At this point, I just don't engage with media by men that heavily or disproportionately features the suffering of women because I can't even count the number of times I've been left with a sick pit in my stomach by voyeuristic, almost gleeful depictions of women being traumatized. Am I missing out on some potential gems? Maybe. In the same way that I'm missing out on the new big cheez it crunch wrap from Taco Bell because eating there has given me violent diarrhea so many times. I'm done betting my peace on a long shot. Edit: I do not intend to imply that men are not capable of handling the subject matter in a sensitive and informed way. They are, and that's the problem. Very often, they're simply choosing not to.
It's such a shame because as a male writer, I do not blame you in the slightest but my selfish thoughts are like damn "one bad apple really does ruin the tree" or more like a dozen tbf. I totally agree and understand your perspective, it's just such a shame that women can't be represented properly in a ton of male written books, and a that it adds to the overarching patriarchal system. And that (for once again selfishly) it does ruin it for someone like me who's really scared to write a woman with a tragic past but would really like to for the sake of the story. And stops others from finding potentially amazing art
The only problem would be Vice Versa. Women books are also very idealistic and often don’t write men in good fashion. If I want to nitpick, yes, I can find books of both nature. Neither out weighs the other. That’s the problem. It’s simply bad writing. 🤷♂️
I’ve seen a lot of Black content creators say this was super cringe because of the way AAVE is written so I immediately decided I didn’t want to read it, but now knowing THIS? Sheeeesh
@@anjegoodwin2292 don’t feel bad! There are a BUNCH of Black authors out there who aren’t throwing Black women and girls under the bus with their writing, or commodifying our culture by making AAVE be anything except a completely valid way to communicate as Black Americans. ♥️
Please do not apologize for your opinions or belittle yourself for having them. I haven't read this book but based on the description you gave and pieces of the work you cited, you have very valid points. Never be ashamed to share how a book made you feel. If someone doesn't understand that a book review involves your opinion and that they are free to have their own, that's a them problem. Women have been socialized to apologize for ourselves all over the place - don't do it! Share your feelings loud and proud. (Life lessons from a woman who's been alive a lot longer than you - I wish I'd stopped apologizing for myself a lot earlier in life.)
With the deaf person component…when people are using sign, they generally use their full bodies for communication. Facial expressions, body position, they’re all used during signing. Sometimes children of deaf adults speak and sign at the same time, or if the person went to school for sign language interpretation, they’ll speak and sign at the same time
This is why I write down a milion questions about a text when I beta read for my friends, even though I know the author probably already has the answer to half of them. Having conversations about your worldbuilding is so important and it can only make the story better
Yeah… I had some issues with this book from jump. As a black man, I was ecstatic to hear about a black fantasy novel with a black male lead seeing how we don’t have alot of those. I’ve been loving this new era of black fantasy with works such as LegendBorn by Tracy Deonn and the NightmareVerse by LL McKinney. But they’re all black women, which is great! But where’s the black men fantasy? So Blood At The Root intrigued me. Literally marketed as “What if Harry Potter went to an HBCU” and “Inspired by Percy Jackson” But it’s like… no lol. I had so many issues with this book I was unable to read it. 1. This book has no magic system lol. There is no system to this magic or how it works, despite taking place in a school. How on Earth does being able to generate fire from your palms correlate to being able to unlock doors without a key and also get them revved up? I know stuff like Harry Potter didn’t really have a magic system either, but viewing that series in a modern day lenses? Those books kinda sucked, too! Or maybe I’m just older and seek actual work to be put into the magic, like Tracy Deonn did with her Legendborn series. 2. The AAVE is atrocious. I’m sorry but I can’t read this book aloud without cringing every 20 seconds. It’s absolutely horrible. As a young black man, I have never spoken like this nor have I ever heard other black people in my area speak like this. It almost feels like a parody of black people, and I can just imagine how much fun white people are having laughing at this. What you’re saying is new to me since I wasn’t able to finish the book, but man this just didn’t turn out well at all. I really wanted to like this book, a lot. And maybe the second book will be better, but now? I’m just disappointed. Maybe I should write my own YA fantasy novel with a black male lead. I do have some ideas…
I saw that criticism about the AAVE come up a lot on goodreads and I didn’t mention it in my video because I didn’t feel like it was my place to talk about it. But UGH reading a book like Legendborn and then reading this book it was such a let down. Legendborn juggled two different magic systems and explained them both perfectly. I just feel like there was too many things that the characters needed to do in order to propel the plot and it just comes across as unrealistic. And as for that last part: In the words of Toni Morrison, If there’s a book you really want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it. 🫶🫶🫶
@@Listen2Kristen_ I actually have a pitch Bible in the works, and an IG page dedicated to my idea! I don’t know if you’re actively on social media, but I’d love to pitch it to you someday. I completely agree with you when it comes to having diverse and sensitive readers, as well as having those who challenge you. Hearing your thoughts on my premise would be awesome, if you’re ever available of course lol
please write your own YA fantasy with a Black male lead!!! i saw someone talking about how this one was apparently so good and exciting and i was looking forward to it, but for some reason i held off on preordering and i'm glad i did, but I would still absolutely love to read a book with a similar overall idea, and the world needs more Black authors! maybe it wouldn't have been so disappointing if it was one of many, but it seems like it hasn't been done much so it hits even harder.... if it's one disappointing book in a sea of thousands, it's a lot easier to ignore than if it's one of ten, and a lot easier for other people to write off the entire idea (Black male protag in a fantasy story) :( it shouldn't be that way but it seems like you're on your way to changing that and i'm excited for you! a good book can captivate a lot of readers, as well as inspire future writers, which is incredible (also i am a white person, i have a degree in linguistics and Black family both of which probably influence my opinion on AAVE, i absolutely am NOT laughing - it makes me sad because you deserve accurate representation that doesn't make it seem like a parody of reality.... i'm not a person of color but i do exist within several other marginalized groups and i see those treated in a similar way a lot, so while i don't get it exactly, i do get the general experience and it's not fun) good luck ♥ i wish you the absolute best!
As a Nigerian, when you talked about tribes and them not being distinguishable, makes me think that the author has never researched any tribes from Africa. While black🤦
As a white person myself, even I know that if you are knowledgeable about an area, you can tell the people in it apart from each other, how can you not know that?
@@PROTVGONISTBut personal opinion, they would only need to research if they wanna pursue things or create content related to it, just because you are in the big picture part of a race doesn't mean that you have to know every detail about it.
@@juanmanuelmoramontes3883 I’m not talking about non-creators. Just writers. It’d be nice if more Black Americans took time to understand various West and Central African ethnicities just because. But authors have an obligation to from both an ethical and craft standpoint.
Also yeah the homophobia… I feel like this is not intended as a “reason to dislike him and see his growth on a journey throughout the narrative” but rather it’s just… 🥲 the dude we get
As a domestic abuse survivor myself and someone who works with victims & survivors of domestic abuse the examples you listed of him being controlling is a major red flag. If you're in a relationship and your partner is possesive (keeping tabs on you, accusing you of cheating etc) and/or extremely jealous of who you spend time with (especially the opposite sex) leave now before it gets worse. Jealousy and controlling behavior (they go together) are usually how the abuse starts and before you know it you're thinking in terms of 'what am I allowed or not allowed to do'. I find it disturbing how much romanticised abuse there is in YA.
Romanticising abuse/death of women and using it as a main plot point has been an issue in media and stories for a long time and it´s so exhausting. It´s funny to me that you mention Legendborn bc I think that happens in that book as well - it was why I couldn´t finish the book. 😅
I was actually thinking about how the protector of her love interest keeps mentally tormenting her throughout the book and I think at some point tries to kill her? He at least threatens to kill/hurt her a bunch and I think she ends up developing feelings for him as well - I listened to the audiobook in horror bc of it.
I was LITERALLY about to comment this. It took me ages to get through that audio book because it just felt like trauma porn. Especially since marketing didnt really prepare me for how many micro aggression and potential triggers there would be in the book. I could have played misogynoir micro aggression bingo with that book.... Exhausting was literally the best way to put it. I'm a (mixed) black woman and get so tired of black female characters seldom existing outside of racial and gender trauma in media 😅 It reminds me of how in fantasy story settings women can rarely exist outside of misogyny and violence against women with authors having a weird fixation of creating sexist settings.
@@chrussublah4264 Yes it was so bad! I´m glad someone else sees it bc I haven´t seen anybody mention it and I have been nervous to mention it myself - I had to DNF the audiobook when the mc was about to fall for the guy who literally keeps threatening her! Why is this so common?! I am sick of fantasy worlds w misogyny as well - you can imagine magic but you can´t imagine equality? I think it´s fine if it´s handled well but it so rarely is and it´s all we´re getting. -.-
@@TheReadingBlobI’m in the middle of reading it and honestly? I think the summary left out half of the book. I came here for Arthurian mythos and murder mystery and fighting against the bureaucracy. If I wanted a (semi-magical) deconstruction of colonialism, micro aggressions, and white supremacy in the southern US (where I live) I would have looked for that in the summary.
comment while listening: regarding the 'magic worldbuilding': borrowing the terms from Brandon Sanderson, there is a sort of sliding scale in writing between Hard Magic Systems (clearly defined rules to the magic, think Brandon Sanderson stories) and Soft Magic Systems (the magic is mysterious and unpredictable, think Tolkien's Gandalf), with problematic cultural touchstone Harry Potter sitting somewhere in the middle of the scale. Neither Hard nor Soft magic systems are better or worse - but they are each suited to different kinds of stories. And as you explained pretty well, magic school stories work better with a magic system towards the Hard end of the scale. Harry Potter got away with it's sort-of-unpredictable magic system by embracing the childish whimsy of 'discovering a world of magic'. But generally, if your protagonist is a student of magic, and have narrative stakes tied to the magic, a Hard Magic System will serve you much better. Anyway, switching the author brain off again, time to continue the video 😉
Soft or hard magic systems both need rules and limitations though. Even if the author wants to hand-wave the magic rules, it’s just not enjoyable to read about characters with no limits who are just OP all the time.
