A story universe in the mind and hard drive of Lady Sylvan, Shermanstown is a Slice of Life chronicle with cutesy optimism, sarcastic humor, heartwarming friendships, futuristic technology, science, interwoven dark elements, and jet-powered scooters.
If you're an X Meets Y type of person like this troper is, it could probably be called Kyle XY meets Phineas and Ferb meets Scott Pilgrim. If you're not, it could be considered an unusual take on futuristic science fiction where the majority of the advanced technology is not important to the story. Or an attempt to make realistic fiction more unique. Or it could be a literary representation of the Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism. But that's all wild mass guessing, because above all, it's just a story about characters that the author loves writing about.
Main character tropes:
Neilsen "Neil" Vickers
- Abusive Parents (Not himself, but his father was definitely this. And possibly an ex-Nazi.)
- Informed Loner (Rarely seen as having a long term relationship with anyone besides the two other main characters, and any exception is not a lasting character. As a teenager he was rather antisocial and bitter, but not without good reason.
- Nice Guy (in contrast with the often callous Kyle.)
Adelle Leslie Vickers
- Creepy Child: Sort of. At least, Kyle thinks so when he first meets her, even penning a list entitled "Top Five Things About Adelle Vickers That Creep Me Out".
- Expy: Not directly, but she was inspired in large parts by quirky, somewhat troubled and guilt-ridden Vada Sultenfuss from My Girl and cheerful strange girl Leslie Burke from Bridge to Terabithia. Her middle name is a Shout-Out to the latter.
- Gosh Dang It to Heck! (Most of the slang she uses makes her sound like a kid from the '50s. Her first interaction with Kyle, who's a bit more profane, prompts a Flat "What".)
-
Iron Woobie: She spent years at an orphanage where no one ever wanted to adopt her or even be her friend, due to her being, you know, Hitler. It WAS a house for young clones, so it wasn't a secret. And she's the sweetest, happiest character in the entire story.
- Mafia Princess: What Kyle thinks she is, upon learning that Neilsen adopted her and that her biological father was "a very disagreeable man." She's really Adolf Hitler's 13-year-old clone.
- Shout-Out: One of her diary entries towards the end: "Thoughts of a Sweet Transchromosomite from Scientific(al) Pennsylvania."
- You Cloned Hitler! (Though actually a deconstruction... see Playing With.)
Kyle Robert Smalls
- Basement-Dweller (justified, as he is just out of high school but not yet applying to college. His bedroom just happens to be what could have been used as a basement.)
- Collector of the Strange (Well, strange things for 19-year-old guys. Namely, antique toys and large history textbooks.)
- Hikikomori (Initially.)
- Unreliable Narrator (Oddly enough, subverted.)
- Vitriolic Best Buds (He and Adelle have shades of this; he seems vaguely put off by her at first and frequently calls her a "dork" or "the weirdest kid he's ever met." It's averted for the most part, though.)
Other Characters/General Tropes:
- Tomboy: Adelle's best friend Alex, and Adelle herself to an extent.
- Utopia: Although it's never brought up, the story is actually set in a future (or alternate reality) where world peace has been established.
- Light Is Not Good: Although the story maintains a quirky, cheerful tone 95% of the time, it's clear that absolutely everything in the world is not perfect.
