Line #33 Creator/KentJStarrett


1	[[quoteright:1000:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/huggyandme_4.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:1000:[[BlatantLies Looks Cheerful, doesn't he?]]]]
3
4	->''"Night takes back our nightmares, our dreams fill the skies \
5	With all of our pictures and stories and signs \
6	Though trapped we may be in our heads and our hearts \
7	Our dreams and ideas are all that we are."''
8	-->-- '''Literature/TheStarPixieAndTheSerpentQueen'''
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10	Kent John Starrett is an American author and illustrator of primarily young adult and juvenile fiction. He is known for his [[ColorContrast high-contrast neon art style]], [[DeadpanSnarker sardonic prose]], [[OurMonstersAreWeird bizarre]] and uncanny creatures, and a general sense of [[CloudCuckooLander quirkiness]] that balances [[CreepyCute cutesy, cartoonish art/prose]] with [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids creepy atmosphere]] and deeper themes. He has high-functioning autism and PTSD, which heavily influences his peculiar perspective and unconventional body of work. His works include ''Literature/JackieAndCraig'' and ''Literature/TheStarPixieAndTheSerpentQueen''. He maintains an active web presence, and you can find him on Twitter, Tumblr and Youtube as [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClbcsp6uCBNlac-22pV3mSw/ Thoughtful Devil.]]
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13	!!Kent J. Starrett's works include:
14	[[index]]
15
16	* ''Literature/JackieAndCraig''
17	* ''Literature/TheStarPixieAndTheSerpentQueen''
18	* ''Literature/HumanResources2018''
19	* ''Literature/TheRiseAndFallOfTheSkyValleyCult''
20	* ''Literature/LightsAreOffButEveryonesHome''
21	* ''[[https://motifri.com/starrett/ The Ever-Ending World]]''
22	* ''Literature/EscapeFromConcordia''
23
24	[[/index]]
25	!!Tropes featured in Kent Starrett's body of work include:
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27	* AntiHero: all of his protagonists are either deeply damaged, broken individuals or otherwise flat-out [[HeroInNameOnly Heroes in name only]].
28	* AdmiringTheAbomination: Very unusual monsters with unique concepts and [[StarfishAliens well-thought-out biologies and anatomies]] are almost everywhere.
29	* AuthorAppeal:
30	** BlackComedyCannibalism: People getting eaten is usually played for ''laughs.'' The short story ''Sweet Tooth,'' from ''Literature/HumanResources2018'', is a notable exception.
31	** CreepyShadowedUndereyes: Shows up on most characters, [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman human or otherwise]].
32	** [[HumanoidAbomination Warped humanoid entities]] like living caricatures.
33	** OddFriendship: So far, two out of five of his published works have featured mismatched friends in a ProtagonistTitle. [[spoiler: Jackie's death put a stop to this in the ''Franchise/TeenageWastelands'' saga, it would seem.]]
34	** PerkyGoth: at least one character usually either is or admires BodyHorror [[OurMonstersAreWeird Monsters]] or whatever unnatural catastrophe is occuring in the story somewhere. Maria Garcia, of ''Lights Are Off, But Everyone's Home'' is the most shining example.
35	** RealLifeWritesThePlot: Starrett struggled with [[DarkAndTroubledPast depression, anxiety, and insomnia]] throughout most of his life and has attempted suicide twice. He uses all this to paint his character's perspectives.
36	** TeenageWasteland: Adults seem nonexistent in his works, even in settings where they logically should be around somewhere. The existence of parents or other guardians is usually explained away in a sentence or two, resulting in stories about FreeRangeChildren (though it has been argued that certain characters in ''The Star Pixie And The Serpent Queen'' are actually stand-ins for parental figures).
37	** Monstrous Feminine creatures, similar in concept [[OurMonstersAreWeird but usually more surreal in execution to]] Witches, Sirens, Succubi, etc.
38	* BlackComedy: Everywhere outside his picture books.
39	* BodyHorror: His only adult work so far, ''Literature/HumanResources2018'' is rich with it. ''Literature/JackieAndCraig'' has a bit more of it than the typical YA fiction, but not nearly as much as H.R.
40	* ChildrenAreInnocent: Subverted, always.
41	* ColorContrast: a signature of his artwork is the high contrast, pastel color scheme, somewhat recalling the work of Chuck Jones and other, similar artists.
42	* CrapsackWorld: Jackie and Craig live in one, based on Starrett's own childhood hometown. [[Literature/LightsAreOffButEveryonesHome Trent Staley]] lives in one too, though transplanted to Rhode Island, where Starrett spent parts of his childhood with his grandparents (and a two-year stretch of his adulthood with his then-girlfriend).
43	* DarkIsNotEvil: Creepy or eccentric characters or monsters sometimes turn out to be friendly and likable. Ex:
44	** Both Jackie and Fang from ''Literature/JackieAndCraig''
45	** The titular Serpent Queen
46	** The hideously disfigured children from ''Children of Light And Darkness'' in ''Human Resources''
47	** And the two friendly post-humans, Styrax and Spyrax, from the eponymous tale in ''Literature/HumanResources2018''
48	* DarkWorld: Both the last act of ''Literature/JackieAndCraig'' and all of ''Literature/TheStarPixieAndTheSerpentQueen'' take place in one. ''Literature/HumanResources2018'' features a few, as well.
49	* TheGrinch: according to the epilogue of ''Human Resources,'' the best Christmas of Starrett's life happened when he was housesitting for relatives and [[ReclusiveArtist didn't have to see anyone for a week, giving him solitude and relaxation that he desperately needed.]]
50	* LovecraftLite: ''Jackie and Craig''. Arguably, ''The Star Pixie and the Serpent Queen'' is as well, though very, ''very'' lightly, as it's a children's picture book. ''Human Resources'' goes full CosmicHorror in some stories, most notably in ''The Secret Game'' and ''Vestibulum Horridus.''
51	* OurMonstersAreWeird: The creatures are always very strange, and usually fully realized, with some editions of ''Literature/JackieAndCraig'' featuring a section on the biology, cladistics and evolutionary relationships of the monsters featured therein.
52	* ShownTheirWork: ''Literature/JackieAndCraig'' is a bit more Hard Sci-Fi than it has any right to be, and it's clear more thought went into the "Science" part of the Science Fiction than most YA fiction usually does. Where ''Human Resources'' concerns the Science parts of the Fiction, it does well.
53	* SignatureStyle: BodyHorror? Check. High ColorContrast? Check. [[SurrealHorror Freakish abominations]] best fit for DerangedAnimation? Check. And above all, a weird balance of cutesy, whimsical and quirky with creepy, scary and melancholy? Check.
54	* SurrealHorror: Common, whether intentional or otherwise. Though in most of the stories in ''Literature/HumanResources2018'', it's very obviously intentional.
55	%%* TearJerker: Common.
56	* WorldOfWeirdness: Every book he's written save ''[[Literature/LightsAreOffButEveryonesHome Lights are Off, but Everyone's Home,]]'' which takes place in a totally ordinary High School, if a bit of a WretchedHive of one.

Context Creator / KentJStarrett