I agree on "White Oleander" and other books of that ilk. It seemed that there was awhile where everyone would rave about some book, and it would turn out to be basically a story of some young female's constant abuse. I don't have much patience for books or stories where pretty much everyone the main character meets does them wrong in some way, and it's like a succession of trauma. I remember telling my friend I was reading some book that seemed to go along those lines. 'I was just waiting for the abuse to happen...oh, yeah, there it is, Chapter 12.' I haven't encountered this as much lately, so either it's not as much of a thing to write about, or the people I know have stopped liking them.
My most-hated fantasy series is definitely 'The Wheel of Time'. I read 7 or 8 of them, too, before I finally had to stop. I found the writing engaging and the plot interesting up to a point, but the main character...I have never before wanted to leap through the pages of a book and beat someone with a shoe before. The whining about absolutely everything was just too much, especially when it was often about things that weren't even that bad, he'd just choose to feel guilty. Also, Robert Jordan had some very weird ideas about women and gender relations, and just couldn't leave them alone. I'd go more into this, but I'd be here for days...I eventually needed to stop when I almost threw the book across the room after yet another meltdown by the main character about female warriors sometimes dying in battle.
