Let’s play a game.
I am going to list several of the most favorite fantasy book tropes in YA fiction. You are going to read them. And at some point (probably sooner than you’d like you are going to feel personally attacked.
That’s fine. That’s the point.
We all have That Trope. The one that makes us grab a book off the shelf before we’ve even finished reading the back cover. The one that shows up in our search history, our Goodreads shelves, and our 2 AM impulse purchases. The one we would defend in a court of law if tropes had lawyers. (They should. Some of these tropes have been through a lot.)
So…let’s find out what your favorite fantasy book trope says about you as a person.
I promise to be gentle.
I am lying.
Enemies to Lovers
What it is: Two characters who loathe each other gradually realize that all that rage was actually just unprocessed yearning wearing a trench coat.
What it says about you: You love chaos. Emotional chaos, specifically. You want the argument in the rain. You want the moment where one of them says something devastating and the other one’s jaw tightens. You want the slow, excruciating meltdown of hatred into something terrifyingly tender.
You have never once in your life said, “I wish these two characters would just communicate openly.” That is not why you are here.
If this is your trope, you have probably already read The Cruel Prince by Holly Black at least twice. You have strong feelings about Cardan. You may have also thrown These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong across the room and then immediately picked it back up.
And look, I get it. I wrote a whole love quadrangle in the Moonshifter Academy series where certain characters cannot be in the same room without the emotional temperature rising by about forty degrees. I didn’t plan it. They just showed up and chose violence. And then feelings. And then more violence. (I blame Kat…sorry girl).
Found Family
What it is: A group of people who are not related by blood decide they would die for each other anyway. Usually while fighting something terrible.
What it says about you: You need a hug. Specifically, you need a very long hug from someone who showed up uninvited, stayed for dinner, and is now a permanent fixture in your life. You are moved by loyalty. You cry when fictional characters call each other “brother” even though they met six chapters ago.
You also probably have a group chat you would burn the world down to protect.
The gold standard here is Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. That crew of misfits pulled off the impossible heist and also your entire heart. Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan also fits — Camp Half-Blood is basically a summer camp for emotionally devastating found family bonding.
Found family is a trope I keep circling back to in my own writing, too. In the Moonshifter Academy series, Kat’s pack isn’t handed to her. She earns it. Messily. Stubbornly. With a lot of trust issues along the way. I once wrote a whole blog post about background characters because I genuinely believe the quiet members of a found family are doing the most important work.
The Chosen One
What it is: One special person is destined by prophecy, birthright, or a really dramatic magical event to save everyone. No pressure.
What it says about you: You like structure. You want to know there is a plan, even when the plan is “teenager with zero training must defeat ancient evil by Tuesday.” You find comfort in the idea that someone, somewhere, was meant for something extraordinary. And you are not-so-secretly hoping that someone is you.
You probably had a childhood phase where you checked the back of your closet for Narnia. (You may still check occasionally. No judgment.)
Harry Potter is the obvious king of this trope. But I’d also point you toward Alina Starkov in Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, who did not want to be chosen and was frankly very annoyed about it. Or Katniss in The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, who technically chose herself and then had to live with the consequences forever.
Dark Academia
What it is: A prestigious, mysterious school where the architecture is gorgeous, the secrets are deadly, and someone is always reading by candlelight in a way that suggests they know more than they should.
What it says about you: You own at least one item of clothing that could be described as “scholarly.” You romanticize libraries. You believe that knowledge is power and also slightly dangerous and you are into that.
You would absolutely accept a scholarship to a school that is rumored to be cursed. You would even be excited about it.
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik is the dark academia fantasy that ate the genre alive. No teachers. No breaks. Monsters in the walls. If that sounds appealing to you, congratulations, you are exactly who I am writing for. Legendborn by Tracy Deonn also nails this — Arthurian legend meets a modern college campus, with secret societies and generational magic layered underneath.
Morally Gray Love Interest
What it is: A character whose moral compass spins like a weathervane in a hurricane. They do terrible things. They have beautiful cheekbones. You cannot look away.
What it says about you: You are tired of nice. You want complicated. You want a character who would burn a city down but also remember your coffee order. You have said the words “they’re not evil, they’re complex” at least once in a conversation that got heated.
You also probably have a Pinterest board that would concern your friends.
The Darkling from Shadow and Bone is the poster child for this trope. Rhysand from A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas also qualifies, depending on who you ask, which is part of the fun.
I touched on this in my post about why urban fantasy villains steal the show. The morally gray love interest lives in the same neighborhood as the compelling villain — just with better lighting and a redemption arc that may or may not arrive.
Secret Royalty / Hidden Identity
What it is: A character discovers they are secretly a princess, a lost heir, a prophesied ruler, or otherwise much more important than their previous life suggested.
What it says about you: You are optimistic. Deeply, beautifully optimistic. Somewhere in your soul, you believe that the universe has a surprise promotion waiting for you. You have daydreamed about discovering a secret heritage at least once this month.
This trope is the fantasy equivalent of finding out you won the lottery, except instead of money you get a kingdom, an army, and a target on your back.
The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski plays with identity and hidden power beautifully. And in my Mermaid Curse series, Alysa’s entire journey begins with not knowing who (or what) she truly is. Twins, secrets, an island called Alabaster, and a supernatural heritage that rewrites everything she thought was true. You can start with The Atlantis Twins if that sounds like your kind of chaos.
So. Which One Are You?
Be honest. You already know.
Maybe you’re a pure enemies-to-lovers gremlin. Maybe you’re a found family softie pretending to be tough. Maybe you’re a dark academia devotee who is currently reading this in a library and feeling very seen.
Or maybe (and this is the most dangerous option) you’re all of them. At once. Depending on your mood and the current phase of the moon.
That’s the beauty of fantasy book tropes. They are not just plot devices. They are mirrors. They reflect what we crave, what comforts us, and what makes us stay up until 3 AM reading just one more chapter.
I wrote about this a bit when I explored whether Moonshifter Academy is romantasy. The answer, as with most good questions, turned out to be messy and complicated and involved my characters yelling at me. Tropes work the same way. They overlap. They evolve. They refuse to stay in neat little boxes.
Just like us.
Now go tag a friend who needs to see their trope exposed. And if you want to dive into a series that hits about four of these at once, you can find all my books at mskaminsky.com.
Happy reading. Stay unhinged.
Recent Comments