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** Nanaki is still this at PresentDay, but then [[JustifiedTrope one should expect this]] from a person who live most of his life as TheShutIn.
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** Nanaki is still this at PresentDay, but then [[JustifiedTrope one should expect this]] from a person who live lived most of his life as a (non-consensual) TheShutIn.
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* Both Meg and Charles Wallace in ''Literature/AWrinkleInTime''. Meg is brilliant at math but so bad at playing the game of social interactions at school that she's on the verge of failing and gets sent to the principal's office regularly. Charles Wallace was non-speaking until he was 4, when he started talking in full sentences. Most of the people in their small town still think he can't talk because he's never felt the desire to interact with them, but he has deep, adult conversations with his family even though he's a kindergartner.
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* David of ''WebOriginal/YouCouldMakeALife'' [[MarriedToTheJob devoted virtually all of his energy and passion to his NHL career]] and hence had very little time or interest in having a social life or hobbies outside of hockey. The result being that he struggles to come up with ''anything'' when he's asked about what he likes/does other than hockey and assumes that Jake having sex with him is just a "buddy" thing he does with everyone.
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* David of ''WebOriginal/YouCouldMakeALife'' ''Literature/YouCouldMakeALife'' [[MarriedToTheJob devoted virtually all of his energy and passion to his NHL career]] and hence had very little time or interest in having a social life or hobbies outside of hockey. The result being that he struggles to come up with ''anything'' when he's asked about what he likes/does other than hockey and assumes that Jake having sex with him is just a "buddy" thing he does with everyone.
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* ''Literature/Reaper2016'': Michael, a.k.a. Hawk, does not know how to deal with people, especially girls. That's why he entered [[VirtualReality Game]], as one of the very first players. Hawk is his public persona, and only the other Founder Players know Michael. At least until he draws Jex and Nathan into his investigation, falls for Jex and ''wants'' her to know the real him.
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* ''Literature/Reaper2016'': Michael, a.k.a. Hawk, does not know how to deal with people, especially girls. That's why he entered [[VirtualReality Game]], the virtual reality world Game, as one of the very first players. Hawk is his public persona, and only the other Founder Players know Michael. At least until he draws Jex and Nathan into his investigation, falls for Jex and ''wants'' her to know the real him.
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* ''Literature/ACourtOfThornsAndRoses'': Cassian is a war general, not a courtier. His "ability" to compliment women is something his friends rib him over.
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* Mashiro of ''LightNovel/ThePetGirlOfSakurasou'' [[IdiotSavant knows absolutely nothing but drawing]]. Thus Chihiro-sensei assigns the OnlySaneMan Sorata as her handler.
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* Mashiro of ''LightNovel/ThePetGirlOfSakurasou'' ''Literature/ThePetGirlOfSakurasou'' [[IdiotSavant knows absolutely nothing but drawing]]. Thus Thus, Chihiro-sensei assigns the OnlySaneMan Sorata as her handler.[[CloudcuckoolandersMinder handler]].
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* Ako in ''LightNovel/AndYouThoughtThereIsNeverAGirlOnline'' is very shy in real life with most people, even to those who are nice to her. She also doesn’t understand why Hideki and Akane don’t want her talking about their MMORPG in class. Her net game is one of the only places where she is comfortable. Improving this was one of the reasons her guild started the Net Game Club.
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* Ako in ''LightNovel/AndYouThoughtThereIsNeverAGirlOnline'' ''Literature/AndYouThoughtThereIsNeverAGirlOnline'' is very shy in real life with most people, even to those who are nice to her. She also doesn’t understand why Hideki and Akane don’t want her talking about their MMORPG in class. Her net game is one of the only places where she is comfortable. Improving this was one of the reasons her guild started the Net Game Club.
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* Pascal from ''LightNovel/DaybreakOnHyperion''. Due to a combination of growing up with very few companions of his own age and IntelligenceEqualsIsolation, he's aware of the formal manners required of his noble rank but has trouble grasping the little social graces that make interaction with his peers go smoother. Correcting this issue is an ongoing project for his familiar Kaede.
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* Pascal from ''LightNovel/DaybreakOnHyperion''.''Literature/DaybreakOnHyperion''. Due to a combination of growing up with very few companions of his own age and IntelligenceEqualsIsolation, he's aware of the formal manners required of his noble rank but has trouble grasping the little social graces that make interaction with his peers go smoother. Correcting this issue is an ongoing project for his familiar Kaede.
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* Shizuo Heiwajima from ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'' [[FriendlessBackground grew up with very little]] in the way of positive social contact due to his [[HairTriggerTemper anger]] and impulse control issues. As a result, he does not have much in the way of social graces.
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* Shizuo Heiwajima from ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'' ''Literature/{{Durarara}}'' [[FriendlessBackground grew up with very little]] in the way of positive social contact due to his [[HairTriggerTemper anger]] and impulse control issues. As a result, he does not have much in the way of social graces.
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* In ''LightNovel/{{Katanagatari}}'': Shichika grew up in a island with his exiled father and his big sister, and was already a young adult when he met another human being for the first time. Because of this, at the beginning of the series, he is unaware of most social norms and can barely tell two people apart even if they look absolutely nothing like each other.
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* In ''LightNovel/{{Katanagatari}}'': ''Literature/{{Katanagatari}}'': Shichika grew up in a island with his exiled father and his big sister, and was already a young adult when he met another human being for the first time. Because of this, at the beginning of the series, he is unaware of most social norms and can barely tell two people apart even if they look absolutely nothing like each other.
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* ''LightNovel/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'': The reason for Atsuko "Acchan" Sasaki's FriendlessBackground, but mostly an InformedFlaw. She had difficulties interacting with people, which made her isolated at school. And given that this made her [[FriendlessBackground very lonely]], the trope was {{Deconstructed|trope}}.
