The Issue of Likable Characters in YA Novels

It was brought up briefly in class the matter of likable and/or relatable characters and how this can effect whether we like a novel or not: if a character is unlikeable (such as Daisy from How I Live Now) or unrelatable (such as the super-intellectual Hazel and Augustus from The Fault in Our Stars) it seems that people in class react negatively and it then negatively effects their response to a novel. I personally found this interesting because many times I like and even prefer unlikable characters in my novels. Unrelatable characters offer me a perspective and experience that I'm not familiar with, which to me, is appealing. Unlikable characters I feel reflect the real-world; how many people are 100% likable anyway? I'm certainly not likable all the time, and characters who are likable all the time do not reflect real teens -- they're moody and volatile.

With all that said, I'd like to direct you all to a wonderful post from Australian book blogger Reyjne titled: "What We Talk About When We Talk About Like." Reyjne tries to untangle why "likability" is a requirement for some readers and what does "likeable" mean? I liked that she drew a distinction between "likeability" and "sympathy," as that seems to be a common thread in my class's conversations about characters being unlikeable -- because my classmates don't like a character, they don't feel sympathetic to them and therefore feel no investment in the protagonist's narrative arc. But Rey makes a great point when she states:

"Here’s the thing: I don’t always see myself as a “likeable” person. There are a lot of reasons for that, and I won’t air them all here. But I struggle daily with both wanting to be liked (there is a firmly-ingrained streak of the people-pleaser in me that runs deep) and being aware that “likeableness” is not something I owe to every single person. ... What I’m trying to say with this is that I’m not always likeable. I’m have emotions and days when I’m as easy to be around as a sack of weasels. And I’m okay with that. Because I don’t think that invalidates my feelings, or my personality as a whole. It’s just one part of me."(emphasis mine)

Reyjne goes on to say that she came to connect with prickly characters because she herself is sometimes prickly and not always likable. THIS, this is articulates my thoughts perfectly on the matter. Yes, sometimes I want to shake a character silly when they make stupid decisions; yes, sometimes their personalities are not the most Warm and Fuzzy, but why do we put this pressure on characters? Why do they need to be likeable for us to sympathize with them and like them as people? Reyjne goes on to say that this is something that seems to be perpetuated in our culture; especially with girls:

"As a teen, it was made abundantly clear to me that I was supposed to supress those emotions that made people around me uncomfortable. Because emotions are difficult and sometimes people don’t like difficult. Especially not difficult girls." 

Does characters need to fit our definition of likeable to be compelling? I would argue not, which brings me back to the point I brought above: being in the mind of someone who thinks differently than me, who's instincts function differently from mine, and who doesn't adjust their personality for those around them and social consumption is something that is compelling for me. I would argue that a character who is unlikeable should not be the basis for whether a book is good or bad, and that we should think of the implications that having these assumptions creates. I get frustrated when my behaviour is monitored and I have to be vigilant to fit into people's notions of likeability, so why should I expect it of my characters?

Anyhow, I find it interesting when people claim to dislike a novel because they think a character is unlikable and the blog post I've based this post off of articulates many of my own thoughts and raises questions that I think are important to engage with when we're considering whether we've liked a book a not, whether we liked the characters.

I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts on this, so if you have ideas/opinions, please shoot them my way!