Adam and Carly relatable?

[Howlan]

Not really... any time they had a disagreement or issue with each other (or other characters) they possessed an unnatural understanding of others feelings and pretty much everyone was forgiven instantly... considering that they are teenagers, I didn't really relate to that at all... When I was a teenager I was never so understanding and more prone to hold a grudge for longer than 10 mins

Yes, true I can relate to that too...

[Howlan]

One of the issues I had with the story was that everyone seemed to be Hollywood-pretty except for Adam's Dad. I initially thought I'd find Adam relatable because I was considered a "troubled teen" myself. However, I certainly never kidnapped anyone and I never managed to get anyone killed, despite doing very wise and advisable things like driving while high. (Sarcasm, in case no-one recognizes it.) I also never lusted for any of my relatives and, in fact, found it disconcerting that I had a cousin who was a dead ringer for Andy Gibb. I was attracted to Andy Gibb, but not to my cousin.
To make a long story short, I fairly quickly stopped finding Adam relatable because I had the tendency to turn my anger inward and engage in self-destructive behavior. Adam turned his anger outward and saw other people as literal lesser beings. I just wanted people to wake up and stop being so hateful and judgmental when it came to people who were different from them.

Adam was a narcissistic character in this story. He believed himself superior than others. That's an uncommon trait in the protagonist of a YA novel. So sure that makes him pretty unrelatable.

[Howlan]

I am a young adult and I don't normally think so deeply about whether it is more believable for a character's age to be different just because of the situation they are experiencing. People can go through a lot of unbelievable things in reality regardless of age after all... Poor decision-making skills or ridiculous logic is more mind-boggling to me (not twisted logic; that can be entertaining), but I suppose I am more lenient when the protagonist(s) are younger. Fantasy makes me more lenient yet, so that is also an aspect that can be taken into consideration. Of course, people focus on different things when they are reading, so others my age could very easily find Adam and Cary to be unrealistic or unrelatable because of one reason or another. I prefer focusing on the character's personality rather than age. If it fits, doesn't result in chaos with every decision, and doesn't make me feel like chucking the book across the room out of embarrassment or anger, I'll accept a lot from a book. Sorry for the long reply. I saw your post and wanted to try to address it...

Yes, and generally for a YA novel I do not look for complex characters, I expect great characters from a historical novel, not from this genre. So I had no problem with an unrelatable YA protagonist, but it seemed that all that he did a few adults would do the same things at the beginning. I think that makes him more unrealistic.

[Howlan]

I think the author wanted to show Adam as a rebellious kid but went too far.

[Howlan]

I think they are relatable in a sense of saving their kind. On a non-mutant standpoint, it's hard to belief that teenagers would have such proper grammar and cook elaborate meals.

I think the choices he makes are far more unrealistic than cooking.

[nfdoughe]

I think it would be hard to find Adam and Carly relatable as they have supernatural powers and must stop their families from being murdered. That being said, I think some people could relate to their characters. Adam has a lot of emotions while Carly is immensely understanding. I'm not sure if it matters that they are teenagers other than it's what the author wanted.

[Jezebelle84]

As I was reading, I remember thinking that it was a bit weird for 16-year-olds to have such little aversion to killing. I understand their lives were in danger and that they had to defend themselves, but most people (regardless of age) would have at least some aversion to killing another person.

[Cristina Chifane]

Teenagers could relate to Adam and Carly's infatuation and desire to be together all the time or to the way Carly feels when she is the new kid in a new school or to the way Adam feels misunderstood and doesn't manage to fit in.

[Nym182]

Teenagers could relate to Adam and Carly's infatuation and desire to be together all the time or to the way Carly feels when she is the new kid in a new school or to the way Adam feels misunderstood and doesn't manage to fit in.

I agree with this, they do go through some fairly "normal" situations that many readers may be able to relate with!

[Nym182]

As I was reading, I remember thinking that it was a bit weird for 16-year-olds to have such little aversion to killing. I understand their lives were in danger and that they had to defend themselves, but most people (regardless of age) would have at least some aversion to killing another person.

But they were totally ok with, and seemingly turned on by, torturing/interrogating Vicki... even though she's kinda a victim of her family's brainwashing! Who knows what she would have been like if she wasn't trained from birth to become a spy.

[Howlan]

I think it would be hard to find Adam and Carly relatable as they have supernatural powers and must stop their families from being murdered. That being said, I think some people could relate to their characters. Adam has a lot of emotions while Carly is immensely understanding. I'm not sure if it matters that they are teenagers other than it's what the author wanted.

Yes, I think for Adam many teens could relate to their rebellious phase gone bad. Though in Adam's case it is a rebellious phase on steroids.

[Howlan]

Teenagers could relate to Adam and Carly's infatuation and desire to be together all the time or to the way Carly feels when she is the new kid in a new school or to the way Adam feels misunderstood and doesn't manage to fit in.

Yes, Carly and Adam's school life was quite relatable.

[readerrihana]

I am a young adult and I don't normally think so deeply about whether it is more believable for a character's age to be different just because of the situation they are experiencing. People can go through a lot of unbelievable things in reality regardless of age after all... Poor decision-making skills or ridiculous logic is more mind-boggling to me (not twisted logic; that can be entertaining), but I suppose I am more lenient when the protagonist(s) are younger. Fantasy makes me more lenient yet, so that is also an aspect that can be taken into consideration. Of course, people focus on different things when they are reading, so others my age could very easily find Adam and Cary to be unrealistic or unrelatable because of one reason or another. I prefer focusing on the character's personality rather than age. If it fits, doesn't result in chaos with every decision, and doesn't make me feel like chucking the book across the room out of embarrassment or anger, I'll accept a lot from a book. Sorry for the long reply. I saw your post and wanted to try to address it...

I so agree with you...I think too much emphasis is put on people's ages, and societies expectations of certain ages. Yet the reality is that people go through different experiences, illnesses set backs and all at different times in their life from infancy to old age, so we can't say what is relatable to people just based on their age

[AntonelaMaria]

I am not a young adult but I was once. To me, these two are not believable or relatable. I understand that this is a fantasy book with supernatural powers so obviously I can't relate. What is my bigger issue is that their dialogue is not believable for teenagers.
Maybe I 'm missing that because I 'm not a young adult but these two were a bit off.

[AntonelaMaria]

I am a young adult and I don't normally think so deeply about whether it is more believable for a character's age to be different just because of the situation they are experiencing. People can go through a lot of unbelievable things in reality regardless of age after all... Poor decision-making skills or ridiculous logic is more mind-boggling to me (not twisted logic; that can be entertaining), but I suppose I am more lenient when the protagonist(s) are younger. Fantasy makes me more lenient yet, so that is also an aspect that can be taken into consideration. Of course, people focus on different things when they are reading, so others my age could very easily find Adam and Cary to be unrealistic or unrelatable because of one reason or another. I prefer focusing on the character's personality rather than age. If it fits, doesn't result in chaos with every decision, and doesn't make me feel like chucking the book across the room out of embarrassment or anger, I'll accept a lot from a book. Sorry for the long reply. I saw your post and wanted to try to address it...

I so agree with you...I think too much emphasis is put on people's ages, and societies expectations of certain ages. Yet the reality is that people go through different experiences, illnesses set backs and all at different times in their life from infancy to old age, so we can't say what is relatable to people just based on their age

You are absolutely right that being a certain age doesn't mean maturity or relatability. Still, maybe the reason why I couldn't relate is that I just didn't care about them.