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* ''LightNovel/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'': ''Literature/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'': The reason for Atsuko "Acchan" Sasaki's FriendlessBackground, but mostly an InformedFlaw. She had difficulties interacting with people, which made her isolated at school. And given that this made her [[FriendlessBackground very lonely]], the trope was {{Deconstructed|trope}}.
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* Sagara Sousuke from ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic''. He's been in the military since birth. Someone once described Sousuke as that character in a TabletopRPG who [[MinMaxing traded in]] all those "worthless" character points in social skills and instead put them into [[SacrificedBasicSkillForAwesomeTraining combat abilities.]] He is a nice guy, he just has no concept at all of what's expected of someone in a high school environment. Naturally, the writers put him in a high school environment, often. This turned out to be so popular that an entire season with this as the main premise was produced: ''Anime/FullMetalPanicFumoffu''.
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* Sagara Sousuke from ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic''. He's ''Literature/FullMetalPanic'' has been in the military since birth. Someone once described Sousuke as that character in a TabletopRPG who [[MinMaxing traded in]] all those "worthless" character points in social skills and instead put them into [[SacrificedBasicSkillForAwesomeTraining combat abilities.]] He is a nice guy, he just has no concept at all of what's expected of someone in a high school environment. Naturally, the writers put him in a high school environment, often. This turned out to be so popular that an entire season with this as the main premise was produced: ''Anime/FullMetalPanicFumoffu''.
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* Shana from ''LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana''. She [[{{Tykebomb}} was raised for combat]], and her caretakers failed to see the importance of pretty much anything besides that, not even a name. This helps explain why she reacts to romance [[{{Tsundere}} the way she does]]. At one point, she starts asking everyone about kissing and how babies are made, which makes for some ''really'' awkward moments...
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* Shana from ''LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana''.''Literature/ShakuganNoShana''. She [[{{Tykebomb}} was raised for combat]], and her caretakers failed to see the importance of pretty much anything besides that, not even a name. This helps explain why she reacts to romance [[{{Tsundere}} the way she does]]. At one point, she starts asking everyone about kissing and how babies are made, which makes for some ''really'' awkward moments...
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* Tres Iqus of ''LightNovel/TrinityBlood'' displays this trope every now and then in his interactions with Abel. Especially in the manga, he is often heard uttering the phrases like, "Does not compute." Of course, it's questionable if this is because Abel has an extensive vocabulary or simply because he's crazy. However, Tres also fits into the "brutal honesty" classification quite snugly. Considering Tres is a robot, it is more like he is one of the wolves.
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* Tres Iqus of ''LightNovel/TrinityBlood'' ''Literature/TrinityBlood'' displays this trope every now and then in his interactions with Abel. Especially in the manga, he is often heard uttering the phrases like, "Does not compute." Of course, it's questionable if this is because Abel has an extensive vocabulary or simply because he's crazy. However, Tres also fits into the "brutal honesty" classification quite snugly. Considering Tres is a robot, it is more like he is one of the wolves.
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* Ako in ''LightNovel/AndYouThoughtThereIsNeverAGirlOnline'' is very shy in real life with most people, even to those who are nice to her. She also doesn’t understand why Hideki and Akane don’t want her talking about their MMORPG in class. Her net game is one of the only places where she is comfortable. Improving this was one of the reasons her guild started the Net Game Club.
* Pascal from ''LightNovel/DaybreakOnHyperion''. Due to a combination of growing up with very few companions of his own age and IntelligenceEqualsIsolation, he's aware of the formal manners required of his noble rank but has trouble grasping the little social graces that make interaction with his peers go smoother. Correcting this issue is an ongoing project for his familiar Kaede.
* Shizuo Heiwajima from ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'' [[FriendlessBackground grew up with very little]] in the way of positive social contact due to his [[HairTriggerTemper anger]] and impulse control issues. As a result, he does not have much in the way of social graces.
* Sagara Sousuke from ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic''. He's been in the military since birth. Someone once described Sousuke as that character in a TabletopRPG who [[MinMaxing traded in]] all those "worthless" character points in social skills and instead put them into [[SacrificedBasicSkillForAwesomeTraining combat abilities.]] He is a nice guy, he just has no concept at all of what's expected of someone in a high school environment. Naturally, the writers put him in a high school environment, often. This turned out to be so popular that an entire season with this as the main premise was produced: ''Anime/FullMetalPanicFumoffu''.
* In ''LightNovel/{{Katanagatari}}'': Shichika grew up in a island with his exiled father and his big sister, and was already a young adult when he met another human being for the first time. Because of this, at the beginning of the series, he is unaware of most social norms and can barely tell two people apart even if they look absolutely nothing like each other.
* ''LightNovel/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'': The reason for Atsuko "Acchan" Sasaki's FriendlessBackground, but mostly an InformedFlaw. She had difficulties interacting with people, which made her isolated at school. And given that this made her [[FriendlessBackground very lonely]], the trope was {{Deconstructed|trope}}.
-->''I don’t know how to speak to my classmates... or how to try to be friends with them. I don’t understand things like that.''
-->''I don’t know how to speak to my classmates... or how to try to be friends with them. I don’t understand things like that.''
* Mashiro of ''LightNovel/ThePetGirlOfSakurasou'' [[IdiotSavant knows absolutely nothing but drawing]]. Thus Chihiro-sensei assigns the OnlySaneMan Sorata as her handler.
* Shana from ''LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana''. She [[{{Tykebomb}} was raised for combat]], and her caretakers failed to see the importance of pretty much anything besides that, not even a name. This helps explain why she reacts to romance [[{{Tsundere}} the way she does]]. At one point, she starts asking everyone about kissing and how babies are made, which makes for some ''really'' awkward moments...
* Tres Iqus of ''LightNovel/TrinityBlood'' displays this trope every now and then in his interactions with Abel. Especially in the manga, he is often heard uttering the phrases like, "Does not compute." Of course, it's questionable if this is because Abel has an extensive vocabulary or simply because he's crazy. However, Tres also fits into the "brutal honesty" classification quite snugly. Considering Tres is a robot, it is more like he is one of the wolves.