@@emmy8495 Soft Magic doesn't really need rules or limitations unless necessary for the plot. If the characters solve their problems by using magic, then the Magic should be harder with more rules so the readers can actually figure out what is going on. Saying "a Wizard did it" can be very unsatisfying when "it" actually is supposed to have narrative payoff. However if the magic isn't used to advance the plot or solve problems by the characters it doesn't matter nearly as much. It's okay that we don't know what Gandalf's limits are because his magic isn't generally used to solve major problems. Your characters ability to solve problems and have it pay off is proportional to how "hard" and rules-based the magic system is.
@@jayneb6053 One Punch man is 1) a comedy making commentary on the shounen genre and 2) he earned his abilities through extremely intense training and the world still operates on rules of *some* kind.
I watched some black reviewers review this book, and some of them actually thought at first the guy who wrote it was a white guy and not really a black guy. That’s how badly written this is. It’s like he was trying to make a caricature of what a black man would be. It’s wild.
As a black woman, I respect your opinion on this book from a non black perspective. From what I’m hearing about, this book as some problematic elements that are actually present in the black community (misogynoir, homophobia, queerphobia. etc) Im all for more fantasy characters that look like me and share similar cultures but this ain’t it. Hold up, did Malik actually call his roommate the f slur? 😬 If so, ouch, especially it being it blatant in this time.
The perfect magic system is right there in the name😭 Rootwork (or at least a factionalized but respectful representation of it) would’ve been perfect to build upon in that kind of story
I think we should lend a name for this trop from the comic book world, that is "women in refrigerator" or "fridging" - it basically means killing or otherwise hurting women for the sake of either plot or character development of usually male characters. The term was invented by Gail Simone back in 1999, a comic fan later turned to become a comic book writer, on her website, called women in refrigerators, that compiled over 100 instances of this trope. It was named by the murder of Alexandra DeWitt, girlfriend of Kyle Rayner, a Green Lantern. It is basically named women in refrigerators because her remains were stuffed in a fridge afterwards. Other notable examples include the death of Gwen Stacy and the paralysis of Barbara Gordon.
I also read this book and give it like a 3. It was ok. I agree about Malik and Alexis, the way he treated her. It was weird since he hasn’t seen her for 10 years. I would say she probably left a huge impact on him because she was the only other magical person he knew (I think besides his mom) and after she left, he was pretty much on his own magic-wise. So I can see why she would still be on his mind in that way, but being that over-protective of her when they meet up again, no. It was cringy. Katia Washington’s story: I can see why you say that but I THINK the author was trying to bring light to how black kids are kidnapped (same for black women who are taken, trafficked SA, etc.) and you don’t really hear about it on the news especially years ago. I think Alexis was similar to Kilmonger by how she is upset that the magical world is doing nothing while these kids are being kidnapped and the regular world is doing nothing. In Black Panther, they had the means to help Black people but didn’t do anything. I think if we kept focusing on more than one kid, it will really take away from the story and focus too much on Alexis. I see where you are coming from but I don’t think she was the only one assaulted, just the only one mentioned. And for the sake of an already too long book, that was enough at least for me lol. Edited: BUT the author could've maybe had Alexis bring up more kids in that one scene who were also kidnapped and not just Katia. But overall, I am disappointed with this book. Even as a black woman, I would’ve rather focused on the world building. All of the culture references and stuff just took me out of the book and I hate that for fantasy. I was looking forward to this since we had a black male main character with magical powers. And I couldn’t stand him! Everything was just obvious. I hated that this was compared to Harry Potter. And I graduated from an HBCU. My classes were not like that but there were certain organizations that would host events like this around campus. It was like he copied from Hilman College on a Different World. I still recommend that people read and get their own opinion on it. They can have my copy cause I don't plan to read it again lol Enjoyed watching your video and your views on this book. 😁
Wow, this book was on my TBR... still is cause while I do hold your criticisims as valid I would like to form an opinion for myself, but I'm grateful to have some warning in advance. It's disappointing to hear that the worldbuilding is rather shoddy in this book because that is incredibly important to me when it comes to fantasy books. I has have a particular pet peeve when authors entice readers with a magical school but don't put any work into building the actual school, as shitty a person as Joann is she at least put in the effort to develop a cirriculum, professors, rules, etc. for her magical academy.
This was a book I was following and rooting for. Thanks for this honest review. I might check this book out in the future but it's far lower on my tbr now.
Just a light comment: I enjoyed the book even as a Black gay man. I didn’t find it heavily homophobic or anything because realistically that’s how a lot of ppl especially in AL interact and talk. I personally think it’d been better if he changed the date and time to be a few years ago to make the dialogue less cringe, but I enjoyed the realism because I know a lot of Malik’s and have taught a lot of Malik’s and I think that they should be able to see themselves in fiction. Not saying that you are, but my fear after reading this book would be that Black boy characters depicted this way wouldn’t be understood or praised. I taught so many boys who want to see themselves in fantasy who act, speak and navigate like Malik; so this type of representation is great in my opinion and I’m just happy to see young Black boys excited to read again. Again before anyone tries to attack me, this aint an attack on her or anyone’s opinions, im just giving my insight.
Thank you for sharing your opinion. I think this book is receiving a lot of biased criticisms and it’s clear that it’s because he’s a new Black author.
Honestly, yeah the homophobia and sexism in Black boys isn’t unrealistic but shouldn’t the author have condemned that on the page? It’s a book for children and there should have been messaging or very subtle hints on how it’s problematic.
@Sammy-fmhky Because sadly, the black community still CONDONE misogyny and homophobia. They don't take it seriously at all and will find anyway to belittle the issue.
@@yaz_theythem Yeah, no. There are black authors out there who are receiving PRAISE for uplifting the community and others while this author negatively portrayed women and tried to justify homophobia. That's a reason to criticise him because it ACTIVELY harms those people within our community.
My issue with characters like Malik, where you're meant to root for them, but they're so obviously bad and terrible, is that it's not just the character that's a bad person. The author wanting you to root for the character that does and thinks terrible things, shows you exactly that the author also does and thinks that that kind of behavior is acceptable. Malik is just the author.
“I Cheerfully Refuse” was a recent release that I was looking forward to (not fantasy) but when I read it, I was disappointed by the deployment of the “murdering a woman as the inciting incident of the plot” device. I’m reluctant to pick up new books from men generally but I was drawn enough to the genre that I thought I could deal with it but… sigh.
I got an ARC of this book and though I tend to leave negative reviews off of Goodreads for books that haven't debuted yet, I couldn't help but rate this book 1 star when I finished it. Excited to get into this video and see if we had overlapping opinions on points such as homophobia and sexism.
I had to rewind the video to make sure I heard correctly. They can magically cure diabetes? As someone with an older brother who has Type 2 diabetes, nothing infuriates me more in a book or movie as a magical cure for incurable illnesses or handicaps just for the sake of the plot. That's why I refuse to watch 'Thor: Love and Thunder.' As a two-time cancer survivor, and for the other reasons mentioned here, I definitely won't be reading this.😡
I read the book and it never stated that they would cure his diabetes. They made him food to combat his symptoms, he will always have it, but they promised he would be fine under their care.
From what I remember, they never cured cancer in Thor: Love and Thunder. They had a temporary solution for it, but it just kept making the character weaker.
@glitchedember3629 the hammer was stopping it when she was lady thor but drained her and left her body unable to fight the cancer when she was Jane. It was ham fisted and clumsy. As someone who cared for a loved one as they died of cancer I liked what Watiti seemed to be trying to say but absolutely understand why it would aggravate and piss people off.
i'm SO curious to know what you think of Five Broken Blades. there's such a weird blend of misogyny and shitty girlboss feminism all crammed into a genuinely terrible story
Well I'm not reading this, thank you, I literally only read woman lead books, and have only recently thought of going out of my comfort zone to read books with male leads, (that aren't queer) and homophobia and misogyny, are literal triggers for me, so I probably would have felt terrible after reading this book, so thank you for this.
I haven't read this book and it wasn't on my radar but as far as the magic system goes (and even some other elements) it sounds like it was maybe trying to emulate Akata Witch or The Scholomance series - but forgot to include the very needed important limitations. And based on your description of the book I probably won't pick it up, the "homophobia" bit sounded like it could actually be a good diving board for character growth (you know - maybe he could introspect on WHY the first thought in his head was so judgmental of something that doesn't affect him; instead of patting himself on the back for having the foresight to just filter himself from saying it out loud) buuuut my time on this Earth is limited and books are many so this one is a pass for me.
Uh… as someone who was really excited when I saw the book announcement, this is the last thing I expected. The author made the ‘romance’ sound like a cute friends to lovers. The misogyny getting through editors is odd. I think it sounds like it was acquired because of what they could market it to be. Legendborn where? Something I read was that the book had realistic dialogue by a lot of people. Not them bringing my Bonnie Bennett into this nonsense 😢 I want to read now 😂
The main issue isn't that a character has suffered, or gone through trauma, we connect better with characters whose pain we see, but it's when it feels exploitative that it makes my skin crawl. There's nothing inherently wrong with a character, male or female, going through hell, as long as it serves the story and makes sense. But if it's done because you feel the writer just enjoyed it, then I find it slimy. A good example would be a game of thrones (book), Daenerys goes through a lot at the start, but it fits the harsh world, and ultimately becomes part of her journey into becoming a queen.
Hi, I'm new here. Happened to see this video on my home page, and I was interested because I recently saved this book for as a future purchase (or to look further into before purchasing) on Amazon. The cover and blurb really looked engaging. My thoughts before watching your video and only reading the description: Damn, that's really disappointing. Kinda already wanting to remove it from my list on Amazon. But I'll watch in full before deciding anything. Edit after watching: Yea Imma go ahead and delete this book from my list. If all the slut shaming and accusing the love interest of hooking up with other guys is as frequent and intense as you make it out to be, this is both an MC and an author that I'll never be able to support. Plus the "I could've said something so much worse. Aren't you proud of me that I didn't?" Plus world building being probably the most important thing to me in fiction. Plus me being gay and simply not wanting to listen to some horny straight boy talk about tits all day. Yea.... It's gonna be a "Hell to the F no" from me. And it has such great reviews too. What a shame.
