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Brooding YA Hero Creator Carrie DiRisio on the Top 7 YA Characters Broody Would Bond With
Let’s face it: while there’s some truly original, astounding work being done in the YA category, it is sometimes, occasionally, once in a while called out for the way it revels in its particular tropes. Case in point? The brooding YA hero. Writer Carrie DiRisio was so enamored by the idea of bending and twisting these recurrent themes and character types that she created Brooding YA Hero, a Twitter icon with more than 40,000 followers, known for pithy, biting tweets about YA life, like, “Good communication skills aren’t necessary in a relationship. If your crush doesn’t spend 45 pages wondering what you meant, is it even love?”
Broody is definitely the broodiest. But if he had to pick a few pals worthy of his time, who would they be? We caught up with Broody mastermind Carrie DiRisio to find out.
Brooding YA Hero: Becoming a Main Character tells the tale of Broody, the character archetype who is every brooding, sulking, handsome hero in your favorite books. However, Broody’s own book begins with his Author stating that he’s benched from hero-ing for a while.
Broody, of course, isn’t one to stay out of the spotlight, and starts his own quest: to write his own novel!
But his evil ex-girlfriend is lurking, and her plans for his novel might not align with Broody’s own.
Because Broody isn’t the only one who wants to be in the spotlight….
I am so thrilled to have the Broody Book out in the world this month. It’s been a lot of fun writing it, and the illustrations, done by Linnea Gear, are truly magical. I hope the book makes everyone laugh, swoon, and maybe even write their own novel!
Here are the top 7 characters Brooding YA Hero‘s Broody would like to brood—er—bond with.
Danny (Timekeeper, by Tara Sim)
One of Broody’s specialities is romance, so he’s probably pretty good at giving love advice. And Danny, who falls for Colton, a clock spirit, could certainly use a bit of advice about that relationship. After all, falling for a clock spirit is forbidden. Broody and Danny could bond…or Danny could hit him over the head with a wrench. Fifty-fifty chance, really.
Ships in 1-2 days.
The Duke (The Duke of Bannerman Prep, by Katie Nelson)
Okay, so maybe this would be less of a friendship, and more of a competition to see which one of them could throw the best party. But there would certainly be brooding galore if these two ever met. This book is a retelling of The Great Gatsby, and as Broody states in his book, he’s actually a descendant of Gatsby and a pile of money, so Broody and the Duke are practically family! (Look. It’s Broody Logic. Don’t think too hard.)
Richard St. Vier (Swordspoint, by Ellen Kushner)
Although not a YA book, this fantasy novel certainly provides all the action, adventure, and voice-y drama I love in YA. Richard, the city’s best swordsman, might be amused by Broody’s antics. He’s used to dealing with them from his boyfriend, the mysterious Alec, who’s prone to sulking, lighting things on fire, and myriad other Broody-approved things.
Ships in 1-2 days.
Dimple (When Dimple Met Rishi, by Sandhya Menon)
Let’s be honest. Dimple probably wouldn’t let Broody brood around her for more than a second. I foresee many spilled (read: thrown) Starbucks drinks in this friendship. But I do think that Broody might at least be a good sounding board for her as she considers her feelings…or he’d get the door shut in his face, because Broody would definitely be on #TeamRishi.
Zhou (Want, by Cindy Pon)
Provided that Jason and Broody have a less rocky start than Jason and Daiya, the two might be friends, especially if Jason can recruit Broody into his plan to get inside Jin Corp. If there’s one thing Broody loves almost as much as Brooding, it’s complex, dangerous plans! (Although, with both of them being incredibly handsome and incredibly dangerous, they might not even need plans. They could just waltz right in!)
Ships in 1-2 days.
Carter (Song of Summer, by Laura Lee Anderson)
Swoony, sophisticated Carter and Broody could totally go on long motorcycle rides together, and Broody could give Carter some advice about his crush on music-loving, country-girl Robin. After taking Broody’s sage advice, Carter hopefully won’t push Broody into Chautauqua lake.
Desi (I Believe in A Thing Called Love, by Maureen Goo)
She’s got notes on steps like “Out the Guy’s Big Secret, Preferably Through Excruciatingly Repetitive Flashbacks.” Broody’s got lots of big secrets. The two could trade theories and ideas while she plots to win the heart of Luca. They’d be quite the mastermind pair!