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* ''Literature/SpiceAndWolf'':
** Holo matches this trope to a glimmering "T". Despite being a wolf spirit, she's a lot savvier about the way humans live than some others of her kind. She has lived with humans several times in the past, and spent centuries watching the people of a single village. Indeed, she often understands people better than they understand themselves, and isn't above emotional manipulation when it suits her. She is carefree about certain human conventions, but not because she doesn't understand them; she just doesn't care. She also goes centuries without interacting with humans, so her social awkwardness often stems from being so out of touch with the times.
** Lawrence's social skills are quite poor as well. While he's adept at communicating with others of his trade in the process of various business deals, he doesn't have much experience with people outside of the field of economics. He's ''especially'' ignorant of the courtship process.
** Lawrence and Holo are good examples of different ways this trope can be applied. Lawrence knows a lot about contemporary society and social institutions, but isn't very savvy about human nature. Holo is the exact opposite, and both are intelligent enough to cover for each other as necessary.
** Holo matches this trope to a glimmering "T". Despite being a wolf spirit, she's a lot savvier about the way humans live than some others of her kind. She has lived with humans several times in the past, and spent centuries watching the people of a single village. Indeed, she often understands people better than they understand themselves, and isn't above emotional manipulation when it suits her. She is carefree about certain human conventions, but not because she doesn't understand them; she just doesn't care. She also goes centuries without interacting with humans, so her social awkwardness often stems from being so out of touch with the times.
** Lawrence's social skills are quite poor as well. While he's adept at communicating with others of his trade in the process of various business deals, he doesn't have much experience with people outside of the field of economics. He's ''especially'' ignorant of the courtship process.
** Lawrence and Holo are good examples of different ways this trope can be applied. Lawrence knows a lot about contemporary society and social institutions, but isn't very savvy about human nature. Holo is the exact opposite, and both are intelligent enough to cover for each other as necessary.
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* ''Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKid'':
** Manny. He's so terrified of kids his age that his only friends are imaginary ones. Heck! When other kids come over to play, he takes everything away because he doesn't want to share. Subverted in ''Hard Luck'', where he manages to make at least one friend in preschool, but they don't even talk to each other and just watch TV together.
** Fregley doesn't seem to understand that flashing his chest hair to others or chasing Greg with one of his boogers is inappropriate behavior.
** Manny. He's so terrified of kids his age that his only friends are imaginary ones. Heck! When other kids come over to play, he takes everything away because he doesn't want to share. Subverted in ''Hard Luck'', where he manages to make at least one friend in preschool, but they don't even talk to each other and just watch TV together.
** Fregley doesn't seem to understand that flashing his chest hair to others or chasing Greg with one of his boogers is inappropriate behavior.
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%% Note: while a character with a bad childhood may have No Social Skills as a result, this trope is not about bad childhoods.
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Characters with NoSocialSkills in {{Literature}}.
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* Parn Barre of ''Literature/AnnalsOfTheWesternShore'''s Gifts'' by Creator/UrsulaKLeGuin. Her gift is AnimalTalk, and she's much more interested in that than socializing with people or being affectionate towards her daughter Gry, although she's good for quiet company.
* Spider Robinson's ''Literature/CallahansCrosstimeSaloon'' series: Reverend Tom Hauptmann from the short story "The Time Traveler". Hauptmann had spent more than a decade in a Central American prison; the decade in question was the 1960s, and upon his rescue/release, he was completely unprepared for the complete and bewildering sea-change the United States had undergone in that time.
* Chris in ''Literature/TheCuriousIncidentOfTheDogInTheNighttime''. The author has said that the book is not about Asperger's Syndrome and Chris' condition is not stated (although it's known that he attends a special school), but the blurb of the book commonly refers to high-functioning autism or Asperger's Syndrome. Chris doesn't have any friends and he can't understand facial expressions.
* In ''Franchise/TheDarkTower'' series, Roland spent a very long time[[note]]exactly how long is unknown, especially since space and time are rather fluid concepts in Mid-World, but it's implied to have been years, if not decades[[/note]] alone in the desert, obsessing over the tower and chasing the Man in Black. This causes him to forget how to deal with people. {{Lampshaded}} in an incident where he is being charming and funny while talking to some elderly villagers, and Susannah wonders if this is what he was like "before the desert turned him strange".
* ''Literature/DetectiveLaneMysteries'': Colin Weaver, aka Dr. Fibre, is a brilliant forensic scientist with the face of a male model and no idea how to interact with other human beings.
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
** Stanley from ''Literature/GoingPostal'' is very, ''very'' good at doing things by the book, but doesn't think along normal social lines at all. He was {{raised by|Wolves}} ''peas''.
** Mr. Nutt from ''Literature/UnseenAcademicals''. He once, when asked by his friends if he was ill, said that he wasn't and had indeed had a normal bowel movement that morning. Prior to the age of seven, he [[WildChild wasn't raised by anyone]] at all, and after that spent most of his time reading, so you can probably understand why he's got problems understanding what constitutes TooMuchInformation. He also has a tendency to [[SpockSpeak speak in formal paragraphs]] when he's not [[ExtremeDoormat terrified someone's going to object to his very existence]], and has a tendency to get SidetrackedByTheAnalogy ("There appears to be so much I might inadvertently pull!").
** [[AC:Death]] (TheGrimReaper) is notable, particularly in the later novels, for his fascination with and (often hilarious) attempts to imitate humans.
** Jeremy Clockson in ''Literature/ThiefOfTime'' is very similar to Stanley, except that instead of Post Office Regulataions and pins, his defining obsession is building very accurate clocks, and he doesn't really know how to relate to anyone who doesn't grasp this, including other clockmakers. At one point, the narrative notes that he considers Mr Soak the milkman to be a friend, because they exchanges brief sentences once every few weeks.