I held off for the longest but bit the bullet because I am riding the legendborn/amari high and had hoped I found another black focused magical book -- should have listened to my gut. returning this asap. appreciate your in depth review, you helped me avoid some triggering content. subscribing :)
There is a conversation to be had about people holding Black male authors to standards that they don’t hold white male authors to. This was on my tbr, so I’m disappointed to hear this. Someone else said it best, misogyny can exist in books, but how it’s addressed is important. Was the author being misogynistic or was the book about misogyny? That’s my biggest question for anyone who has read it. Same thing was said for “The Rage of Dragons”. Which is why I’m hesitant towards reading it. I also find it distasteful to give new poc authors bad reviews-when the industry refuses to even publish our books.
I totally agree and I won’t be so bold to say that the author was being intentionally misogynistic or malicious in any way. However, I think that the slut shaming/the way our MC treats women is meant to show tension in his relationship with his love interest and it was just in poor taste. The MC never faces any consequences in the book for the way he acts which is usually my gauge for if something is just straight up misogyny or if it’s commentary on misogyny. The fact that Malik never faces any kind of consequences for his actions is what pushed me to make this video. But thank you for saying this!
That is not a thing, no one is holding black authors to different standards other than allowing black authors of a lower standard a choice to make up for an imaginary unjustice that hasn't been a thing in a long time. Abercrombie's first law did well not because he's white but because he's good. This book is bad not because he's black but because he can't write. There are no mediocre white writers that everyone is praising.
@@Listen2Kristen_ Overall, to be frank, I’m tired of nonBlack content creators dragging Black books and Black authors- but not having that exact same energy for writers of other races. ACOTAR/ FourthWing/ Powerless/ LightLark/ high fantasy gods like Tolkien/ Martin/ Sanderson etc. I’m hearing mixed reviews from Black people about this book now. I’m not familiar with your channel or whether you even read diversely at all. But the repetitive optics and antiblack racism in the publishing industry/ social media makes me question the validity of reviews about Black books from nonblack people. Interestingly enough, some Black readers share your opinions- whereas some don’t at all? I’m very sensitive and would be very disappointed if I bought this book, read it and then realized that it was in fact upholding toxic oppressive ideals. 😩 So although I was HIGHLY SIDE EYEING YOU- I am glad you shared this video and opened up dialogue about it. I just wish it was a Black content creator criticizing this book- once again, optics. But also- the book was written for Black people and there are certain things that I simply don’t expect nonBlacks to grasp the context of. I hope this makes sense. Overall, I’m not just sad that this book has possibly ( I haven’t read it and hear mixed opinions) mishandled these issues and was published while underdeveloped- I’m sad knowing that Williams, a new author, will be dragged, when white authors with horrible books aren’t held to the same standard, but are worshipped and popularized.
Slut shaming is gross and I’d throw the book if I encountered it. 😬 To include oppressive systems with the goal of sending a direct clear message stating that it is wrong, I get it. But to include these issues without addressing them, in my opinion, perpetuates and upholds them. It’s deeply irresponsible and not something I can dismiss. And worse, 😔 it’s a ya author… I really want a queer Black person to review this book. I’m so curious, but until then I will protect my sensitive beeech a$$ energy and stick to my sapphic fantasies.
I think that character writing words in the air for Malik 41:39 would have worked IF this book did not have a modern tone to it, and instead, the setting was set from a different time period than ours
41:51 - Honestly, it's kind of weird just from the inconsistency! Many deaf people choose to sign and speak at the same time, but that is (like you said) for the benefit of the person they're talking to who usually doesn't know ASL (or related languages). But in this case...why would the character be signing if they both speak sign language? And if there was a spell that could convey their conversation, why wouldn't both of them have been speaking that way the entire time? 😭
13:59 I can’t stop laughing send help bc no this caught me SO OFF GUARD And how would Nord VPN factor into this please I NEED to know. I actually want a book about this
A lot of magick systems (a great ex of this is The Ravens) feel like kids playing pretend and arguing abt their abilities and contradicting each other lol
i actually dnf this book, i did not even get far 🤷♀literally he was on the way to grandmas house when i stopped. I could not get into it and was too fast paced for me. Could not even connect to the characters, i felt like i was supposed to be feeling stuff but did not. I felt bad about dnf-ing too 😢
Some people hype down the importance of a power system but i truly feel like after the plot and themes . A power system is the most important part of a fantasy . The power system decides the rest of the world building. This and harry potter are perfect examples of why it's so important. If you don't fully know what can happen in the world . You can't build the world
I'm so glad I didn't finish it. I got to the part where he was meeting her again after 10 years and clocked out. This book was trying so hard to appeal to blacks and the culture while still missing the mark. It doesn’t feel authentic because of it due to the fact Black Culture is not how many freaking black pop culture references you can make. You don’t need Temptations, Black Panther, Fast and the Fury or Drumline movie references for it to be black. Black Culture is using the experiences that black people can relate to. It's pretty using your own experience (not a caricature of an experience) to shape the story that people of that culture will understand. It is just too much and it comes off as being cringe instead of something you can enjoy. Also instead of embracing the black culture it just feels like it’s mocking it especially when it comes to how the elders laugh and do things. Also how the black church is run as well. If you want a book written by a Black Male Author with one of the main characters/pov is a Black Male Teenager that does magic and have to deal with things that shape them, I recommend the Blood Debt Series by Terry Benton Walker.
I've literally never heard anyone else say regular degular. I say it all the time and people think I'm crazy for it. I was smiling so big when you said it. 😁
I agree with everything you said about the world building and the magic system but you lost me at the misogyny 😅. I think you are exaggerating. Someone below explained his fixation on her already and I agree. She was the only magic user he knew and she made an impact so of course he would be fixating on her. Also, Malik is 17 and didn’t grow up in a loving house where he saw examples of non toxic and healthy relationships. Teens get jealous and say hurtful things like, “Are you smashing…” I don’t know if I would call that slut shaming. They are 17 and teens comment on girl’s bodies. He also commented on their beautiful skin and hair. I see men commenting on women’s bodies in romance books and fantasy books all the time and we don’t see that as misogyny. I’m Black and missing and exploited black girls is a HUGE issue in the Black community and I’m glad he put it in his book. I think the issue was poor writing; it was simply underdeveloped. The same thing with Alexis getting revenge on the killers. I think Williams was using the theme of Magic can corrupt and consume some with power. Once again, I think it was poor writing and he dropped this storyline. As far as the homophobia, once again, homophobia is an issue among Black men and boys. The fact that he became genuine friends with the queer characters showed some growth. Could there have been an inner monologue about not being creeped out? Sure but I wouldn’t call this book homophobic. The magic was passed down through ancestry. And no one wanted to adopt Malik because they knew he killed people.
I also think he might need to read more fantasy novels, that is the best way to refine his storytelling. Fall in love with the genre. But also...maybe put the plot, the story and the characters before the messaging, however important the messaging is.
This is off topic but have you read We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal? If so, would you make a review on it please. I’m obsessed with these books but no one I know has read them 🥲.
Never read this book, but it has been recommended to me through Goodreads. So this was interesting to watch regardless, thanks for putting your thoughts out there.
This is actually a huge reason I don’t immediately jump for joy when a book is marketed for “representation” first despite it being a top priority for me. Many (not all!) writers who gun for seeing their own representation as heroes don’t do a lot of legwork to foster healthy character growth and inclusivity across the board, and often neglect strong storytelling themes that lends itself to belonging and fairness, especially men.
All I've seen are positive reviews of this book. Thank you for making this and making me not feel crazy! The portrayal of women and black women in particular made me sick
15:50 sorry they can WHAT???? i know i should wait until the end of the video to comment but that pisses me off so much if your fantasy world can just ~*~heal~*~ disabilities i am NOT a fan
The magic is rooted in actual rootwork, conjure , and African diasporic spiritual practices but it is wild how they stretch the effects of the practices
The first book that was a major disappointment for me was Ender's Game because I thought the premise sounded interesting but right of the bat, every single character including Ender are annoying as Hell. It doesn't help that there's sexism as well that is never meaningfully addressed: his sister being too "gentle" and having to mother him later and the comment about women being behind in "evolution" for why there's only one girl in space (and she's a pos too)-and those are the only girls besides his mother who is not important. Ender was such an annoying character all the way through and I doubt the author has ever met children because none of them act like a child and there's a lot of nudity involving 4 year olds for some reason.
I have the Satisfiction version of this book it’s very pretty… but I still haven’t actually read pass the first chapter of the book because I get distracted by other things and I kinda have a feeling how ill feel about it so I’ve just been putting it off I’ll get there eventually though
lmao the way i knew what was coming just from the author being a man. sick and tired of fishing out an _okay_ treatment of women in their stuff, so i don't, and that saves me so much energy. and don't you argue with me about the representation of black men being the main focus. if you intend to write women into your story, be decent with your writing, like you will with anyone else. the way it is just looks like malek's the voice of the author and his views on women as a whole. i see no potential interest for women in this book.
