Discussion: When a Love Triangle is not really a Love Triangle

Yes. Today I’m going to talk about love triangles. Dun dun DUUUUUN! 

But I’m not going to talk about whether or not love triangles are good or bad (it really depends), or whether or not they’re overused as plot devices (they are). Instead, I’m going to talk a bit about how people are starting to call any story with a romantic [sub]plot and 3 or more featured characters a love triangle, and how I think this is madness.

So, first off, what is a love triangle? I realize there’s a lot of definitions out there, and mine is not necessarily “right.” But since this is my blog, I get to define it today.

[DISCLAIMER: For the purposes of this post, I’m going to use the one-girl-two-guys formula for love triangles, because I don’t feel like saying “him or her” constantly throughout the post. But obviously, these gender roles can be reversed.]

[DISCLAIMER #2: I give some examples below. This is by no means meant to be an exhaustive list. Just some illustrations.]

“Real” Love Triangle:

In my opinion, a love triangle is a story in which a large portion of the plot centers around reciprocated romantic feelings between a girl and two potential suitors. In a real love triangle, the girl must be romantically attracted to both guys, and must seriously consider each of them as a viable romantic candidate. They must also be romantically interested in her. She can favor one over the other, but she must at least give thoughtful consideration to both. The deliberation must also last for a prolonged period of time, not just for a couple chapters.

Illustrations of “real” love triangles:


Twilight: New Moon*GlitchThe SelectionClarity

NOT a Love Triangle

So what isn’t a love triangle? Oh, so many things. Basically, any story which does not fall into the above classification. But I will break it down.

Example #1

Girl is in a relationship that starts either before or very near the beginning of the book, then realizes she doesn’t actually want to be with that guy. She then moves on to someone else.

They may both be interested in her simultaneously, but she doesn’t spend a lot of time agonizing over which one to choose. There may be a slight amount of overlap, but she mostly moves from one to the other. In this example, the defining characteristic is the fact that she is not interested in/does not seriously consider both guys simultaneously, or at least not for more than a couple chapters.

This is not a triangle. This is a linear progression, and with or without the overlap, it’s how most relationships go. One doesn’t work out. You break up. You move on to someone else.

I think the confusion comes when in books, the moving on happens immediately after the first relationship ends (or even right before it ends), because it would be boring in a book for there to be months of singleness in between relationships. But you have to realize that in the mind of the protagonist, she wasn’t ever simultaneously falling for two guys. She was just moving on.

Illustrations:

Before I Fall, Pushing the Limits

Example #2

Two guys are interested in the same girl, but she only ever really considers one of them as a viable option. Again, the other may be given brief consideration, but her feelings toward him are probably not very romantic.

Raise your hand if you have ever been in a relationship, then found out one of your other friends (who you were not interested in) has a crush on you. Did you consider yourself to be in a “love triangle?” Or did you consider your relationship separate from the crush, since you never really considered the friend romantically?

Illustrations:

Catching Fire**Everneath, The Princess BrideHourglass

Example #3

Two characters are attracted to each other/in a relationship. There is also a third character present, who shows no romantic feelings toward either of them, and neither of them show romantic feelings toward this character. Yet some readers of the book somehow decide that the third character should be involved romantically, despite the complete lack of romantic context in the book itself.

Again, let me put this in the context of real life. For the purposes of this example, let’s assume you’re a girl (since most of you probably are). And you’re dating a guy. And you also have a friend who’s a guy, but you’ve never been interested in him and he’s never been interested in you. In fact, he’s dating someone else, which you’re totally happy about.

And then some random person who doesn’t know you comes up to you and says, “Hey, I know you’re both dating other people, but I think you would be SO GOOD together, and I think you should give it a try!”

What is your thought process? “Oh heavens! I appear to be in a love triangle!” or “You have no idea what you’re talking about, crazy person.”

Illustration:

…do I actually need to give one? I think we all know what I’m talking about.

How to Spot a Love Triangle:

1. Are there 3 or more main/prominently featured characters who are capable of being attracted to one another?

2. Are two of them romantically interested in the same person?

3. Is that person honestly romantically interested in both of the others?

4. Does this interest prompt a need for that person to make a choice between the other two?

5. Is the choice difficult?

6. Is the decision-making process lengthy, and does it provide a significant conflict for the person making the choice?

If the answer to ALL SIX questions is yes, congratulations! You’ve found a love triangle!

What does it all MEAN?!?!

I think us readers need to take a chill pill when it comes to the whole love triangle thing. Yes, lots of books have love triangles, possibly too many books. Yes, sometimes they’re used as pointless plot devices, and the story could be just as strong, if not stronger, without them (although with real love triangles, many times they actually are central to the plot, because the love triangle is the conflict. Or one of them.)