** Susan Sto Helit, at least in [[Literature/SoulMusic her first appearance]], has very few friends because she has no patience and doesn't hesitate to explain to others why they're wrong about things. In later books, she's still got aspects of this but, much to her own surprise, has turned out to be very good with kids.
** Granny Weatherwax is an interesting example; she's the mistress of "headology", which means she probably has a better understanding of human beings than anyone else on the Disc. But that doesn't mean she can ''relate'' to them. In fact, quite the reverse; she knows how silly and easily led the people around her are, and they know she feels that way.
* Ignatius in ''Literature/DontCallMeIshmael'' is blunt, more interested in sciences than people and often rattles off [[EncyclopaedicKnowledge random facts]] that have nothing to do with the conversation the others are having. His mother makes him join the debate team so he will develop social skills, but he doesn't get much better over the course of the series.
* Oskar in ''Literature/ExtremelyLoudAndIncrediblyClose''. Sometimes when they played "Reconnaissance Expedition," his father would deliberately set up missions in which Oskar was forced to talk to people, because his father wanted him to get better at it.
* ''Literature/FindingSnowflakes'' deconstructs this trope. The main character, a teenager so socially awkward he barely holds a conversation, far from being seen as adorable because of this is avoided at all costs, and he is also to blame. He has problems filtering his thoughts and thus ends up with many cases of BrutalHonesty, some funny, some downright destructive. He doesn't seem to empathize as well with others for the same reason, despite him being kind. And there is also no "magical" cure for him getting social skills: gaining this is something he has to work, and with great effort, over the course of the book.
* In the ''Literature/FirekeeperSaga'' novels, the eponymous character was RaisedByWolves, talking intelligent ones. She never manages to fully master elementary grammar, writing, or table manners, but elsewhere she's far from naïve.
* The appropriately-named Hunter in the ''Literature/{{Gone}}'' series. [[spoiler:After accidentally killing a friend with his mutant powers, he is brutally hit in the head by Zil, leaving him partially brain-damaged. Because of this, he slurs his words a lot and doesn't understand some things]]. He is trained by the nearby coyotes (who are mutant, and can speak somewhat) on how to hunt, so he's the primary food bringer for Perdido Beach along with Quinn and his fishermen.
* Luna Lovegood from ''Literature/HarryPotter''. She's brutally honest, dropping some uncomfortable truths, and is either completely uninterested or completely clueless about social interactions. She also in the fifth book abruptly comes up to Harry and says she believes him "without so much as a preliminary hello".
* Alistair in ''Literature/HeartOfSteel'' has spent the last ten years on a remote island up to his eyebrows in mad science and plans for world conquest, with no company that he didn't build himself. Needless to say, his attempts to woo Julia, the first woman he's seen in that time are...spectacular failures.
%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * ''Literature/HonorHarrington'': Shannon Forakner is seriously clueless in the social department.
* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'': Something that Haymitch frequently mocks Katniss over is her lack of people skills.
* ''Literature/IfIFallIfIDie'': Once Diane's agoraphobia got so severe that she couldn't leave the house, her social skills quickly atrophied, causing other people to become one of her phobias. She has her son Will answer the door when the deliverymen arrive.
* In Kit Whitfield's ''In Great Waters'' Henry/Whistle is Raised By [[OurMermaidsAreDifferent Deepmen]]. His lack of adjustment once on land isn't helped by the fact that he's also a HalfHumanHybrid.
* ''The Literature/JohnnyMaxwellTrilogy'' has Kirsty, who isn't good at making friends and considers this to be a character flaw ... [[ItsAllAboutMe in everyone else]]. Extremely intelligent, she has a tendency to [[InsufferableGenius explain to people how stupid they are]] until they wander off. (Johnny doesn't wander off because he ''knows'' how stupid he is.)
* Literature/{{Julian}}'s uncle Constantius is this despite being Emperor of Rome. He is very shy and very dull and can only interact with others as an emperor.
* ''Literature/KindlingAshes'': Giselle's only companion for over a decade was the dragon soul living inside her head so she has trouble relating to people living outside it. Sara had a time and a half teaching her how to say "thank you".
* Dondi Snayheever from Creator/TimPowers' ''Literature/LastCall'' is socially incompetent. He was walled up inside a giant Skinner box by his father for virtually his entire childhood, surrounded by over-sized paintings of playing cards and books about poker. His father was trying to condition his child to be the ultimate poker player, but lack of human contact left Dondi unable to judge other players' intentions.
* ''Literature/LoneHuntress'': A OneManArmy spending virtually all her personal time aboard her ship, battling a DarkAndTroubledPast, and suffering from MuscleAngst and paranoia has difficulties with socialization? Say it isn't so.
* In ''Literature/{{MARZENA}}'' we have Dr. Lauren Hackenhoek who mostly listen but don't say a whole lot, unless you want her to [[TechnoBabble explain to you how neuroscience and neurosurgery works]], there's no problem there.
%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample* The central joke of ''Oh, the Humanity: A Gentle Guide to Social Interaction for the Feeble Young Introvert'' is that someone who qualifies for this trope has [[TheBlindLeadingTheBlind written a book on social skills]]. A ''[[FauxToGuide self-help]]'' book on social skills.
* Adelia in ''Literature/MistressOfTheArtOfDeath'' is blunt to the point of rudeness, often abrasive, and honest even when it would be ''much, much'' safer to lie.
* The narrator of Karen Hesse's ''Literature/TheMusicOfDolphins'' was the only survivor of an airplane crash in the Caribbean as a very young child, and was taken in by a pod of dolphins. She's reasonably healthy when she's found by (aside from minor considerations, such as having ''barnacles'' all over her) and, unlike other {{Wild Child}}ren in the center that's taking care of her, she can connect with people and understand language, because [[FriendlyPlayfulDolphin dolphins are that awesome]]. However, the betrayals and confused feelings from the scientists studying her turn her away from them, and eventually she is allowed to return to the sea and her dolphin family.
