Sex Appeal, Go Away

I have to rant.

I HAVE to.

James Dashner (one of my ALL-TIME favorite authors) just posted a gorgeously delicious tidbit about the movie adaptation for his Maze Runner series.

The article was "Will Poulter Offered Leading Roll in 'The Maze Runner' Adaptation." I clicked on it immediately because 1. I couldn't remember who Will Poulter was and 2. I MUST KNOW!!!

Now, the article doesn't say which part was offered, but seeing as the leading character is Thomas, everyone's coming to that conclusion.

Here's the actor:

You may recognize his face from "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader." Not overly handsome, but not a great picture, either.

People vocalized their disappointment in the comment thread to Mr. Dashner's fb post. "He's not pretty enough," "Thomas should be pretty," "Please, James, nooo! He does not appeal to us."

For one, authors rarely get a say in who plays their characters, so let's just stop with that plea on those grounds alone. And for another, Thomas was NEVER described as pretty. At best, he was plain and at worst, his friends made fun of him for how ugly he was.

Please, please, please stop expecting gorgeous main characters! I am SO tired of this. Let's get back to loving books and loving characters for who and what they are. I don't want to hear about these immediate judgments because the main guy or gal isn't good-looking enough. 

I love Thomas. Scores of people love Thomas. He's not pretty. Never was and never will be. Stop looking for eye candy and start appreciating real, exciting, deep characters.*

*I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but you never know when a visitor might stop by who actually needs to hear this.