List of male authors with good female characters. Darren Shan, Jonathan Stroud, Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jordan, Stephen King, Steven Erickson, Rick Riordan, Phil Tucker, Will White, Joseph Delaney, …
@@lisanee the only series by Stephen King I have finished is the Dark Tower. The only character in that series you can argue is written that way is Susan. I have also started It and the Stand. None of the female characters in those books that I know of is written that way
This is why I'm so careful about books written by men ESPECIALLY fantasy. I had a bad feeling on the book just by looking at it. I wanted to add it to my tbr to give more male fantasy authors a chance (the ones ive seen before were absolutely horrendous and sexualized women grossly and portrayed sleeping with infantilized women🤮) BUTTT again...I just had a bad feeling about this one. Everytime I see it on my recommended page I would feel bad for not adding it to my tbr, especially since it was a fellow black author (who often have a harder time being treated right in the industry). Wow am I glad you made this video. Thank goodness my gut feeling was right. I knew SOMETHING about this would be putting women down in some way, I just knew it. UGH. Wow am I glad you made this video cus I might've eventually caved in and read this. The only male authors I even trust rn are RIck Riordan and Brandon Sanderson. Wow. My "bias" is not for no reason. I'm so sick of this nonsense.
@@Urdadsnewwife Yes it is, thankfully. If I read it I might have been so upset that I'd hesitate to pick up more male fantasy authors. But thankfully my mind is still fresh with Rick Riordan books instead! There is hope yet for these incompetent male authors. As an inspiring author myself, I'm already seeing my fellow male writers fall into this pit of constantly disgracing, using and underdeveloping female characters. No, this book did not change my life (again thankfully) but people often underestimate the power of written word. It has guided people since the beginning of time and young black boys today could read that and be influenced with things like that. I've seen it happen, just with TV and social media instead. It's not something that people are consciously aware of. We'd all like to think fiction can't change mindsets and perspectives but that's a lie. Look at teenage girls in 2008 after Twilight came out. It spreads and sort of gets into people's minds. Especially people who are easily influenced. No, it's not devastating but it's a dissapointing influence. As you can see some people here are already defending some of the odd things this book is portraying.
Is it incredibly disappointing? Yes, but please don't let prevent you from keeping an open mind on eventually coming across a good male writer. Especially if that male writer happens to be black.
I bought this from a used bookstore and immediately turned it when I finished. I gave it a two. As you said the magic system made no damn sense and we kept hearing about Malik needing to learn how to use his powers properly but we were never told how any of this shit was supposed to work. Which is why the climactic fight at the end meant nothing because I could barely picture what the hell was going on . I also hated the romance between Malik and Alexis. We’re told constantly about their connection when they were seven but in present day, they have no chemistry and no connection aside from their past. And him being possessive was annoying (but he’s 17 so I’ll give him some slack). I also couldn’t connect to any of the characters. So all the “twists” at the end of the book about who was betraying who meant nothing because these characters were barely developed to begin with so who cares if they suddenly “switch sides.” With all that being said, I didn’t really find this book especially misogynistic or homophobic especially compared to other popular YA books.
Same advice as for any other character: write them as a person. Female characters have had good and bad experiences, a background, have flaws and merits... Not sure if I need to point it out but better save than sorry: Don't describe your female characters as "a pair of boobs in tight wrapping".
This is a very genuine question that i have that relates to being a male writer. At the end of my story i wanted one of the main characters to die tragically, it becomes a main story motivator for the rest of the series, and shows the cycle she was born into with the family she has. Question being, who would i represent that in a way that would come off appropiate and not taken out of context from the original intentions due to me being a male writer and screwing it up. I cant lie i get really scared to write women characters even though i probably could and i really wanna do this story justice and make her a great character with a tragic end
This is from a female writer. If you kill off any character at the end of book 1 take care to foreshadow it. Readers might like that character and be upset if that character dies. You may want to think about if you can get the same motivation for the leading Character if you kill of say best male friend. Or is there a specific reason it has to be a woman? The thing that's mostly a concern is I believe in the US called fridgging. Basically that's a female character (in any form near to the male lead) who dies a gruesome dead only to serve as the main motivator for the leading man. If she had her plot lines I personally wouldn't see it as fridgging. But from one write to another you won't be able to please everyone. It's your story, write it like it feels right and listen to your editor.
The issue is when the character *only* exists to suffer and die for other (esp male) characters' growth. If you take the time to make her a real and complex person before she dies, it's much less of a problem. Also, it helps to have a number of important female characters.
Hey! I LOVE your critical and objective review of a fantasy genre story. *Do you accept PAID offers to be a beta reader?* I’m part of a writing group, but as a writer who primarily only writes Black queer fantasy/romantasy it would be awesome to have someone take a critical eye on the plot holes of world building, character development, and other continuity errors. I pride myself as an ADEQUATE editor of my work, but the problem is when you are so close to your own work-no matter how much time away or distance you think you’ve taken-you will miss some things. Look forward to your next videos! I’m watching earlier videos. Also-I’m going to listen to this audiobook to form my own opinion; your review has helped me temper my expectations ☺️
I don’t think you have to keep retching and apologising when you bring up Harry Potter. The one apology was enough. If you’re gonna do that, find a different comparison.
Can we just stop abusing ALL characters for plots? Especially women, yeah, but abuse and torture fucking sucks and is lame, especially if its only done for the sake of the plot needing to progress. If a character has a reason to torture someone, of which there are VERY few, then i. . . Guess? But overall, find better ways to traumatize characters that don’t involve needless torture and assault.
I thought the book was entertaining. I feel this review is very much overly nit picky. I can respect the opinion about arc and world building, but the over application of personal politics is a reach. The main character is who he is, and need not prescribe to anyone’s “woke” beliefs. A character in a book can be anything from a saint to to serial killer. I didn’t cringe any more reading this book than I did watching episodes of Power, The Chi, or the damn BET Awards. Is the writing on the level of Zora Neal Hurston or Toni Morrison? No! But it was definitely entertaining and as a Black person, I most enjoyed the references to Vodoun, Hoodoo spells, and the Haitian revolution.
Just make the guy a 10000 year old vampire chasing after yooung teens who he will out-live and a-bus-e and man ipulate all trouhhout the book. Just mKe sure he is very hot.
did not finish the video yet, but jk rowling's bigotry wont ever stop me from enjoying the franchise. The story and the world building is good, doesnt matter who wrote it.
What I gathered about the plot (from the video) is that out of all the missing/kidnapped kids, the only explicitly female one is alluded to have been SAd for no reason, and I say no reason because, as the youtuber said, if you remove that part, there would not be any changes to the plot. This was done for shock value. Mistreating characters, character assassinations, undeveloped characters, random traumatised characters in general is one thing and it is completely another to inflict unnecessary graphic S violence on characters, i.e., characters of one particular gender disproportionately. Many genres do this but especially fantasy (esp esp the 'dark' an 'gritty' ones) falls prey to this trope of assaulting - sexually assaulting their female characters for no reason other than shock or entertainment. IDK if it was a good explanation but for experiment try to see when any sort of violence that is sexual in nature is perpetrated, check the gender and see how necessary it is to the plot. plus, how the male characters of similar importance and in similar situations are being treated for comparison.
Dear authors, mistreat whoever you want in your plot❤ Freedom of Speech & Press. Be as creative as you’d like. Art has the right to make people uncomfortable
@@BR4INR0T_ no it isn’t. People who feal grossed out by the mistreatment, should stop reading. If it’s ok to mistreat a man in fiction, it is ok to mistreat a woman, a child, a gay person, a black person, etc, etc.
@@BR4INR0T_ No. It’s truly surface level to censor work, especially artistic work still in creation. You have no idea what deeper message the author is trying to convey, you just want outright censorship.
You should talk about books that are misandrist, biased and over generalize men. There is many books, shows and media that are sexist towards men, but it's barely called out. I'm keeping it fair, equally represent mistreatment of both genders. And if someone thinks men can't go through it, their most likely a misandrist. Just like men who are horrible towards women, they are a misogynist.
At this point, I just don't engage with media by men that heavily or disproportionately features the suffering of women because I can't even count the number of times I've been left with a sick pit in my stomach by voyeuristic, almost gleeful depictions of women being traumatized. Am I missing out on some potential gems? Maybe. In the same way that I'm missing out on the new big cheez it crunch wrap from Taco Bell because eating there has given me violent diarrhea so many times. I'm done betting my peace on a long shot.
Edit: I do not intend to imply that men are not capable of handling the subject matter in a sensitive and informed way. They are, and that's the problem. Very often, they're simply choosing not to.
It's such a shame because as a male writer, I do not blame you in the slightest but my selfish thoughts are like damn "one bad apple really does ruin the tree" or more like a dozen tbf.
I totally agree and understand your perspective, it's just such a shame that women can't be represented properly in a ton of male written books, and a that it adds to the overarching patriarchal system. And that (for once again selfishly) it does ruin it for someone like me who's really scared to write a woman with a tragic past but would really like to for the sake of the story. And stops others from finding potentially amazing art
The only problem would be Vice Versa.
Women books are also very idealistic and often don’t write men in good fashion.
If I want to nitpick, yes, I can find books of both nature. Neither out weighs the other. That’s the problem. It’s simply bad writing. 🤷♂️
cough cough stephen king 😊
@@bee7160ni
@@bee7160 in the dark tower, which is the only Stephen King series I have finished, everyone went through hell, not just the female characters.
I’ve seen a lot of Black content creators say this was super cringe because of the way AAVE is written so I immediately decided I didn’t want to read it, but now knowing THIS? Sheeeesh
Omg I thought I was the only person who thought this. An I felt so bad about feeling this way
@@anjegoodwin2292 don’t feel bad! There are a BUNCH of Black authors out there who aren’t throwing Black women and girls under the bus with their writing, or commodifying our culture by making AAVE be anything except a completely valid way to communicate as Black Americans. ♥️
Which content creators bc I’ve been mostly seeing positive reviews and I feel crazy 😭
AAVE was used poorly in the book?
@@yaz_theythem yeah, it honestly feels a little minstrely in some places.
Please do not apologize for your opinions or belittle yourself for having them. I haven't read this book but based on the description you gave and pieces of the work you cited, you have very valid points. Never be ashamed to share how a book made you feel. If someone doesn't understand that a book review involves your opinion and that they are free to have their own, that's a them problem. Women have been socialized to apologize for ourselves all over the place - don't do it! Share your feelings loud and proud.
(Life lessons from a woman who's been alive a lot longer than you - I wish I'd stopped apologizing for myself a lot earlier in life.)
