My Unpopular Book Opinions EXPOSED!

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1. Perk of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

This is by far the most controversial opinion on my list. So many people I know love this book, and I wanted to love it too, but it was just average for me. Charlie was a generic and average character that I've seen over and over again in YA fiction. Sam was also average. I found Charlie and Sam's relationship to be really weird. I thought she was way too mature for him and was just leading him on most of the time. I did like the style of writing, and I think the title is EVERYTHING! But I wish it focused more on Charlie's PTSD, his struggles with growing up, and his past trauma, and less on sex, drugs, etc., which I felt detracted from the overall beauty of the story.

2. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

This is another story I really wanted to like, especially since it has to do with paranormal activity and time travel. I don't really know why I didn't like this book. There's not one thing in particular that I disliked. I felt like some parts dragged and the book could have been shorter. Jacob's story was interesting, and the grandfather murder was exciting. I loved learning about all of the quirky kids at Peregrine's and uncovering the mystery of what happened and why all of these kids are living September 3, 1940 over and over again. In the end, I love the premise, but I didn't think it lived up to my expectations.

3. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Where do I begin. As the YA reading community has grown and our tastes have matured, I think we've all realized just how trashy most of the YA books of this decade are—Twilight, Throne of Glass, Shatter Me, etc. The cringe and sappy romance levels are through the roof. The never-ending, flowery descriptions and love triangles. The books that encompass every single YA trope ever...........enough said, let's just get into this book specifically:

I read the first two books of this series, and started the third one (Heir of Fire), but could not, for the life of me, finish it. Rowan is the worst character I've ever read about. I hate him with a burning passion. I was already getting sick of the Chaol vs. Dorian drama, in fact I didn't even care who Celaena ended up with at this point in my Throne of Glass journey.

I was utterly confused with the magic system. The only thing I found interesting in the third book were the witches and weird flying pigs. The thing I disliked the most was that I couldn't tell what direction the story was heading in. Nothing anyone did seemed to have any end goal, and I couldn't see how the plot connected at all. It was very repetitive and long and antagonizing, and I felt like there was no end in sight, especially considering I still had four more books, each one at least a hundred pages longer than the last, to go.

4. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

This is probably my least favorite book of all time. No joke.

It's like Throne of Glass, but with the most disappointing ending in the world because I actually liked one of the relationships in it, and so my soul was crushed. Cal is the most annoying character. He is the stereotypical hot prince. Maven is his younger brother, so of course Aveyard could not resist creating a love triangle between Mare (your stereotypical "strong" female MC) and the two prince bros.

What I hated about this book so much is that I actually loved Mare and Maven's relationship. It wasn't just a "I'm hot, you're hot, so you know the author's going to make us hook up" relationship. They had a lot in common. They were both underestimated. They actually formed a friendship before anything else, but you know YA can't let that happen because it ruins the narrative—a romantic relationship between two characters who actually care about each other and know how to communicate! How are we supposed to create conflict out of that?!?

So a decent relationship was destroyed in order to make room for Cal and Mare's stupidness. Maven, who was the best character in the entire book, was villainized with next to no foreshadowing so the author could make room for this cliche, risque affair. She wrote a good relationship between Mare and Maven, but wanted Mare to end up with Cal. So instead of making Cal a half-decent human, she pulls the "Maven's secretly evil" card so she 1. Doesn't have to write a good love interest and 2. Can cover up her poor excuse for a plot by making Maven the villain, therefore forcing us to ship Mare and Cal instead.

Well, it didn't work, Victoria! Maven is STILL my favorite. He's STILL the only good character. And your attempt to cover up your plot holes by making him the bad guy has failed. IT MAKES ME SO MAD! Because I saw the light, guys. I saw the light and then it just fell apart.

5. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

First off, I loved the first 10 chapters of this book. I thought it was going to be great. I was ready for the dystopian world. I was ready for the weird no-one-can-touch-me-without-dying thing. I was ready for the writing and Juliette's psychotic mental trauma. I even thought Adam had some potential, and would go as far as saying I liked him.

