Not In My School is a weekly feature that throws out one YA lit cliche a week to compare to my own high school days. Because we all know how accurate those fictional nuances are . . .
Weird character names
Judging by this list you'd think people are rather tame with their children-naming. If you happen to read, well, anything in the YA world it would appear parents are hitting the acid in the maternity ward. With names like Serenity, Destiny, Mystical Moon Beam (I may have made that one up just now) or anything with at least one apostrophe I can't help but wonder what particular pipe Mom and Dad are hitting before putting pen to birth certificate. I'm not even considering ethnic names (since those are in their own category). Just the funky ones that lend credit to hints of THC in the blood. Why must we name our characters as if it's 1967 or we passed out with our faces pressed into the keyboard? What's so wrong with Tom? Or Michele? I'll even throw in Rupert. Why can't we have characters with parents that actually put some thought into how naming their children might affect their later years? Please?
