Is it bad that I liked The Maid?

Personally, I’d say that the main character (Molly) was almost the exact opposite of the manic pixie girl. She was a moderately autistic (presumably) woman who appreciated structure, organization, consistency, habit, repetition, and tradition, and was very reluctant to do anything novel or unusual. Which gave an interesting perspective to all the curious happenings around her.

Of all the YA dystopian action series out there, Hunger Games has got to be the best. I also read these books as an adult and enjoyed them thoroughly.

Well said. I grew up on Roald Dahl. So many of his novels (e.g. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, the BFG, George’s Marvelous Medicine) start with children in powerless, miserable situations: poor, orphaned, bullied, abused, etc. Then something magical happens, and the kid’s life is transformed in a wonderful way! And anyone who was mean to the protagonist always gets their comeuppance.

It’s easy to see how this kind of narrative is very appealing to anyone going through the trials and tribulations of growing up.

Popular kids/YA series tend to be big on wish fulfillment. For example, Harry Potter is about a kid living a miserable life, until one day he finds out that he’s a wizard! He gets to go to wizarding school, which is like regular school except magical and fun! He goes on exciting adventures! He becomes the most powerful and important wizard in the entire world!

Based on my son’s wish fulfillment scenarios, I’ve come up with a can’t-miss idea: Dino Rider! A portal opens up, and dinosaurs enter our time and start causing havoc. Our protagonist, a young boy who’s always had a connection with animals, discovers that has the ability to tame dinosaurs. He leads a group of dinos under his control, which he names Atlanta United, into battle against the bad dinosaurs, which for some reason are named the Dallas Cowboys. And there’s probably a big shark fight too. We might need to finesse the details a bit, but otherwise, it’s a winner!