assaulted by one of her friends my life was shit and i could control not eating and i wanted people to make fun of me less but the thing is no matter how thin i got i still was that fat girl i still got picked on for being fat and it was impossible to get thinner i didnt look overly thin because my illness makes it extremely easy to gain weight i was over weight eating and working out just the normal amount people tend to do so i didnt look overly thin but i was pretty small I also had huge boobs and since the whole school thought i was a whore going into highschool i got grabbed alot and the school administration told me wear a larger shirt and how it was my fault for having big boobs no matter how much weight i lost my boobs didnt go away so everyone chose to pick on me saying they where fake my own mom told me when i needed a bigger size bra because they grew that oh your getting fat again lose weight i was i had no self respect i didnt see myself as pretty so i latched on to shitty relationships with whoever would call me pretty it lead me to do some pretty stupid things i regretted for a long time sometimes i still do but only sometimes i craved for people to tell me i was pretty i was good enough but still never felt that at all it wasnt untell i chose to try to love myself to do things for myself that i realized that self confidence comes from ones self if you dont have the respect for yourself to take those complement instead you seek out more and more then you truely dont love yourself why did i relize this rupaul when he goes if you cant love your self how the hell are you supose to love someone else and its true i hated myself because i had been degraded for so long i had to build my self confidence from the ground up brick by brick not by focusing on my outward appearance but my inner thoughts i was good enough to wait for someone and not just go with anyone who tells me im attractive And you know its not only me i know people lots of people who go from person to person seeking the rush of being told they are pretty and sexy but that doesnt last those people tend to not love you for your innerself no they love you because your appearance and your easy because you don't like yourself and hold no self respect So yea someone can tell you they love you and like everything about you and that can give you the confidence but you cared enough about yourself you have enough confidence to actually except that as where lots of people have none they seek it out in others but never take the complement to heart because they themselves dont feel that way Also the thing is its a band aid most people seek out the people who just think they are attractive not anyone who cares for who they are on the inside and people think confidence comes from how you look it doesnt it comes from when you like your innerself

In my experience, girls judge other girls way harsher than I have have ever known a guy to judge girls. Sometimes girls can be super mean. Dunno why but it's just one of those ridiculous things. But maybe if we are all aware and we call it out, we can change it.

We stan 😂

i'm not like other girls because i've had a hysterectomy. no uterus gang 🤙😤

Well you do have completely different mitochondrial DNA than every other girl so... you're a unique snowflake

lil dude lucky

im not like other gals because i have XXX chromosomes B)

Casey Aonso I also wonder if they assume their target demographic is nerdy, makeup free girls who are pining over the track star and hating popular girls and write accordingly. There could be some basic, shitty marketing at play here too. Whatever the case, it's really gross and does nothing to edify our younger generation. Again, there's a chance to represent some of these more vulnerable, insecure thought processes and relationships with other girls without reinforcing or encouraging them. Like I think you mentioned, show some progression in how confidence creates a healthy attitude towards other girls. I know I'm high school, I absolutely had insecure thoughts about other women. Ultimately, though, my female friendships were the strongest and helped shape my confidence and who I am today. Also, I was a very serious policy debater in HS and even I struggle to see how lots of debate play by play would be interesting to read. Strange choice.

Casey Aonso lmaoo np this whole review was breath of fresh air

the default male mii

Omg so truuue

Thank you, I've felt this way multiple times before and never knew how exactly to articulate it and now I understand why I do this too

Casey Aonso exactly!!

Yess

Casey Aonso lol i would have loved if one of them was like " Hey , dude hold my bag. I might have done my nails recently but i wouldn't mind handing out some pimp slaps to some mousy hipster girl with attitude issues. Do you want to be slapped silly ? Yeah thought so." That girl would have probably came off as bitchy but at least it would have made me laugh

Right and it just makes her untrustworthy never trust a girl that doesn’t have girlfriends

You have the right idea, carlie fox. I've been watching readers on BookTube for a few years and have learned quite a bit. In fact, I've learned so much more than I have from any videos on writing.

I hate when girls say that omg

Casey Aonso YASS

Tabitha K. there’s this realistic ya book that’s literally so good and i would completely recommend it, it’s called screen queens and it talks about female issues and it’s literally amazing

Bath Bomb I don't think middle schoolers should be showing off their bodies. That is also toxic and should not be praised. Makeup is fine tho

Kathleen Pyburn I remember being this trope when i was in 7th grade.

Well, I saw fanfictions that were written better ;)

Casey Aonso UGH! i have to read it for school and i refuse to read it i’m only 46 pages in. the whole time they both just complain! people say the deeper you get into it the better it gets like no sis i hate this book with a PASSION 😭

OH ME GOSH I HATED THAT BOOK TOO!! WHEN I FINISHED IT I FELT LIKE I HAVE TO TAKE A SHOWER TO GET OFF THE SLIME THAT THE BOOK HAD JUST LEFT ON ME

Also that naked mirror bit, so cringy wtf😅

Casey Aonso Right!!! But like that's lowkey on the highkey not realistic??? At least not the way that it portrayed in media and novels. In my opinion, if someone is well and truly the "I don't care" badass personality type then they wouldn't feel the need to constantly bombard the reader/viewer with examples on why they're special. And most definately not to put others down in order to make themselves feel better!

selenium "alot of them like videogames and horror films" I never met a Tom Boy who said they like horror films.