This 🥹🥹🥹
I was so afraid of coming off as too aggressive or harsh but you are absolutely right ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Those are very important words that more folks need to hear
With the deaf person component…when people are using sign, they generally use their full bodies for communication. Facial expressions, body position, they’re all used during signing. Sometimes children of deaf adults speak and sign at the same time, or if the person went to school for sign language interpretation, they’ll speak and sign at the same time
This is why I write down a milion questions about a text when I beta read for my friends, even though I know the author probably already has the answer to half of them. Having conversations about your worldbuilding is so important and it can only make the story better
Yeah… I had some issues with this book from jump. As a black man, I was ecstatic to hear about a black fantasy novel with a black male lead seeing how we don’t have alot of those. I’ve been loving this new era of black fantasy with works such as LegendBorn by Tracy Deonn and the NightmareVerse by LL McKinney. But they’re all black women, which is great! But where’s the black men fantasy?
So Blood At The Root intrigued me. Literally marketed as “What if Harry Potter went to an HBCU” and “Inspired by Percy Jackson”
But it’s like… no lol. I had so many issues with this book I was unable to read it.
1. This book has no magic system lol. There is no system to this magic or how it works, despite taking place in a school. How on Earth does being able to generate fire from your palms correlate to being able to unlock doors without a key and also get them revved up? I know stuff like Harry Potter didn’t really have a magic system either, but viewing that series in a modern day lenses? Those books kinda sucked, too! Or maybe I’m just older and seek actual work to be put into the magic, like Tracy Deonn did with her Legendborn series.
2. The AAVE is atrocious. I’m sorry but I can’t read this book aloud without cringing every 20 seconds. It’s absolutely horrible. As a young black man, I have never spoken like this nor have I ever heard other black people in my area speak like this. It almost feels like a parody of black people, and I can just imagine how much fun white people are having laughing at this.
What you’re saying is new to me since I wasn’t able to finish the book, but man this just didn’t turn out well at all. I really wanted to like this book, a lot. And maybe the second book will be better, but now? I’m just disappointed.
Maybe I should write my own YA fantasy novel with a black male lead. I do have some ideas…
I saw that criticism about the AAVE come up a lot on goodreads and I didn’t mention it in my video because I didn’t feel like it was my place to talk about it.
But UGH reading a book like Legendborn and then reading this book it was such a let down. Legendborn juggled two different magic systems and explained them both perfectly. I just feel like there was too many things that the characters needed to do in order to propel the plot and it just comes across as unrealistic.
And as for that last part: In the words of Toni Morrison, If there’s a book you really want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it. 🫶🫶🫶
@@Listen2Kristen_ I actually have a pitch Bible in the works, and an IG page dedicated to my idea! I don’t know if you’re actively on social media, but I’d love to pitch it to you someday.
I completely agree with you when it comes to having diverse and sensitive readers, as well as having those who challenge you. Hearing your thoughts on my premise would be awesome, if you’re ever available of course lol
@@codeghost7715 omg I would love to check out your IG!!!!! drop the username 🫶
please write your own YA fantasy with a Black male lead!!!
i saw someone talking about how this one was apparently so good and exciting and i was looking forward to it, but for some reason i held off on preordering and i'm glad i did, but I would still absolutely love to read a book with a similar overall idea, and the world needs more Black authors!
maybe it wouldn't have been so disappointing if it was one of many, but it seems like it hasn't been done much so it hits even harder.... if it's one disappointing book in a sea of thousands, it's a lot easier to ignore than if it's one of ten, and a lot easier for other people to write off the entire idea (Black male protag in a fantasy story) :( it shouldn't be that way
but it seems like you're on your way to changing that and i'm excited for you! a good book can captivate a lot of readers, as well as inspire future writers, which is incredible
(also i am a white person, i have a degree in linguistics and Black family both of which probably influence my opinion on AAVE, i absolutely am NOT laughing - it makes me sad because you deserve accurate representation that doesn't make it seem like a parody of reality.... i'm not a person of color but i do exist within several other marginalized groups and i see those treated in a similar way a lot, so while i don't get it exactly, i do get the general experience and it's not fun)
good luck ♥ i wish you the absolute best!
Do it please 🙏
As a Nigerian, when you talked about tribes and them not being distinguishable, makes me think that the author has never researched any tribes from Africa. While black🤦
As a white person myself, even I know that if you are knowledgeable about an area, you can tell the people in it apart from each other, how can you not know that?
Most black Americans dont know anything about African tribes
@@AttaManHence why they need to research. Authors like this fail on multiple levels when it comes to proper worldbuilding and representation.
@@PROTVGONISTBut personal opinion, they would only need to research if they wanna pursue things or create content related to it, just because you are in the big picture part of a race doesn't mean that you have to know every detail about it.
@@juanmanuelmoramontes3883
I’m not talking about non-creators. Just writers.
It’d be nice if more Black Americans took time to understand various West and Central African ethnicities just because. But authors have an obligation to from both an ethical and craft standpoint.
Also yeah the homophobia… I feel like this is not intended as a “reason to dislike him and see his growth on a journey throughout the narrative” but rather it’s just… 🥲 the dude we get
As a domestic abuse survivor myself and someone who works with victims & survivors of domestic abuse the examples you listed of him being controlling is a major red flag. If you're in a relationship and your partner is possesive (keeping tabs on you, accusing you of cheating etc) and/or extremely jealous of who you spend time with (especially the opposite sex) leave now before it gets worse. Jealousy and controlling behavior (they go together) are usually how the abuse starts and before you know it you're thinking in terms of 'what am I allowed or not allowed to do'.
I find it disturbing how much romanticised abuse there is in YA.
Twerked with supernatural speed is unfortunately a bar
Romanticising abuse/death of women and using it as a main plot point has been an issue in media and stories for a long time and it´s so exhausting. It´s funny to me that you mention Legendborn bc I think that happens in that book as well - it was why I couldn´t finish the book. 😅
Is it romanticizing in Legendborn her mom's death is just the push for the story which is more a ya trope
I was actually thinking about how the protector of her love interest keeps mentally tormenting her throughout the book and I think at some point tries to kill her? He at least threatens to kill/hurt her a bunch and I think she ends up developing feelings for him as well - I listened to the audiobook in horror bc of it.
I was LITERALLY about to comment this. It took me ages to get through that audio book because it just felt like trauma porn. Especially since marketing didnt really prepare me for how many micro aggression and potential triggers there would be in the book.
I could have played misogynoir micro aggression bingo with that book....
Exhausting was literally the best way to put it. I'm a (mixed) black woman and get so tired of black female characters seldom existing outside of racial and gender trauma in media 😅
It reminds me of how in fantasy story settings women can rarely exist outside of misogyny and violence against women with authors having a weird fixation of creating sexist settings.
@@chrussublah4264 Yes it was so bad! I´m glad someone else sees it bc I haven´t seen anybody mention it and I have been nervous to mention it myself - I had to DNF the audiobook when the mc was about to fall for the guy who literally keeps threatening her! Why is this so common?! I am sick of fantasy worlds w misogyny as well - you can imagine magic but you can´t imagine equality? I think it´s fine if it´s handled well but it so rarely is and it´s all we´re getting. -.-
@@TheReadingBlobI’m in the middle of reading it and honestly? I think the summary left out half of the book. I came here for Arthurian mythos and murder mystery and fighting against the bureaucracy. If I wanted a (semi-magical) deconstruction of colonialism, micro aggressions, and white supremacy in the southern US (where I live) I would have looked for that in the summary.
I lost it and had to subscribe at "he essentially Lady Wifi's himself" 😂
Geez did Tyler Perry write this under a different name?? My god.
Underrated comment 😂
comment while listening: regarding the 'magic worldbuilding': borrowing the terms from Brandon Sanderson, there is a sort of sliding scale in writing between Hard Magic Systems (clearly defined rules to the magic, think Brandon Sanderson stories) and Soft Magic Systems (the magic is mysterious and unpredictable, think Tolkien's Gandalf), with problematic cultural touchstone Harry Potter sitting somewhere in the middle of the scale. Neither Hard nor Soft magic systems are better or worse - but they are each suited to different kinds of stories. And as you explained pretty well, magic school stories work better with a magic system towards the Hard end of the scale. Harry Potter got away with it's sort-of-unpredictable magic system by embracing the childish whimsy of 'discovering a world of magic'. But generally, if your protagonist is a student of magic, and have narrative stakes tied to the magic, a Hard Magic System will serve you much better.
Anyway, switching the author brain off again, time to continue the video 😉
Soft or hard magic systems both need rules and limitations though. Even if the author wants to hand-wave the magic rules, it’s just not enjoyable to read about characters with no limits who are just OP all the time.
@@emmy8495 depend exemple one punch man
@@emmy8495 Soft Magic doesn't really need rules or limitations unless necessary for the plot.
If the characters solve their problems by using magic, then the Magic should be harder with more rules so the readers can actually figure out what is going on. Saying "a Wizard did it" can be very unsatisfying when "it" actually is supposed to have narrative payoff.
However if the magic isn't used to advance the plot or solve problems by the characters it doesn't matter nearly as much. It's okay that we don't know what Gandalf's limits are because his magic isn't generally used to solve major problems.
Your characters ability to solve problems and have it pay off is proportional to how "hard" and rules-based the magic system is.
@@jayneb6053 One Punch man is 1) a comedy making commentary on the shounen genre and 2) he earned his abilities through extremely intense training and the world still operates on rules of *some* kind.
I watched some black reviewers review this book, and some of them actually thought at first the guy who wrote it was a white guy and not really a black guy. That’s how badly written this is. It’s like he was trying to make a caricature of what a black man would be. It’s wild.
"they can heal diabetes?!?!" GIRL WHATTTT
As a black woman, I respect your opinion on this book from a non black perspective. From what I’m hearing about, this book as some problematic elements that are actually present in the black community (misogynoir, homophobia, queerphobia. etc) Im all for more fantasy characters that look like me and share similar cultures but this ain’t it.