* August from ''Literature/OfFearAndFaith''. His attempts to fraternize with his comrades at first prove to be so painfully awkward that it [[INeedAFreakingDrink drives him to drink]].
* ''Literature/{{Petaybee}}'': Cita, a character in the second book, was raised by members of a cult and, for months after being freed, refers to herself as "goat-dung".
* The eponymous character in J.M. Barrie's ''Literature/PeterPan'', having been raised by TheFairFolk, is an occasionally-[[SociopathicHero sadistic]] [[TheTrickster Trickster]].
%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample* Jenna in Jane Yolen's ''Literature/GreatAltaSaga''. She was raised in Seldan Hame, which, unlike the rest of the Dales, is largely untouched by the "superior" culture of the Garunian invaders.
* In ''Literature/RallyRoundTheFlagBoys'', Captain Walker Hoxie spent his whole childhood being abused by civilians, explaining why he treats "feather merchants" with undisguised contempt.
* ''Literature/Reaper2016'': Michael, a.k.a. Hawk, does not know how to deal with people, especially girls. That's why he entered [[VirtualReality Game]], as one of the very first players. Hawk is his public persona, and only the other Founder Players know Michael. At least until he draws Jex and Nathan into his investigation, falls for Jex and ''wants'' her to know the real him.
* In ''Literature/ScavengerAlliance'', Tad is the youngest of the Wallam-Crane family, pretty much royalty on his home planet of Adonis. As such, he's grown up surrounded by luxury, being pandered to by everyone he meets (he's initially attracted to Blaze ''because'' she's the only girl he's met who doesn't immediately throw herself at his feet). Between that and his emotionless, mercenary grandfather who uses Tad as a pawn for his ambitions, it's amazing Tad is even as tactful as he is, but his tendency to blurt out questions and utter inability to read a room nearly gets him thrown off a roof. But under all that is a genuinely caring, compassionate man.
* ''Literature/SisterhoodSeries'' by Creator/FernMichaels: Harry Wong most certainly has this problem. He is rather rude, impatient, and violent. One time, he went to his pal Jack Emery's house in the middle of the night, knocked on Jack's door, kicked it in when Jack didn't answer it fast enough, causing an alarm to blare for the whole neighborhood to hear...and then simply punched out the alarm system to make it stop.
* The eponymous character of Creator/RobertAHeinlein's ''Literature/StrangerInAStrangeLand'': Valentine Michael Smith. His naïve approach to society makes him a strange saintly figure. He's coming to it all cold: as a baby was the only survivor of the first crewed mission to Mars, and was subsequently raised by [[StarfishAliens Martians]].
* In ''Literature/SuperPowereds'', [[EnergyAbsorption Vince]] and [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower Chad]] are both severely lacking in the social department, partly due to them having SacrificedBasicSkillForAwesomeTraining. Vince has spent much of his life as a vagrant and hasn't had any meaningful interaction with anyone after his adopted father's death. His father has also spent much of the time training him in hand-to-hand combat. As a result, Vince is an AllLovingHero, who can't comprehend someone else being dishonest (except by necessity). After [[spoiler:his father's murder at the hand of his best friend]], Chad has devoted his time to training to become the best Hero ever. His power of total body and mind control allows him to train his body to be the ultimate fighting machine and to focus his mind, blocking off emotions he considers unnecessary and eschewing normal human contact. When his mother visits him at Lander, she is worried that he has zero friends. The boys he hangs out with are his sparring partners, nothing more. When Angela expresses an interest in him, all her hints go right over his head, as he takes everything at face value. As does Vince, when Chad explains to him the stated reason why Angela invited him to a club (i.e. she didn't want to invite anyone who would grope her all night long). When Vince's friends find out that both Vince and Chad both honestly believe her reason, they are speechless for a few seconds before trying to figure out how it's possible for there to be two such clueless guys. Vince doesn't understand what they mean, and Nick points out that this just underscores their point. They both get better, though, with Chad even starting to come out of his shell and trying to do more with his friends than exercise and spar.
* ''Literature/TanteiTeamKZJikenNote'':
** Aya zigzags this trope to the point that viewers aren't really sure if she's really lacking in social skills. Her FriendlessBackground is basically due to being on a "different bandwidth" of her classmates, and her inability to sustain small talk, which indicates this trope. On the other hand, she doesn't really have any problem handling the rest of [[TheTeam Detective Team KZ]]...
** Kozuka is a straight example when he was younger; he had a hard time communicating with his peers, especially girls; although he seems to have improved at PresentDay.
** Nanaki is still this at PresentDay, but then [[JustifiedTrope one should expect this]] from a person who live most of his life as TheShutIn.
* While a decent enough liege lord, the Dragon in ''{{Literature/Uprooted}}'' appears to be a huge Jerkass when dealing with people personally. Turns out that after a century or so of near-isolation and magical workings in his tower, he's just really that bad at dealing with people.
* Reed Lazar from ''Literature/VampireAcademy'' did not socialize. In gathering he either stayed silent or said very rude things.
* In Kelley Armstrong's ''Literature/WomenOfTheOtherworld'' series, Clayton Danvers was bitten and Changed into a [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolf]] when he was five years old. He spent two years as a WildChild in Louisiana's bayous before being domesticated by another [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolf]]. He eventually relearned human customs such as "privacy" and "physical contact", but does not understand them and chooses not to observe them unless absolutely necessary. His thoughts are more wolfish than those of other [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolves]], as he was Changed at five instead of fifteen. As a child, he was often assumed to be mentally handicapped since he rarely spoke and even then rarely in complete sentences.
* In Brooks' ''Literature/WorldWarZ'', this phenomenon becomes a lingering social problem after the ZombieApocalypse which ravaged western society, as orphaned children who were separated from their parents (by death [[AFateWorseThanDeath or worse]]) and who managed to survive in the wild grow up feral.