But a lot of books don’t have love triangles. They have characters who interact with each other, and they have conflict, but the point of the book and the dilemma of the characters is not supposed to be “Who is she going to choooooose?” That’s not what the author intended, and it’s kind of a lousy thing to take away from a story where the focus was supposed to be something else.

I think everyone needs to put down the “Team Whatever” button makers, take a deep breath, and back away slowly.

So what do you think? Do you agree that a true love triangle only exists when the main character is significantly torn between two romantic interests? Do you think that any sort of romantic interest with 3 characters, reciprocated or not, constitutes a love triangle? Do you think that a romance that exists entirely in the heads of the fans, completely outside the context of the book, should still be considered a love triangle? Let me know!

P.S. This is my first pure discussion post. Thinking of doing more of them in the future.

* Yes, Edward definitely has the edge, but Bella spends a good period of time trying to make something work with Jacob, and it is one of the central conflicts of the story.

**I realize that a LOT of people think there is a genuine love triangle in the Hunger Games series, but I maintain that Katniss never really considers one of the contenders romantically. She tries to convince herself to think of him that way, because she doesn’t want to hurt his feelings, but that’s about it. If anything, the “triangle” in that book is between Katniss, the guy she eventually ends up with, and being alone.

P.P.S. So far everyone in the comments is behaving themselves admirably, but I just want to ask that no one spoil the end of any of these, or any other, books for anyone. Believe it or not, there are still people out there who haven’t read Hunger Games. Or Harry Potter. *faints*

Top Ten Tuesday (June 26) – Characters I Think I Know in Real Life

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, where the terrific team over at The Broke and the Bookish give us excuses to make lists and indulge our inner OCD tendencies.

I’ve got to be honest, guys. I looked at the topic for this week, and I just about skipped it, because I’ve got nothing.

But then I was sad, because Top Ten Tuesday is my favorite meme, and I always enjoy coming up with my lists and seeing what others come up with. Plus, I’ve seen Galaxy Quest enough times that “Never give up, never surrender” is kind of emblazoned on my psyche, so admitting defeat wasn’t really an option.

The good news is that my psyche is apparently not opposed to a bit of cheating, so I decided to tweak the topic to one I could do.

So here’s the topic I was supposed to do:

Top Ten Characters Who Remind Me Of Myself Or Someone I Know In Real Life

Yup, complete blank. Part of the problem is that most of what I read is YA, and I am just…A. But even if I think of myself and my friends from back when I was in the YA age bracket, I still came up blank. Not a lot of authors tend to write books featuring characters who enjoy Star Trek and Scrabble. Comic books, maybe, but that’s probably because characters in books are on the verge of developing superpowers, and my friends and I never developed superpowers. So. This topic wasn’t going to work for me.

Here’s the one I’ve decided to do instead:

Top Ten Characters I Think I’d Have Been Friends With If We Went to High School Together

(That’s close enough, right?)

1. Hermione GrangerHarry PotterI was a big nerd and a squeaky clean kid. So was Hermione. We would either have been BFFs or arch nemeses, because that’s the way it works with smart kids.

2. Simon, The Mortal InstrumentsI have only read the first book in this series, but Simon was my favorite and I could totally see us hanging out and not wanting to go to clubs together.

3. Kent McFuller, Before I FallI can’t say anyone I was friends with in high school actually wore a bowler hat, but I still think that Kent would have fit right in.

4. Angela, TwilightShe’s sweet and soft-spoken and kind of hangs back while her friends arm wrestle for attention. I can relate to that.

5. Peeta, The Hunger GamesOkay, it’s highly probable that Peeta would be too cool to be my friend because he’d probably be on the football team or something like that, and not in the marching band with me, but I’m going to hold out hope that we’d be buds.

 6. Chuck, The Maze RunnerGranted, we will probably never know what Chuck was like before the Maze, but he seems like the kind of kid I would have joked with in study hall.

7. Kate, Die For Me. Assuming her parents never died and she never moved to Paris and never fell for the undead Vincent, we’d probably have gotten along pretty well. She’s quiet and bookish and not one for large groups of people, and that was pretty much me in high school.

8. Beth, Little WomenI love Jo and all, but Beth is the one I think I would have clicked with. She was probably the type that was quiet in groups, especially when there were strong personalities present (like, you know, every other member of her family), but was lots of fun one-on-one. Some of my best friends are like that.

9. Inigo Montoya, The Princess BrideI’ll admit this one is probably just wishful thinking, but wouldn’t it be great to be friends with teenage Inigo? Maybe he’d have been an exchange student. I never actually befriended any exchange students, but I probably would have if Inigo was one.

10. Marlee, The SelectionBecause honestly, Marlee would have been friends with everyone in high school.

So there you go. Sorry I cheated.