Hold up, did Malik actually call his roommate the f slur? 😬 If so, ouch, especially it being it blatant in this time.
The perfect magic system is right there in the name😭 Rootwork (or at least a factionalized but respectful representation of it) would’ve been perfect to build upon in that kind of story
I think we should lend a name for this trop from the comic book world, that is "women in refrigerator" or "fridging" - it basically means killing or otherwise hurting women for the sake of either plot or character development of usually male characters. The term was invented by Gail Simone back in 1999, a comic fan later turned to become a comic book writer, on her website, called women in refrigerators, that compiled over 100 instances of this trope. It was named by the murder of Alexandra DeWitt, girlfriend of Kyle Rayner, a Green Lantern. It is basically named women in refrigerators because her remains were stuffed in a fridge afterwards. Other notable examples include the death of Gwen Stacy and the paralysis of Barbara Gordon.
I also read this book and give it like a 3. It was ok. I agree about Malik and Alexis, the way he treated her. It was weird since he hasn’t seen her for 10 years. I would say she probably left a huge impact on him because she was the only other magical person he knew (I think besides his mom) and after she left, he was pretty much on his own magic-wise. So I can see why she would still be on his mind in that way, but being that over-protective of her when they meet up again, no. It was cringy.
Katia Washington’s story: I can see why you say that but I THINK the author was trying to bring light to how black kids are kidnapped (same for black women who are taken, trafficked SA, etc.) and you don’t really hear about it on the news especially years ago. I think Alexis was similar to Kilmonger by how she is upset that the magical world is doing nothing while these kids are being kidnapped and the regular world is doing nothing. In Black Panther, they had the means to help Black people but didn’t do anything. I think if we kept focusing on more than one kid, it will really take away from the story and focus too much on Alexis. I see where you are coming from but I don’t think she was the only one assaulted, just the only one mentioned. And for the sake of an already too long book, that was enough at least for me lol.
Edited: BUT the author could've maybe had Alexis bring up more kids in that one scene who were also kidnapped and not just Katia.
But overall, I am disappointed with this book. Even as a black woman, I would’ve rather focused on the world building. All of the culture references and stuff just took me out of the book and I hate that for fantasy. I was looking forward to this since we had a black male main character with magical powers. And I couldn’t stand him! Everything was just obvious. I hated that this was compared to Harry Potter. And I graduated from an HBCU. My classes were not like that but there were certain organizations that would host events like this around campus. It was like he copied from Hilman College on a Different World.
I still recommend that people read and get their own opinion on it. They can have my copy cause I don't plan to read it again lol
Enjoyed watching your video and your views on this book.
😁
yes black femicide is a legit huge (and ignored) issue. Anyways I'm curious to read this book because I've heard so many mixed comments
If all of these people are getting their books published then I know I can. From movies and books the writing is bad and it’s annoying.
37:05 sorry but for clarification did Malik call his roommate’s lover a homophobic slur????????????? in 2024????????????????????
Wow, this book was on my TBR... still is cause while I do hold your criticisims as valid I would like to form an opinion for myself, but I'm grateful to have some warning in advance. It's disappointing to hear that the worldbuilding is rather shoddy in this book because that is incredibly important to me when it comes to fantasy books. I has have a particular pet peeve when authors entice readers with a magical school but don't put any work into building the actual school, as shitty a person as Joann is she at least put in the effort to develop a cirriculum, professors, rules, etc. for her magical academy.
This was a book I was following and rooting for. Thanks for this honest review. I might check this book out in the future but it's far lower on my tbr now.
The point you're talking about, of being locked into the adventure, is usually called "accepting the call", following up the "call to adventure"
Just a light comment: I enjoyed the book even as a Black gay man. I didn’t find it heavily homophobic or anything because realistically that’s how a lot of ppl especially in AL interact and talk. I personally think it’d been better if he changed the date and time to be a few years ago to make the dialogue less cringe, but I enjoyed the realism because I know a lot of Malik’s and have taught a lot of Malik’s and I think that they should be able to see themselves in fiction.
Not saying that you are, but my fear after reading this book would be that Black boy characters depicted this way wouldn’t be understood or praised. I taught so many boys who want to see themselves in fantasy who act, speak and navigate like Malik; so this type of representation is great in my opinion and I’m just happy to see young Black boys excited to read again.
Again before anyone tries to attack me, this aint an attack on her or anyone’s opinions, im just giving my insight.
Thank you for sharing your opinion. I think this book is receiving a lot of biased criticisms and it’s clear that it’s because he’s a new Black author.
I totally get wanting to have a book that serves Black boys, but one that puts down and demeans Black girls in the process seems to be the problem.
Honestly, yeah the homophobia and sexism in Black boys isn’t unrealistic but shouldn’t the author have condemned that on the page? It’s a book for children and there should have been messaging or very subtle hints on how it’s problematic.
@Sammy-fmhky Because sadly, the black community still CONDONE misogyny and homophobia. They don't take it seriously at all and will find anyway to belittle the issue.
@@yaz_theythem Yeah, no. There are black authors out there who are receiving PRAISE for uplifting the community and others while this author negatively portrayed women and tried to justify homophobia. That's a reason to criticise him because it ACTIVELY harms those people within our community.
My issue with characters like Malik, where you're meant to root for them, but they're so obviously bad and terrible, is that it's not just the character that's a bad person. The author wanting you to root for the character that does and thinks terrible things, shows you exactly that the author also does and thinks that that kind of behavior is acceptable. Malik is just the author.
this
“I Cheerfully Refuse” was a recent release that I was looking forward to (not fantasy) but when I read it, I was disappointed by the deployment of the “murdering a woman as the inciting incident of the plot” device. I’m reluctant to pick up new books from men generally but I was drawn enough to the genre that I thought I could deal with it but… sigh.
I got an ARC of this book and though I tend to leave negative reviews off of Goodreads for books that haven't debuted yet, I couldn't help but rate this book 1 star when I finished it. Excited to get into this video and see if we had overlapping opinions on points such as homophobia and sexism.
I had to rewind the video to make sure I heard correctly. They can magically cure diabetes? As someone with an older brother who has Type 2 diabetes, nothing infuriates me more in a book or movie as a magical cure for incurable illnesses or handicaps just for the sake of the plot. That's why I refuse to watch 'Thor: Love and Thunder.' As a two-time cancer survivor, and for the other reasons mentioned here, I definitely won't be reading this.😡
I read the book and it never stated that they would cure his diabetes. They made him food to combat his symptoms, he will always have it, but they promised he would be fine under their care.
From what I remember, they never cured cancer in Thor: Love and Thunder. They had a temporary solution for it, but it just kept making the character weaker.
@glitchedember3629 the hammer was stopping it when she was lady thor but drained her and left her body unable to fight the cancer when she was Jane. It was ham fisted and clumsy. As someone who cared for a loved one as they died of cancer I liked what Watiti seemed to be trying to say but absolutely understand why it would aggravate and piss people off.
@@carly7522 That's not something Waititi came up with, that's literally the plot from the Jane Foster Thor comics.
It’s fictional
i'm SO curious to know what you think of Five Broken Blades. there's such a weird blend of misogyny and shitty girlboss feminism all crammed into a genuinely terrible story
oh no... this book is on my TBR🥲
I'm so glad I read this comment. That book had been on my TBR
Well I'm not reading this, thank you, I literally only read woman lead books, and have only recently thought of going out of my comfort zone to read books with male leads, (that aren't queer) and homophobia and misogyny, are literal triggers for me, so I probably would have felt terrible after reading this book, so thank you for this.
I haven't read this book and it wasn't on my radar but as far as the magic system goes (and even some other elements) it sounds like it was maybe trying to emulate Akata Witch or The Scholomance series - but forgot to include the very needed important limitations. And based on your description of the book I probably won't pick it up, the "homophobia" bit sounded like it could actually be a good diving board for character growth (you know - maybe he could introspect on WHY the first thought in his head was so judgmental of something that doesn't affect him; instead of patting himself on the back for having the foresight to just filter himself from saying it out loud) buuuut my time on this Earth is limited and books are many so this one is a pass for me.
Uh… as someone who was really excited when I saw the book announcement, this is the last thing I expected. The author made the ‘romance’ sound like a cute friends to lovers. The misogyny getting through editors is odd. I think it sounds like it was acquired because of what they could market it to be. Legendborn where?
Something I read was that the book had realistic dialogue by a lot of people.
Not them bringing my Bonnie Bennett into this nonsense 😢
I want to read now 😂
The main issue isn't that a character has suffered, or gone through trauma, we connect better with characters whose pain we see, but it's when it feels exploitative that it makes my skin crawl.
There's nothing inherently wrong with a character, male or female, going through hell, as long as it serves the story and makes sense. But if it's done because you feel the writer just enjoyed it, then I find it slimy.
A good example would be a game of thrones (book), Daenerys goes through a lot at the start, but it fits the harsh world, and ultimately becomes part of her journey into becoming a queen.
Hi, I'm new here. Happened to see this video on my home page, and I was interested because I recently saved this book for as a future purchase (or to look further into before purchasing) on Amazon. The cover and blurb really looked engaging.
My thoughts before watching your video and only reading the description: Damn, that's really disappointing. Kinda already wanting to remove it from my list on Amazon. But I'll watch in full before deciding anything.
Edit after watching: Yea Imma go ahead and delete this book from my list. If all the slut shaming and accusing the love interest of hooking up with other guys is as frequent and intense as you make it out to be, this is both an MC and an author that I'll never be able to support. Plus the "I could've said something so much worse. Aren't you proud of me that I didn't?" Plus world building being probably the most important thing to me in fiction. Plus me being gay and simply not wanting to listen to some horny straight boy talk about tits all day. Yea.... It's gonna be a "Hell to the F no" from me. And it has such great reviews too. What a shame.