* Very common in ''Literature/{{Worm}}''. Superpowers come from trauma, so most people who have them are messed up in some way or another. Basically every member of the Undersiders has some sort of reason that they struggle with interpersonal stuff, such as Taylor being being brutally bullied by her former best friend once they got to high school. The case that stands out the most though is Rachel Lindt AKA "Bitch" -- a neglected and abused foster child who ends up gaining dog-related powers. Her upbringing is enough to result in general social incompetence, but one of her RequiredSecondaryPowers is an implicit understanding of dog social cues, which comes at the expense of her ability to read human social cues.
* Princess Ida from Creator/PiersAnthony's ''Literature/{{Xanth}}'' series was accidentally left with the nymphs by the stork. As a result (due to the magic surrounding the nymph territory that wipes the previous day's memories away), she has absolutely no memories past her 12th birthday, at which she was rescued and raised by the (never mentioned again) Otterbees (basically sentient otters with a typically punnish name). Other than her lack of knowledge about human culture (mostly courtship and mating), she's stunningly well-adjusted.
* David of ''WebOriginal/YouCouldMakeALife'' [[MarriedToTheJob devoted virtually all of his energy and passion to his NHL career]] and hence had very little time or interest in having a social life or hobbies outside of hockey. The result being that he struggles to come up with ''anything'' when he's asked about what he likes/does other than hockey and assumes that Jake having sex with him is just a "buddy" thing he does with everyone.
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%% Note: while a character with a bad childhood may have No Social Skills as a result, this trope is not about bad childhoods.
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Characters with NoSocialSkills in {{Literature}}.
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* Parn Barre of ''Literature/AnnalsOfTheWesternShore'''s Gifts'' by Creator/UrsulaKLeGuin. Her gift is AnimalTalk, and she's much more interested in that than socializing with people or being affectionate towards her daughter Gry, although she's good for quiet company.
* Spider Robinson's ''Literature/CallahansCrosstimeSaloon'' series: Reverend Tom Hauptmann from the short story "The Time Traveler". Hauptmann had spent more than a decade in a Central American prison; the decade in question was the 1960s, and upon his rescue/release, he was completely unprepared for the complete and bewildering sea-change the United States had undergone in that time.
* Chris in ''Literature/TheCuriousIncidentOfTheDogInTheNighttime''. The author has said that the book is not about Asperger's Syndrome and Chris' condition is not stated (although it's known that he attends a special school), but the blurb of the book commonly refers to high-functioning autism or Asperger's Syndrome. Chris doesn't have any friends and he can't understand facial expressions.
* In ''Franchise/TheDarkTower'' series, Roland spent a very long time[[note]]exactly how long is unknown, especially since space and time are rather fluid concepts in Mid-World, but it's implied to have been years, if not decades[[/note]] alone in the desert, obsessing over the tower and chasing the Man in Black. This causes him to forget how to deal with people. {{Lampshaded}} in an incident where he is being charming and funny while talking to some elderly villagers, and Susannah wonders if this is what he was like "before the desert turned him strange".
* ''Literature/DetectiveLaneMysteries'': Colin Weaver, aka Dr. Fibre, is a brilliant forensic scientist with the face of a male model and no idea how to interact with other human beings.
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
** Stanley from ''Literature/GoingPostal'' is very, ''very'' good at doing things by the book, but doesn't think along normal social lines at all. He was {{raised by|Wolves}} ''peas''.
** Mr. Nutt from ''Literature/UnseenAcademicals''. He once, when asked by his friends if he was ill, said that he wasn't and had indeed had a normal bowel movement that morning. Prior to the age of seven, he [[WildChild wasn't raised by anyone]] at all, and after that spent most of his time reading, so you can probably understand why he's got problems understanding what constitutes TooMuchInformation. He also has a tendency to [[SpockSpeak speak in formal paragraphs]] when he's not [[ExtremeDoormat terrified someone's going to object to his very existence]], and has a tendency to get SidetrackedByTheAnalogy ("There appears to be so much I might inadvertently pull!").
** [[AC:Death]] (TheGrimReaper) is notable, particularly in the later novels, for his fascination with and (often hilarious) attempts to imitate humans.
** Jeremy Clockson in ''Literature/ThiefOfTime'' is very similar to Stanley, except that instead of Post Office Regulataions and pins, his defining obsession is building very accurate clocks, and he doesn't really know how to relate to anyone who doesn't grasp this, including other clockmakers. At one point, the narrative notes that he considers Mr Soak the milkman to be a friend, because they exchanges brief sentences once every few weeks.
** Susan Sto Helit, at least in [[Literature/SoulMusic her first appearance]], has very few friends because she has no patience and doesn't hesitate to explain to others why they're wrong about things. In later books, she's still got aspects of this but, much to her own surprise, has turned out to be very good with kids.
** Granny Weatherwax is an interesting example; she's the mistress of "headology", which means she probably has a better understanding of human beings than anyone else on the Disc. But that doesn't mean she can ''relate'' to them. In fact, quite the reverse; she knows how silly and easily led the people around her are, and they know she feels that way.
* Ignatius in ''Literature/DontCallMeIshmael'' is blunt, more interested in sciences than people and often rattles off [[EncyclopaedicKnowledge random facts]] that have nothing to do with the conversation the others are having. His mother makes him join the debate team so he will develop social skills, but he doesn't get much better over the course of the series.
* Oskar in ''Literature/ExtremelyLoudAndIncrediblyClose''. Sometimes when they played "Reconnaissance Expedition," his father would deliberately set up missions in which Oskar was forced to talk to people, because his father wanted him to get better at it.
* ''Literature/FindingSnowflakes'' deconstructs this trope. The main character, a teenager so socially awkward he barely holds a conversation, far from being seen as adorable because of this is avoided at all costs, and he is also to blame. He has problems filtering his thoughts and thus ends up with many cases of BrutalHonesty, some funny, some downright destructive. He doesn't seem to empathize as well with others for the same reason, despite him being kind. And there is also no "magical" cure for him getting social skills: gaining this is something he has to work, and with great effort, over the course of the book.
