Can young adults identify with the main characters?

Use this forum to discuss the December 2017 Book of the Month, End of the Last Great Kingdom by Victor Rose.
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CommMayo
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Can young adults identify with the main characters?

Post by CommMayo »

The best Young Adult novels are able to pull teens into the story by giving them characters that they can easily identify with? Do you think End of the the Last Great Kingdom has protagonists that today's young adults can sympathize with and draw connections to struggles in their own lives? Do you think that Heat was a strong enough character for the girls who read this novel to look up to?
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Christina Rose
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Post by Christina Rose »

Even though the physical struggles are acts of fantasy, I do think the inner struggles are relatable. Each main character struggles with fitting in and finding his or her own way in the world. I like that the author delves into the strengths and weaknesses of these young characters. It makes them that much more relatable.

Yes, I do feel like Heat is a strong enough character for young girls to look up to. Even though she struggles, she also rises. I think her lack of perfection makes her more relatable, and the different ways she overcomes her weaknesses show examples of attainable strength and highlight real qualities like endurance.
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Post by Steph K »

I think young adults would be able to connect with the characters. Brimstone struggles with bullying, which many young adult readers may have experience with as well. And they all struggle to fit in in some way, which is a major theme in young adult literature.
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ReyvrexQuestor Reyes
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Post by ReyvrexQuestor Reyes »

The age bracket of the leading characters fits well with that of Anime heroes and heroines. We know, this attribute alone could be credited as a potential factor for drawing in young adults.
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Post by CaitlinGonya »

I think young adults can connect with characters, especially Brimstone. As teenagers they are subject to many fits and cliches. Finding ones self and surviving bullying are milestones of life.
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Post by dhwanis »

Young adults are drawn to stories like this, especially the thoughts and the emotions of the characters if the story is fantasy.
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Post by inaramid »

I have just started with the book, and already, I'm seeing an insecure boy who's obsessing about the way he looks and how everybody will perceive him. Sounds like a typical adolescent to me.
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Post by Baba Thoust »

Absolutely, I guess I can qualify to call myself a young adult: and I found it to be what I constantly need to be reading.
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Christina Rose
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Post by Christina Rose »

babathoust wrote: 05 Dec 2017, 15:28 Absolutely, I guess I can qualify to call myself a young adult: and I found it to be what I constantly need to be reading.
Thanks for your feedback! It’s good to hear from a young adult who can answer this question from experience. :)
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Post by MsTri »

inaramid wrote: 05 Dec 2017, 09:39 I have just started with the book, and already, I'm seeing an insecure boy who's obsessing about the way he looks and how everybody will perceive him. Sounds like a typical adolescent to me.
I totally agree! It's been years since I was a teen, but I vividly remember feeling just this way. Shoot, as a *cough*-year-old I STILL struggle with this on occasion!
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Post by Vickie Noel »

MsTri wrote: 05 Dec 2017, 21:47
inaramid wrote: 05 Dec 2017, 09:39 I have just started with the book, and already, I'm seeing an insecure boy who's obsessing about the way he looks and how everybody will perceive him. Sounds like a typical adolescent to me.
I totally agree! It's been years since I was a teen, but I vividly remember feeling just this way. Shoot, as a *cough*-year-old I STILL struggle with this on occasion!
:D Omg, you are so funny! I suppose it's true that there's always going to be that little girl or boy inside of us all.
The desperation Leaf felt at the prospect of remaining a victim of bullying, thus driving him to find a solution by any means necessary, is akin to what many young adults feel during the course of their social interactions. Sometimes, they end up achieving achieving the impossible.
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MsTri
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Post by MsTri »

Thanks, @Vickie Noel! :D
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Post by Londera »

I feel like the characters went throught many situations that young adults can relate to. So yeah it is relatable.
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Post by Quartz »

I think young adults can relate to Brimstone when he was Leaf, but it might be harder to relate to Brimstone, the mage. Brimstone's path is something everyone goes through, especially bullying. However, young adults might look up to Brimstone because he has struggled, but still became a great hero.
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Post by Baba Thoust »

Christina Rose wrote: 05 Dec 2017, 19:03
babathoust wrote: 05 Dec 2017, 15:28 Absolutely, I guess I can qualify to call myself a young adult: and I found it to be what I constantly need to be reading.
Thanks for your feedback! It’s good to hear from a young adult who can answer this question from experience. :)
Of course "Christina Rose". It gives us a feeling of belonging: talking on behalf of other young adults.
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