I held off for the longest but bit the bullet because I am riding the legendborn/amari high and had hoped I found another black focused magical book -- should have listened to my gut. returning this asap. appreciate your in depth review, you helped me avoid some triggering content. subscribing :)
There is a conversation to be had about people holding Black male authors to standards that they don’t hold white male authors to. This was on my tbr, so I’m disappointed to hear this. Someone else said it best, misogyny can exist in books, but how it’s addressed is important. Was the author being misogynistic or was the book about misogyny? That’s my biggest question for anyone who has read it. Same thing was said for “The Rage of Dragons”. Which is why I’m hesitant towards reading it. I also find it distasteful to give new poc authors bad reviews-when the industry refuses to even publish our books.
I totally agree and I won’t be so bold to say that the author was being intentionally misogynistic or malicious in any way. However, I think that the slut shaming/the way our MC treats women is meant to show tension in his relationship with his love interest and it was just in poor taste. The MC never faces any consequences in the book for the way he acts which is usually my gauge for if something is just straight up misogyny or if it’s commentary on misogyny. The fact that Malik never faces any kind of consequences for his actions is what pushed me to make this video. But thank you for saying this!
That is not a thing, no one is holding black authors to different standards other than allowing black authors of a lower standard a choice to make up for an imaginary unjustice that hasn't been a thing in a long time. Abercrombie's first law did well not because he's white but because he's good. This book is bad not because he's black but because he can't write. There are no mediocre white writers that everyone is praising.
@@Listen2Kristen_ Overall, to be frank, I’m tired of nonBlack content creators dragging Black books and Black authors- but not having that exact same energy for writers of other races. ACOTAR/ FourthWing/ Powerless/ LightLark/ high fantasy gods like Tolkien/ Martin/ Sanderson etc.
I’m hearing mixed reviews from Black people about this book now. I’m not familiar with your channel or whether you even read diversely at all. But the repetitive optics and antiblack racism in the publishing industry/ social media makes me question the validity of reviews about Black books from nonblack people.
Interestingly enough, some Black readers share your opinions- whereas some don’t at all? I’m very sensitive and would be very disappointed if I bought this book, read it and then realized that it was in fact upholding toxic oppressive ideals. 😩
So although I was HIGHLY SIDE EYEING YOU- I am glad you shared this video and opened up dialogue about it. I just wish it was a Black content creator criticizing this book- once again, optics. But also- the book was written for Black people and there are certain things that I simply don’t expect nonBlacks to grasp the context of.
I hope this makes sense. Overall, I’m not just sad that this book has possibly ( I haven’t read it and hear mixed opinions) mishandled these issues and was published while underdeveloped- I’m sad knowing that Williams, a new author, will be dragged, when white authors with horrible books aren’t held to the same standard, but are worshipped and popularized.
Slut shaming is gross and I’d throw the book if I encountered it. 😬 To include oppressive systems with the goal of sending a direct clear message stating that it is wrong, I get it. But to include these issues without addressing them, in my opinion, perpetuates and upholds them. It’s deeply irresponsible and not something I can dismiss. And worse, 😔 it’s a ya author… I really want a queer Black person to review this book. I’m so curious, but until then I will protect my sensitive beeech a$$ energy and stick to my sapphic fantasies.
@@yaz_theythem You need to talk to a professional.
😂😂😂 the miraculous mention lmao I'm subscribing
I think that character writing words in the air for Malik 41:39 would have worked IF this book did not have a modern tone to it, and instead, the setting was set from a different time period than ours
41:51 - Honestly, it's kind of weird just from the inconsistency! Many deaf people choose to sign and speak at the same time, but that is (like you said) for the benefit of the person they're talking to who usually doesn't know ASL (or related languages). But in this case...why would the character be signing if they both speak sign language? And if there was a spell that could convey their conversation, why wouldn't both of them have been speaking that way the entire time? 😭
13:59 I can’t stop laughing send help bc no this caught me SO OFF GUARD
And how would Nord VPN factor into this please I NEED to know. I actually want a book about this
A lot of magick systems (a great ex of this is The Ravens) feel like kids playing pretend and arguing abt their abilities and contradicting each other lol
The book cover is so beautiful, love the art. Too bad the story aint it, if not this could look so pretty on my shelf
i actually dnf this book, i did not even get far 🤷♀literally he was on the way to grandmas house when i stopped. I could not get into it and was too fast paced for me. Could not even connect to the characters, i felt like i was supposed to be feeling stuff but did not. I felt bad about dnf-ing too 😢
Some people hype down the importance of a power system but i truly feel like after the plot and themes . A power system is the most important part of a fantasy . The power system decides the rest of the world building.
This and harry potter are perfect examples of why it's so important. If you don't fully know what can happen in the world . You can't build the world
I'm not sure why this is controversial; reviewers should be allowed to talk about the flaws in the books they look over.
I'm so glad I didn't finish it. I got to the part where he was meeting her again after 10 years and clocked out.
This book was trying so hard to appeal to blacks and the culture while still missing the mark. It doesn’t feel authentic because of it due to the fact Black Culture is not how many freaking black pop culture references you can make. You don’t need Temptations, Black Panther, Fast and the Fury or Drumline movie references for it to be black. Black Culture is using the experiences that black people can relate to. It's pretty using your own experience (not a caricature of an experience) to shape the story that people of that culture will understand. It is just too much and it comes off as being cringe instead of something you can enjoy. Also instead of embracing the black culture it just feels like it’s mocking it especially when it comes to how the elders laugh and do things. Also how the black church is run as well.
If you want a book written by a Black Male Author with one of the main characters/pov is a Black Male Teenager that does magic and have to deal with things that shape them, I recommend the Blood Debt Series by Terry Benton Walker.
If you want a GOOD YA fantasy book with a Black hero/heroine read Legendborn, Blood Scion, and Children of Blood and Bone
I've literally never heard anyone else say regular degular. I say it all the time and people think I'm crazy for it. I was smiling so big when you said it. 😁
I say it too!! You are not alone ✨️
The Where Sleeping Girls Lie poster in the backkkkkk ugh I need
I think I found a new book tuber I like! FINALLY!
I agree with everything you said about the world building and the magic system but you lost me at the misogyny 😅. I think you are exaggerating. Someone below explained his fixation on her already and I agree. She was the only magic user he knew and she made an impact so of course he would be fixating on her. Also, Malik is 17 and didn’t grow up in a loving house where he saw examples of non toxic and healthy relationships. Teens get jealous and say hurtful things like, “Are you smashing…” I don’t know if I would call that slut shaming. They are 17 and teens comment on girl’s bodies. He also commented on their beautiful skin and hair. I see men commenting on women’s bodies in romance books and fantasy books all the time and we don’t see that as misogyny.
I’m Black and missing and exploited black girls is a HUGE issue in the Black community and I’m glad he put it in his book. I think the issue was poor writing; it was simply underdeveloped. The same thing with Alexis getting revenge on the killers. I think Williams was using the theme of Magic can corrupt and consume some with power. Once again, I think it was poor writing and he dropped this storyline.
As far as the homophobia, once again, homophobia is an issue among Black men and boys. The fact that he became genuine friends with the queer characters showed some growth. Could there have been an inner monologue about not being creeped out? Sure but I wouldn’t call this book homophobic.
The magic was passed down through ancestry. And no one wanted to adopt Malik because they knew he killed people.
I also think he might need to read more fantasy novels, that is the best way to refine his storytelling. Fall in love with the genre. But also...maybe put the plot, the story and the characters before the messaging, however important the messaging is.
This is off topic but have you read We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal? If so, would you make a review on it please. I’m obsessed with these books but no one I know has read them 🥲.
That one is on my shelf and TBR!
Never read this book, but it has been recommended to me through Goodreads. So this was interesting to watch regardless, thanks for putting your thoughts out there.
I don’t know how you popped in my algorithm but I’m enjoying your channel ❤
This is actually a huge reason I don’t immediately jump for joy when a book is marketed for “representation” first despite it being a top priority for me.
Many (not all!) writers who gun for seeing their own representation as heroes don’t do a lot of legwork to foster healthy character growth and inclusivity across the board, and often neglect strong storytelling themes that lends itself to belonging and fairness, especially men.
I am so glad I did not pick up this book. If I did so I would have cried.Thank you for your review. 😭
All I've seen are positive reviews of this book. Thank you for making this and making me not feel crazy! The portrayal of women and black women in particular made me sick
15:50 sorry they can WHAT???? i know i should wait until the end of the video to comment but that pisses me off so much if your fantasy world can just ~*~heal~*~ disabilities i am NOT a fan
The magic is rooted in actual rootwork, conjure , and African diasporic spiritual practices but it is wild how they stretch the effects of the practices
The first book that was a major disappointment for me was Ender's Game because I thought the premise sounded interesting but right of the bat, every single character including Ender are annoying as Hell. It doesn't help that there's sexism as well that is never meaningfully addressed: his sister being too "gentle" and having to mother him later and the comment about women being behind in "evolution" for why there's only one girl in space (and she's a pos too)-and those are the only girls besides his mother who is not important. Ender was such an annoying character all the way through and I doubt the author has ever met children because none of them act like a child and there's a lot of nudity involving 4 year olds for some reason.
"if you watch miraculous" i screamed
I feel like the bigger weird thing with the deaf student is they wrote something in the air?
you’re so funny and i love your commentary!
Oooh you mentioned legendborn i love legendborn!!!
I have the Satisfiction version of this book it’s very pretty… but I still haven’t actually read pass the first chapter of the book because I get distracted by other things and I kinda have a feeling how ill feel about it so I’ve just been putting it off I’ll get there eventually though
Love your makeup!
I just finished it. I gave it 2 out of five. He’s not a good person and this book needed a few good read through from ppl other than yes men.
lmao the way i knew what was coming just from the author being a man. sick and tired of fishing out an _okay_ treatment of women in their stuff, so i don't, and that saves me so much energy.
and don't you argue with me about the representation of black men being the main focus. if you intend to write women into your story, be decent with your writing, like you will with anyone else. the way it is just looks like malek's the voice of the author and his views on women as a whole. i see no potential interest for women in this book.