* In the ''Literature/FirekeeperSaga'' novels, the eponymous character was RaisedByWolves, talking intelligent ones. She never manages to fully master elementary grammar, writing, or table manners, but elsewhere she's far from naïve.
* The appropriately-named Hunter in the ''Literature/{{Gone}}'' series. [[spoiler:After accidentally killing a friend with his mutant powers, he is brutally hit in the head by Zil, leaving him partially brain-damaged. Because of this, he slurs his words a lot and doesn't understand some things]]. He is trained by the nearby coyotes (who are mutant, and can speak somewhat) on how to hunt, so he's the primary food bringer for Perdido Beach along with Quinn and his fishermen.
* Luna Lovegood from ''Literature/HarryPotter''. She's brutally honest, dropping some uncomfortable truths, and is either completely uninterested or completely clueless about social interactions. She also in the fifth book abruptly comes up to Harry and says she believes him "without so much as a preliminary hello".
* Alistair in ''Literature/HeartOfSteel'' has spent the last ten years on a remote island up to his eyebrows in mad science and plans for world conquest, with no company that he didn't build himself. Needless to say, his attempts to woo Julia, the first woman he's seen in that time are...spectacular failures.
%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * ''Literature/HonorHarrington'': Shannon Forakner is seriously clueless in the social department.
* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'': Something that Haymitch frequently mocks Katniss over is her lack of people skills.
* ''Literature/IfIFallIfIDie'': Once Diane's agoraphobia got so severe that she couldn't leave the house, her social skills quickly atrophied, causing other people to become one of her phobias. She has her son Will answer the door when the deliverymen arrive.
* In Kit Whitfield's ''In Great Waters'' Henry/Whistle is Raised By [[OurMermaidsAreDifferent Deepmen]]. His lack of adjustment once on land isn't helped by the fact that he's also a HalfHumanHybrid.
* ''The Literature/JohnnyMaxwellTrilogy'' has Kirsty, who isn't good at making friends and considers this to be a character flaw ... [[ItsAllAboutMe in everyone else]]. Extremely intelligent, she has a tendency to [[InsufferableGenius explain to people how stupid they are]] until they wander off. (Johnny doesn't wander off because he ''knows'' how stupid he is.)
* Literature/{{Julian}}'s uncle Constantius is this despite being Emperor of Rome. He is very shy and very dull and can only interact with others as an emperor.
* ''Literature/KindlingAshes'': Giselle's only companion for over a decade was the dragon soul living inside her head so she has trouble relating to people living outside it. Sara had a time and a half teaching her how to say "thank you".
* Dondi Snayheever from Creator/TimPowers' ''Literature/LastCall'' is socially incompetent. He was walled up inside a giant Skinner box by his father for virtually his entire childhood, surrounded by over-sized paintings of playing cards and books about poker. His father was trying to condition his child to be the ultimate poker player, but lack of human contact left Dondi unable to judge other players' intentions.
* ''Literature/LoneHuntress'': A OneManArmy spending virtually all her personal time aboard her ship, battling a DarkAndTroubledPast, and suffering from MuscleAngst and paranoia has difficulties with socialization? Say it isn't so.
* In ''Literature/{{MARZENA}}'' we have Dr. Lauren Hackenhoek who mostly listen but don't say a whole lot, unless you want her to [[TechnoBabble explain to you how neuroscience and neurosurgery works]], there's no problem there.
%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample* The central joke of ''Oh, the Humanity: A Gentle Guide to Social Interaction for the Feeble Young Introvert'' is that someone who qualifies for this trope has [[TheBlindLeadingTheBlind written a book on social skills]]. A ''[[FauxToGuide self-help]]'' book on social skills.
* Adelia in ''Literature/MistressOfTheArtOfDeath'' is blunt to the point of rudeness, often abrasive, and honest even when it would be ''much, much'' safer to lie.
* The narrator of Karen Hesse's ''Literature/TheMusicOfDolphins'' was the only survivor of an airplane crash in the Caribbean as a very young child, and was taken in by a pod of dolphins. She's reasonably healthy when she's found by (aside from minor considerations, such as having ''barnacles'' all over her) and, unlike other {{Wild Child}}ren in the center that's taking care of her, she can connect with people and understand language, because [[FriendlyPlayfulDolphin dolphins are that awesome]]. However, the betrayals and confused feelings from the scientists studying her turn her away from them, and eventually she is allowed to return to the sea and her dolphin family.
* August from ''Literature/OfFearAndFaith''. His attempts to fraternize with his comrades at first prove to be so painfully awkward that it [[INeedAFreakingDrink drives him to drink]].
* ''Literature/{{Petaybee}}'': Cita, a character in the second book, was raised by members of a cult and, for months after being freed, refers to herself as "goat-dung".
* The eponymous character in J.M. Barrie's ''Literature/PeterPan'', having been raised by TheFairFolk, is an occasionally-[[SociopathicHero sadistic]] [[TheTrickster Trickster]].
%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample* Jenna in Jane Yolen's ''Literature/GreatAltaSaga''. She was raised in Seldan Hame, which, unlike the rest of the Dales, is largely untouched by the "superior" culture of the Garunian invaders.
* In ''Literature/RallyRoundTheFlagBoys'', Captain Walker Hoxie spent his whole childhood being abused by civilians, explaining why he treats "feather merchants" with undisguised contempt.
* ''Literature/Reaper2016'': Michael, a.k.a. Hawk, does not know how to deal with people, especially girls. That's why he entered [[VirtualReality Game]], as one of the very first players. Hawk is his public persona, and only the other Founder Players know Michael. At least until he draws Jex and Nathan into his investigation, falls for Jex and ''wants'' her to know the real him.
