The Cornersville Trace Mythos

The real world isn't like how Eileen Codlin wrote it. It's stranger, sadder, scarier, and smellier. But it's also the type of world where you can feel beautiful while flinging around unicorn poop. —Jennifer Van Der Berg, Extraordinary*

The Cornerville Trace Mythos are a series of young adult books by Adam Selzer that take place in the fictional town of Cornersville Trace, Iowa. They started off as a realistic fiction humor series, but have recently started entering the Urban Fantasy genre. They are, in order:

• How to Get Suspended and Influence People: 14-year-old Leon Noside Harris is a gifted (not to mention endlessly sarcastic) 8th grader who is tasked with creating a sex-ed video (long story). He decides to craft it as an avante-garde film, and also decides to be frank about masturbation, which angers Mrs. Smollett.
• Pirates of the Retail Wasteland: Leon and his friends from the gifted pool are back, making another film, but this one is a documentary about their favorite coffee shop and the local Starbucks knockoff, Whackfords. Their plan to save the coffee shop involves, sarcasm (as usual), pirates, and accountants.
• I Kissed a Zombie and I Liked It: This is where the Urban Fantasy aspect sets in (just look at the title). Alley is a high school student living in the post-human era. Some time before, vampires, zombies, and other post-humans came out of the coffin, and now they're a normal part of life. Alley falls for Doug, a zombie, and her life takes an extremely dangerous turn.
• Extraordinary* *the True Story of my Fairy Godparent, Who Almost Killed Me, and Certainly Never Made Me a Princess: Jennifer Van Der Berg is famous, thanks to a book that was (supposedly) written about her and her fairy "godmother" called Born to be Extraordinary. The problem is that the author got everything totally wrong. The godmother was a creepy, nasty, greasy man named Gregory Grue, who, by the way, threatened to kill Jen if she didn't go along with his plan. This is Jen setting the record straight.

Tropes

Tropes used in How to Get Suspended and Influence People and Pirates of the Retail Wasteland

• All Men Are Perverts: Dustin. Leon, to a much lesser extent.

Now, I don't wish to imply that I don't care about sex or think about it. Hell, if I dedicated all the time I spend thinking about sex to, say, learning Italian, I would've been fluent by the end of the seventh grade. Dustin Eddlebeck, on the other hand, is just plain sick.

• Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Leon's parents are food disaster hobbyists and gave him the middle name Noside to insult the late Thomas Edison. Need we say more?
• Asian and Nerdy: Jenny
• Beta Couple: Brian/Edie to Anna/Leon.
• Brainy Brunette: Leon is shown with brown hair on the covers of the books.
• Bungling Inventor: "It's a good thing my dad is an accountant, because he really sucks at being an inventor."
• Deadpan Snarker: Everyone in the gifted pool, especially Leon and Anna.
• Demoted to Extra: Mrs. Smollett in Pirates of the Retail Wasteland.
• Dirty Communist: Averted with Edie who, while preachy at times, is a good person.
• Embarrassing Middle Name: Noside for Leon. Even more embarrassing is it's origin.
• First-Person Smartass
• Five-Man Band:
  • The Hero: Leon
  • The Lancer: Anna
  • The Big Guy: Dustin
  • The Smart Guy: Brian
  • The Chick: Edie
  • The Sixth Ranger: Jenny, who becomes much more prominent in Pirates.
• Good Parents: Anna's parents, or her dad at least (we never see her mom). Leon's, too, but good luck with getting him to admit that.
• Hair of Gold: Anna, while extremely snarky, is a good friend and generally nice girl.
• Hate Sink: Mrs. Smollett and Joe Griffin, both of whom are more minor annoyances than anything.
• Love Triangle: In Pirates of the Retail Wasteland.
• Make-Out Kids: Brian and Edie apparently have no problems with PDA.
• Meddling Parents: Jenny's, who are way overprotective of her. To Jenny, ordering espresso is like ordering speed.
• Moral Guardians: Mrs. Smollett, much to Leon's chagrin.
• Put on a Bus: Mrs. Smollett at the end of How to Get Suspended. She makes a brief reappearance in the next book.
• Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: The gifted pool, which includes Leon, Anna, Brian, Dustin, Jenny, and Edie.
• Sickeningly Sweethearts: Brian and Edie.
• Teen Genius

Tropes used in I Kissed a Zombie, and I Liked It

• Bittersweet Ending: Doug dies, but Will is defeated and Alley has changed for the better.
• Came Back Wrong: Zombies as a general rule.
• Died in Your Arms Tonight: Doug crumbles in Alley's arms.
• Deadpan Snarker: Alley
• Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday: The shit goes down on prom night, of all times.
• I Have Many Names: Alley can be called Algonquin (her full name), Alley, Al (but not Weird Al), Gonk, and Quinn.
• Older Than They Look: Vampires.
• Perky Goth: Doug is a pretty normal guy for a zombie.
• Really Seven Hundred Years Old: Several vampires, including Mrs. Smollett.
• School Blog Newshound: Alley has a music review section.
• Twenty Minutes Into the Future

Tropes used in Extraordinary*

• The Alleged Car: The Jenmobile.

I got it for two hundred and fifty at an auction, and I probably overpaid.

• All for Nothing: Turns out Gregory Grue is a vampire, not a fairy, ergo, Jen was never in danger. They all still think it was Worth It.
• Ascended Extra: Fred and Cathy, both of whom made their first appearances in I Kissed a Zombie and I Liked It.
• Big Bad: Gregory Grue, with Mutual's parents as his Co-Dragons. But, due to the fact that Gregory was hired by Mutual's parents, one could argue that they're the true villains of the story, and Gregory is merely The Dragon, albeit an important one.
• Blondes Are Evil: In Born to be Extraordinary, Cathy is blonde.
• Book Within a Book: Born to be Extraordinary
• Call Back: A few to the events of I Kissed a Zombie.
• Childhood Friend Romance: It, along with the fact that Mutual's parents want him to become a vampire, gets the plot going.
• Deadpan Snarker: Jen. Noticing a pattern here?
• Defeat Means Friendship: Jen and Cathy have called a truce by the end, due to what they had to go through.
• Four Man Band:
  • The Hero: Jen
  • The Lancer / The Smart Guy: Mutual. Amber also has shades of being The Smart Guy.
  • The Big Guy: Jason
  • The Chick: Amber
• Full-Name Basis: Gregory Grue is always Gregory Grue.
• Manipulative Bastard: Gregory Grue. As well as Mutual's parents.
• Nerds Are Sexy: Jen's opinion of Mutual.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gregory Grue delivers a rather brutal one to Jen.
• Sacrificial Lion: Poor Fred.
• Screw Destiny: Jen doesn't give a damn what Gregory says, she's not becoming a vampire OR dying OR leaving Mutual for Fred.
• Took a Level In Badass: Mutual
• True Companions: Jen, Amber, Jason, and Mutual.
• Two Girls and a Guy: Amber, Jen, and Jason, prior to Mutual returning to Cornersville.
• Very Loosely Based on a True Story: The In-Universe book about Jen, Born to be Extraordinary.
• Worth It: Jen and her friends's opinion on Jason flashing the crowd on the red carpet.
• You Are Not Alone: Amber, Jason, and Mutual help Jen through everything, no matter how much danger it puts them in.
• You Can't Fight Fate: Gregory tries this on Jen.
• You Gotta Have Purple Hair: Jen dyes her hair purple.
• Zany Scheme