These Books Among Us

As most of you reading this know, there seems to be a trend in the "hero complex" in young adult, middle grade, and children's novels. Stories like Percy Jackson, Hunger Games, and Whichwood all have younger people saving the world. But why has this become the norm for a lot of current writings? Well, let's explore that together. First off, what is the superhero complex and how can we try to identify the features of it in our literature and our lives? The superhero complex is often when a character has a desperate need to protect the people around them. They do not necessarily think of their own safety in the matter, only that they must protect. This person will have an inherent desire and compulsion to help people. There is also a need to do it all alone, to hopefully trim down the list of casualties. Many of the identifiable features of this include over protection, a disinterest in self preservation, and being quite controlling over any and all situatio...

Young adult literature has seen a recent influx of the superhero. Already within the realm of heroes such as Katniss, Harry Potter, and many seemingly normal children, these superheroes are shown as more than just ordinary students or children. They are more than just the “chosen one.” They are different. Outsiders. But that being said, though they do have extraordinary powers, many of them are relatable to kids now. They are orphans, adopted, from non “nuclear” families, something that is much more prevalent in today’s society. But this is not shown as a bad thing. These heroes are more than just super, they are people who come from different backgrounds and want to make a difference in the world. Books like this, as well as being an introduction into nerd culture as shown in last week’s post, show kids that it is okay to be different and to use their talents to help the world become a better place. Now I know that a few of these books have yet to come out, so I cannot say wh...