Introducing The Next Generation Of Leaders And Thinkers

Not Your Average Sized YA Protagonists

Young adult fiction is one of the most popular genre for books nowadays. It’s great to see that teenagers and young adults are reading books while relating to these worlds and characters and living vicariously through them. However, we sadly see that a lot of protagonists fit a specific version of ideal beauty. This usually might shake the readers’ confidence which counteracts the whole purpose of YA fiction. So, if you are a reader and are looking to branch out for more realistic representations, or you are a non-reader wanting to start off on the right foot, read on.

1. Eleanor Douglas from Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
Eleanor is a big, curvy girl. She has huge curly red hair and a lot of freckles. Without even intending to, she breaks gender roles by wearing “men clothing”. You can imagine how she stands out, but despite her abusive family and the bullies at her school, she manages to stick her ground and resists looking like everyone else. Eleanor is highly relatable and a lot of people will manage to see themselves in her, one way or another. The book itself is heart-warming and full of lessons that are never early to learn.

2. Greg Gaines from Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
Greg is one of my favourites. He’s a very interesting character. He’s not your average beach bodied, blond haired and blue eyed lead. He describes himself as “pudgy” and the readers can see he’s very awkward. Greg has trouble with his social skills and doesn’t see others as friends though they clearly are. He is passionate and talented about his skill in filmmaking. Throughout the book, one can see the journey of self-loathing turning into acceptance of a character that can really reach out to the readers.

3. Alaska Young from Looking for Alaska by John Green
The great thing about this book is that it doesn’t revolve around Alaska’s body images but still speaks volumes about the issue. Alaska is petite and curvy. She’s enigmatic but also really popular and sexually liberated. I read this book when I was a younger teenager and it showed me that I don’t have to look straight out of a magazine to be loved and confident.

4. Jack aka “Bones” and David aka “Lard” from Skin and Bones by Sherry Shahan
Skin and Bones is a book that deals with eating disorders and treats them so carefully. Our protagonist, Bones is anorexic. He’s severely sick due to a trauma that he went through when he was younger and is admitted into an ED hospital to recover, which is extremely hard for him. Meanwhile, his roommate, Lard, is a compulsive overeater. Lard turns his weakness (food) into his strength (being a chef) which is a lesson everyone could always learn. The book doesn’t just educate, give representation and show readers they can overcome their battles, but it has another wonderful message: We are all recovering from something, and the right companions can help you heal. The wrong ones could kill you.

5. Victoria aka “Vicks” from This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales
As the title of the book suggest, this book revolves heavily around music, which is a huge part of a lot of our lives. Victoria is a supporting character in the book, but she stood out the most to me. Vicks struggled in high school and went from well loved cheerleader to curvy reclusive emo. Though she grew out of all these stereotypes, she didn’t lose a big part of who she is: her body. Victoria is the lead singer of a band. She’s good at at it and she knows it. She owns her image and incorporates it in their performances and isn’t afraid to say she’s not slim. I think this is the character a lot of YA readers should look up to.

Finally, it shouldn’t be so challenging to make a list of 6 characters that aren’t slim or have model-like and/or Eurocentric features. There needs to be more representation in YA fiction because if books want to boom among the young adult audience, it should be inclusive of everyone. Till the book industry fixes its mistakes, enjoy these books and hopefully you’ll find some inspiration.

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