Man was I wrong.

My biggest problems with this book:

1. THE WRITING!

"My jaw is dangling from my shoelace." Okay, Juliette. You've lost it.

“Every butterfly in the world has migrated to my stomach.” GAG!!!

“My words wear no parachutes as they fall out of my mouth.” I'm confused.

Not to mention the weird punctuation metaphors in Unravel Me and Ignite Me. Sadly, I couldn't find the direct quotes, but there are at least six.

2. WARNER!

Why do so many people find abusive jerks attractive? Do we remember when Warner forced Juliette to kiss him toward the end of this book? Do we remember when Warner made her torture a toddler that we don't find out was actually a simulation until Ignite Me?

Here's a tip for you Warner: When you're trying to get a girl to fall in love with you, DON'T MAKE HER TORTURE FAKE BABIES!

It makes me so mad. Warner is a creep in this book. Like I was scared for Juliette when he was around her, even though I knew he couldn't touch her without being killed. I think he would have gladly taken the risk, even if he was killed because that's how much he was infatuated with her. That's how disgusting he is.

He didn't redeem himself in Ignite Me like so many people think he did. His tough guy act wasn't an act. He said it himself that he was a bad person and that he would never change. The only time he shows any sign of compassion is when he's with Juliette or talking about his mother. He's manipulative. He makes her feel bad for not loving him when he's been nothing but a jerk to everyone else. Overall, he's just a despicable character, and I don't know how anyone likes him.

2.5. Juliette

Juliette's gullible and stupid. Adam's like a little puppy dog who follows her around. Warner's an abusive creep who pins her against walls and makes her feel guilty about not loving him. Shooting Warner while she was making out with him was the greatest thing she ever did. She really just needs to be single and get herself together. She clearly knows nothing about dating, boys, or saving the world. She's mentally unstable and needs to figure herself out.

3. Mafi Had The Audacity To Call This A Dystopian Series

This is not a dystopian series—it is a romance series with hits of supernatural powers and war. The world is never explained. How the world came to be is never explained. Juliette powers are never explained. I learned more about Adam and Warner's tattoos than I did about anything else in this entire book because those are the only two things Juliette had time to explore.

4. The Romance And Lines Like This: “God, Juliette, I'd follow you anywhere. You're the only good thing left in this world.”

When your significant other becomes your only reason to live, you know you have a problem.

When you put them on the pedestal of being the ONLY good thing in the entire world, you know you have a problem.

This is why I avoid most romance books like the plague: the relationships they portray are not built on love, but infatuation. The characters in the relationships are too immature to be in relationships at all. And I know it's fiction, but can we have something that resembles a healthy relationship between mature people? No. We can't. We have to have the drama. We have to have the heartbreak. We have to have the abusive and broken boyfriend and the girl who's going to be the one who changes him for the better and heals him and gives him a purpose other than breaking things and shouting.

I would like to see a real man in a YA book. Like just one. He doesn't even have to be in a relationship, in fact it would be better if he was just single. Let's make him virtuous and caring and protective and hard working and not excuse his bad behavior because of his traumatic past.

While we're at it, let's make a better female character too. Perhaps one that's a little more feminine with less of an attitude and ego. A girl who doesn't ground her identity in chopping up monsters, shooting arrows, wearing skimpy armor (that does absolutely nothing to save her during a battle), and beating up men twice her size (which is really unrealistic). A girl who's humble—who has standards and self-respect. A girl who has some common sense, is nurturing, respectful, and doesn't go for the first hot guy she sees. A girl who doesn't play the victim and takes responsibility for her actions. I'm kind of sick of the Celaena Sardothiens of YA fiction.

Anyway, just some thoughts I have that apply not only to Shatter Me, but a lot of other YA novels.

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Here was my list of unpopular book opinions! This was super fun to write. Thank you for reading, and leave a comment down below on whether you agree/disagree with the books on my list. Also remember to subscribe to my blog so you don't miss any posts! I have a lot of fun content coming out.

It's been a pleasure writing for you, and until next time—stay weird and stay writing. - Lexi