* In ''Literature/ScavengerAlliance'', Tad is the youngest of the Wallam-Crane family, pretty much royalty on his home planet of Adonis. As such, he's grown up surrounded by luxury, being pandered to by everyone he meets (he's initially attracted to Blaze ''because'' she's the only girl he's met who doesn't immediately throw herself at his feet). Between that and his emotionless, mercenary grandfather who uses Tad as a pawn for his ambitions, it's amazing Tad is even as tactful as he is, but his tendency to blurt out questions and utter inability to read a room nearly gets him thrown off a roof. But under all that is a genuinely caring, compassionate man.
* ''Literature/SisterhoodSeries'' by Creator/FernMichaels: Harry Wong most certainly has this problem. He is rather rude, impatient, and violent. One time, he went to his pal Jack Emery's house in the middle of the night, knocked on Jack's door, kicked it in when Jack didn't answer it fast enough, causing an alarm to blare for the whole neighborhood to hear...and then simply punched out the alarm system to make it stop.
* The eponymous character of Creator/RobertAHeinlein's ''Literature/StrangerInAStrangeLand'': Valentine Michael Smith. His naïve approach to society makes him a strange saintly figure. He's coming to it all cold: as a baby was the only survivor of the first crewed mission to Mars, and was subsequently raised by [[StarfishAliens Martians]].
* In ''Literature/SuperPowereds'', [[EnergyAbsorption Vince]] and [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower Chad]] are both severely lacking in the social department, partly due to them having SacrificedBasicSkillForAwesomeTraining. Vince has spent much of his life as a vagrant and hasn't had any meaningful interaction with anyone after his adopted father's death. His father has also spent much of the time training him in hand-to-hand combat. As a result, Vince is an AllLovingHero, who can't comprehend someone else being dishonest (except by necessity). After [[spoiler:his father's murder at the hand of his best friend]], Chad has devoted his time to training to become the best Hero ever. His power of total body and mind control allows him to train his body to be the ultimate fighting machine and to focus his mind, blocking off emotions he considers unnecessary and eschewing normal human contact. When his mother visits him at Lander, she is worried that he has zero friends. The boys he hangs out with are his sparring partners, nothing more. When Angela expresses an interest in him, all her hints go right over his head, as he takes everything at face value. As does Vince, when Chad explains to him the stated reason why Angela invited him to a club (i.e. she didn't want to invite anyone who would grope her all night long). When Vince's friends find out that both Vince and Chad both honestly believe her reason, they are speechless for a few seconds before trying to figure out how it's possible for there to be two such clueless guys. Vince doesn't understand what they mean, and Nick points out that this just underscores their point. They both get better, though, with Chad even starting to come out of his shell and trying to do more with his friends than exercise and spar.
* ''Literature/TanteiTeamKZJikenNote'':
** Aya zigzags this trope to the point that viewers aren't really sure if she's really lacking in social skills. Her FriendlessBackground is basically due to being on a "different bandwidth" of her classmates, and her inability to sustain small talk, which indicates this trope. On the other hand, she doesn't really have any problem handling the rest of [[TheTeam Detective Team KZ]]...
** Kozuka is a straight example when he was younger; he had a hard time communicating with his peers, especially girls; although he seems to have improved at PresentDay.
** Nanaki is still this at PresentDay, but then [[JustifiedTrope one should expect this]] from a person who live most of his life as TheShutIn.
* While a decent enough liege lord, the Dragon in ''{{Literature/Uprooted}}'' appears to be a huge Jerkass when dealing with people personally. Turns out that after a century or so of near-isolation and magical workings in his tower, he's just really that bad at dealing with people.
* Reed Lazar from ''Literature/VampireAcademy'' did not socialize. In gathering he either stayed silent or said very rude things.
* In Kelley Armstrong's ''Literature/WomenOfTheOtherworld'' series, Clayton Danvers was bitten and Changed into a [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolf]] when he was five years old. He spent two years as a WildChild in Louisiana's bayous before being domesticated by another [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolf]]. He eventually relearned human customs such as "privacy" and "physical contact", but does not understand them and chooses not to observe them unless absolutely necessary. His thoughts are more wolfish than those of other [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolves]], as he was Changed at five instead of fifteen. As a child, he was often assumed to be mentally handicapped since he rarely spoke and even then rarely in complete sentences.
* In Brooks' ''Literature/WorldWarZ'', this phenomenon becomes a lingering social problem after the ZombieApocalypse which ravaged western society, as orphaned children who were separated from their parents (by death [[AFateWorseThanDeath or worse]]) and who managed to survive in the wild grow up feral.
* Very common in ''Literature/{{Worm}}''. Superpowers come from trauma, so most people who have them are messed up in some way or another. Basically every member of the Undersiders has some sort of reason that they struggle with interpersonal stuff, such as Taylor being being brutally bullied by her former best friend once they got to high school. The case that stands out the most though is Rachel Lindt AKA "Bitch" -- a neglected and abused foster child who ends up gaining dog-related powers. Her upbringing is enough to result in general social incompetence, but one of her RequiredSecondaryPowers is an implicit understanding of dog social cues, which comes at the expense of her ability to read human social cues.
* Princess Ida from Creator/PiersAnthony's ''Literature/{{Xanth}}'' series was accidentally left with the nymphs by the stork. As a result (due to the magic surrounding the nymph territory that wipes the previous day's memories away), she has absolutely no memories past her 12th birthday, at which she was rescued and raised by the (never mentioned again) Otterbees (basically sentient otters with a typically punnish name). Other than her lack of knowledge about human culture (mostly courtship and mating), she's stunningly well-adjusted.
* David of ''WebOriginal/YouCouldMakeALife'' [[MarriedToTheJob devoted virtually all of his energy and passion to his NHL career]] and hence had very little time or interest in having a social life or hobbies outside of hockey. The result being that he struggles to come up with ''anything'' when he's asked about what he likes/does other than hockey and assumes that Jake having sex with him is just a "buddy" thing he does with everyone.
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