Review: World of the Hunger Games by Kate Egan, Plus a GIVEAWAY!

As I’m sure most of you are well aware, I’m a fan of The Hunger GamesI loved both the book and its film adaptation. Here are my reviews for both:

Book to Film: The Hunger Games

Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

So imagine my excitement when I opened my box from Scholastic yesterday and discovered this:

The World of the Hunger Games is a companion to both the book and film version

s of The Hunger Games. Here’s what you’ll find inside (please pardon the glare – a photographer, I am not):

 

The book is divided into sections focusing on different aspects of The Hunger Games. Many subjects are highlighted, including “Life in the Districts,” “Katniss Everdeen,” “Reaping Day,” and obviously, “The People of the Capitol.” Each section uses quotes from the book, the movie, and Suzanne Collins to bring attention to its subject matter.

The book organizes some of the more confusing aspects to the plot and politics of Panem into concise and easy-to-follow summaries.

There are also a ton of stills taken from the movie. Some are those we have seen before, and others, such as the ones above, are new images that focus on things we didn’t get a good look at in the film.

This book is not for people who want to avoid spoilers. Its intended audience has either seen the film, read the book, or both.

There’s also a handy glossary in the back, in case you needed to brush up on your Hunger Games terminology.

My Thoughts

The World of the Hunger Games is meant to be a companion to the book and movie (the movie in particular). It does not provide any great new insight into the story. You will not learn what happened between Peeta and the girl in the woods, you will not become an expert in the history of the war between the Capitol and the Districts, and you will not discover why people in the Capitol decided it’s cool to look so garish. This is not The Silmarillion, and it’s not supposed to be.

What it does do, and does well, is explain the elements of the story simply and understandably. I think it would be especially helpful for people who saw the film but have not read the books. It explains the origins of The Hunger Games, the basics of the political system, the roles of the Districts, and gives a brief profile of all the major players.

I read a lot of comments from people who saw the movie and still couldn’t figure out why the people in the Districts wanted to watch the Games, and why they didn’t fight back. This book helps people who didn’t fully understand all the elements of the story figure out what was going on.

Even if you are a veritable font of information on all things Hunger Games, this is still a fun book to have. I feel I have a pretty solid grasp on the inner workings of Panem, but I still liked reading the summaries. It’s nice to have everything in one place, since all the background information in The Hunger Games is delivered by Katniss in bits and pieces scattered throughout the story.

Plus, the pictures are awesome. My photography doesn’t do them justice. All the main characters are featured in at least a couple of photos: Katniss, Peeta, Gale, Haymitch, President Snow, Seneca Crane, Cinna, Cato, Rue. I love looking at movie stills, and these are not the same ones that have been plastered all over the Internet for months. They’re printed full-page and glossy and gorgeous.

So for what some wish it was — an in-depth guide to the Games and Panem loaded with new information — it falls short.

For what it is — a fun companion book breaking down the intricacies of Panem and The Hunger Games into an easy-to-follow, beautifully illustrated guide — it’s perfect.

And now…

It’s GIVEAWAY TIME!

As promised, to celebrate my first month in the blogosphere, I’ve decided to host my first-ever giveaway today! Hooray!

So, as much as I loved paging through The World of the Hunger Games, I know myself. I will look through it once, put it proudly on my shelf next to my boxed set of The Hunger Games, and probably never look at it again. And since I’ve already read it cover-to-cover, I’m going to give it to one lucky follower!

But wait! There’s more!

The winner will also receive this:

I’m throwing in the Paperback Movie Tie-in Edition of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins! There is the same novel we all know and love, but with new cover art that matches the movie poster.

Since I’ve already reviewed The Hunger Games and you can see the cover art right there, I won’t write a separate review for this edition of the book. But I will point out that if you’re like me and have The Hunger Games in hardcover, this edition is smaller and lighter. Great for road trips or sticking in your purse for “emergencies.”

Add them to your Hunger Games collection, or give them to a friend who has yet to experience the Games! I think it would make an especially great prize/gift to someone who has seen the film and not read the books.

Here’s the details:

  • Books were provided by Scholastic for the purposes of review. I am giving them away after writing this post because, much as I love them, a girl only needs so many copies of the same book!
  • Giveaway will run from 12:01 a.m. on April 26 until 12:01 a.m. on May 4.
  • Winner will be notified by email within 48 hours of the end of the contest. Once notified, winner will have 48 hours to respond with their address before a new winner is chosen.
  • You must be a follower to enter, and can enter every day.
  • You must be at least 13 to enter.
  • U.S. entries only, please.
To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter form below:


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for making my first month a great one, and may the odds be ever in your favor!

(Sorry, sorry, but it’s a Hunger Games giveaway. You know I had to say it.)