List of male authors with good female characters.
Darren Shan, Jonathan Stroud, Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jordan, Stephen King, Steven Erickson, Rick Riordan, Phil Tucker, Will White, Joseph Delaney, …
@emil1842 ah, stephen king, the one who's writing women like walking boobs. truly the pinnacle of male writing! I don't see where I've asked, though.
@@lisanee the only series by Stephen King I have finished is the Dark Tower. The only character in that series you can argue is written that way is Susan. I have also started It and the Stand. None of the female characters in those books that I know of is written that way
This is why I'm so careful about books written by men ESPECIALLY fantasy. I had a bad feeling on the book just by looking at it. I wanted to add it to my tbr to give more male fantasy authors a chance (the ones ive seen before were absolutely horrendous and sexualized women grossly and portrayed sleeping with infantilized women🤮) BUTTT again...I just had a bad feeling about this one. Everytime I see it on my recommended page I would feel bad for not adding it to my tbr, especially since it was a fellow black author (who often have a harder time being treated right in the industry). Wow am I glad you made this video. Thank goodness my gut feeling was right. I knew SOMETHING about this would be putting women down in some way, I just knew it. UGH. Wow am I glad you made this video cus I might've eventually caved in and read this. The only male authors I even trust rn are RIck Riordan and Brandon Sanderson. Wow. My "bias" is not for no reason. I'm so sick of this nonsense.
your life is the same before and after this book existed pls relax
@@Urdadsnewwife
Yes it is, thankfully. If I read it I might have been so upset that I'd hesitate to pick up more male fantasy authors. But thankfully my mind is still fresh with Rick Riordan books instead! There is hope yet for these incompetent male authors. As an inspiring author myself, I'm already seeing my fellow male writers fall into this pit of constantly disgracing, using and underdeveloping female characters. No, this book did not change my life (again thankfully) but people often underestimate the power of written word. It has guided people since the beginning of time and young black boys today could read that and be influenced with things like that. I've seen it happen, just with TV and social media instead. It's not something that people are consciously aware of. We'd all like to think fiction can't change mindsets and perspectives but that's a lie. Look at teenage girls in 2008 after Twilight came out. It spreads and sort of gets into people's minds. Especially people who are easily influenced.
No, it's not devastating but it's a dissapointing influence. As you can see some people here are already defending some of the odd things this book is portraying.
Here is a list of some more good male fantasy authors.
Darren Shan, Jonathan Stroud, Robert Jordan, Steven Erickson, will wight.
Brandon Sanderson my beloved 🙏 have you read Skyward? Cause it's awesome.
Is it incredibly disappointing? Yes, but please don't let prevent you from keeping an open mind on eventually coming across a good male writer. Especially if that male writer happens to be black.
I bought this from a used bookstore and immediately turned it when I finished. I gave it a two.
As you said the magic system made no damn sense and we kept hearing about Malik needing to learn how to use his powers properly but we were never told how any of this shit was supposed to work. Which is why the climactic fight at the end meant nothing because I could barely picture what the hell was going on .
I also hated the romance between Malik and Alexis. We’re told constantly about their connection when they were seven but in present day, they have no chemistry and no connection aside from their past. And him being possessive was annoying (but he’s 17 so I’ll give him some slack).
I also couldn’t connect to any of the characters. So all the “twists” at the end of the book about who was betraying who meant nothing because these characters were barely developed to begin with so who cares if they suddenly “switch sides.”
With all that being said, I didn’t really find this book especially misogynistic or homophobic especially compared to other popular YA books.
Great review. Thank you.
What is your advice for writer to create a believable and inspire female characters?
Same advice as for any other character: write them as a person. Female characters have had good and bad experiences, a background, have flaws and merits... Not sure if I need to point it out but better save than sorry: Don't describe your female characters as "a pair of boobs in tight wrapping".
This is a very genuine question that i have that relates to being a male writer.
At the end of my story i wanted one of the main characters to die tragically, it becomes a main story motivator for the rest of the series, and shows the cycle she was born into with the family she has.
Question being, who would i represent that in a way that would come off appropiate and not taken out of context from the original intentions due to me being a male writer and screwing it up. I cant lie i get really scared to write women characters even though i probably could and i really wanna do this story justice and make her a great character with a tragic end
This is from a female writer. If you kill off any character at the end of book 1 take care to foreshadow it. Readers might like that character and be upset if that character dies.
You may want to think about if you can get the same motivation for the leading Character if you kill of say best male friend. Or is there a specific reason it has to be a woman?
The thing that's mostly a concern is I believe in the US called fridgging. Basically that's a female character (in any form near to the male lead) who dies a gruesome dead only to serve as the main motivator for the leading man.
If she had her plot lines I personally wouldn't see it as fridgging. But from one write to another you won't be able to please everyone. It's your story, write it like it feels right and listen to your editor.
The issue is when the character *only* exists to suffer and die for other (esp male) characters' growth. If you take the time to make her a real and complex person before she dies, it's much less of a problem. Also, it helps to have a number of important female characters.
Hey! I LOVE your critical and objective review of a fantasy genre story. *Do you accept PAID offers to be a beta reader?*
I’m part of a writing group, but as a writer who primarily only writes Black queer fantasy/romantasy it would be awesome to have someone take a critical eye on the plot holes of world building, character development, and other continuity errors. I pride myself as an ADEQUATE editor of my work, but the problem is when you are so close to your own work-no matter how much time away or distance you think you’ve taken-you will miss some things.
Look forward to your next videos! I’m watching earlier videos. Also-I’m going to listen to this audiobook to form my own opinion; your review has helped me temper my expectations ☺️
Aw this was in my TBR list. See, this is the reason why i dont read books written by men that much anymore
I agree with all these points. Both my hopes and my excitement were high for this story, but the execution simply fell flat for me.
Would you say the MC is written as a Mary Sue?
Nobody should ever say that because it's a useless "critique"
This is an incredibly awkward listen since my name’s Malik… 😂😂😂
You deserve more subs!
I don’t think you have to keep retching and apologising when you bring up Harry Potter. The one apology was enough. If you’re gonna do that, find a different comparison.
Why apologize at all when bringing up Harry Potter?
Why do you keep shitting on Harry Potter through the review when you clearly enjoyed the novels to remember so many details haha
This book is better if you immersive read it.
What’s “dickmatized” mean? Is it really what I think?!
dickmatized (comparative more dickmatized, superlative most dickmatized) (slang, vulgar) Impressed by or obsessed with a penis.
the sign language bit was def nitpicky
Can we just stop abusing ALL characters for plots? Especially women, yeah, but abuse and torture fucking sucks and is lame, especially if its only done for the sake of the plot needing to progress. If a character has a reason to torture someone, of which there are VERY few, then i. . . Guess? But overall, find better ways to traumatize characters that don’t involve needless torture and assault.
You should checkout my books. Great video and interesting insights. ❤
The feeling you're describing in the intro is exactly how I felt with Babel!!! Truly the worst feeling :(
Interesting…
I'm enjoying your review but I'm 20 minutes into your video and still no mention of "mistreating women for the plot", as your title promises.
I thought the book was entertaining. I feel this review is very much overly nit picky. I can respect the opinion about arc and world building, but the over application of personal politics is a reach. The main character is who he is, and need not prescribe to anyone’s “woke” beliefs. A character in a book can be anything from a saint to to serial killer. I didn’t cringe any more reading this book than I did watching episodes of Power, The Chi, or the damn BET Awards. Is the writing on the level of Zora Neal Hurston or Toni Morrison? No! But it was definitely entertaining and as a Black person, I most enjoyed the references to Vodoun, Hoodoo spells, and the Haitian revolution.
Oh wow. I regret pre-ordering this
Just make the guy a 10000 year old vampire chasing after yooung teens who he will out-live and a-bus-e and man ipulate all trouhhout the book.
Just mKe sure he is very hot.
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
did not finish the video yet, but jk rowling's bigotry wont ever stop me from enjoying the franchise. The story and the world building is good, doesnt matter who wrote it.
YIKES. She is literally a monster.
I’m confused
Why didn’t you just say
Stop mistreating characters for plot
What I gathered about the plot (from the video) is that out of all the missing/kidnapped kids, the only explicitly female one is alluded to have been SAd for no reason, and I say no reason because, as the youtuber said, if you remove that part, there would not be any changes to the plot. This was done for shock value.
Mistreating characters, character assassinations, undeveloped characters, random traumatised characters in general is one thing and it is completely another to inflict unnecessary graphic S violence on characters, i.e., characters of one particular gender disproportionately.
Many genres do this but especially fantasy (esp esp the 'dark' an 'gritty' ones) falls prey to this trope of assaulting - sexually assaulting their female characters for no reason other than shock or entertainment.
IDK if it was a good explanation but for experiment try to see when any sort of violence that is sexual in nature is perpetrated, check the gender and see how necessary it is to the plot. plus, how the male characters of similar importance and in similar situations are being treated for comparison.
Dear authors, mistreat whoever you want in your plot❤ Freedom of Speech & Press. Be as creative as you’d like. Art has the right to make people uncomfortable
This!
this is such a surface level take omg
@@BR4INR0T_ no it isn’t. People who feal grossed out by the mistreatment, should stop reading. If it’s ok to mistreat a man in fiction, it is ok to mistreat a woman, a child, a gay person, a black person, etc, etc.
@@BR4INR0T_ No. It’s truly surface level to censor work, especially artistic work still in creation. You have no idea what deeper message the author is trying to convey, you just want outright censorship.
@@emil1842 common sense lets goooooo
You should talk about books that are misandrist, biased and over generalize men. There is many books, shows and media that are sexist towards men, but it's barely called out. I'm keeping it fair, equally represent mistreatment of both genders. And if someone thinks men can't go through it, their most likely a misandrist. Just like men who are horrible towards women, they are a misogynist.