Snarky Reviews of Good, Bad, and Great Books
No book is without sin . . . against women.
Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett
Okay, first of all, what is this review series? I’ll try to keep it simple, partially because right now I only have a moiety of my marbles and simple is all I can handle (but that is one loooong story that I will post on my website for anyone who is wondering if something has been going on with me in 2015. For now, suffice it to say that I almost died. Yeah, for real!).
Just before I get started, though, there’s one thing I simply have to say, and that is thank you. Thank you to all of my friends on Goodreads, to all of you who have signed up to read my reviews. You don’t know how much I appreciate each of you, and what a thrill it is every day to get emails saying that so-and-so is now following me. I read every message and it keeps me going, especially when life gets rough. So, straight from my heart: thank you. Thank you so very, very much.
Now. This review series is not just about whether I think a book is worth reading or not. Well, I tell a lie, because it is really, but that’s because my brain seems to work differently than most other reviewers’ brains. I like books, movies, music videos, even—gasp—some commercials for two distinctly different reasons. One is based on the things most other people look for, like spiky original writing, cool plot twists, characterization, cinematography, and so on. The second is based on their treatment of women, and by this I do not mean was some scantily-clad young babe an enemy martial artist who fought the only female “hero” on the good guys’ team and yanked out some hair. And yes, I deliberately said “guys” there, which is a sin in my book.
The thing is that I am constantly gobsmacked by reviews that rave about books and movies but seem to have been written by people who don’t see what I see. The reviewers never mention the fact that, say, females in one incredibly popular book are 99 percent more likely than males to squeal when they speak—and do squeal, a lot, in the face of danger or excitement—while males are 100 percent more likely to bellow. (And if you’re going to argue with me that squealing doesn’t somehow imply more immaturity and/or lack of courage than bellowing you might as well stop reading this review right now cos I’m not even going there.)
The reviewers overlook it when words that imply male gender are used for groups that contain both sexes: good guys, Man, mankind, policeman, chairman, this man, that man, every example’s a man man. Even when the infamous “a person . . . his” sin is committed nobody seems to care or notice.
Ah, but those are just word choices, although I will expound in a little discussion on my webpage upon why even seemingly harmless words influence thinking and are desperately important. What about actual characterization: How are girls and women treated in the story? Surely, when the guys in the adventure are all given heroic roles and the females, who are sometimes the actual “heroines,” are sexually or romantically objectified, made into weak, lifeless, undeveloped cardboard cutouts, surely then most reviewers notice, right? Surely the reviewers care whether or not girls and women have a career or passion outside of being good little wives, surely some of them note when strong women are invariably classified as bitches or witches, surely somebody is keeping tally of how much females contribute to the meat of the tale being told, yes?
No. Not that I’ve seen. If you’ve seen it, I’m ecstatic and incidentally I’d love it if you’d email the review to me. Now, granted, I’m not talking about reviews by periodicals for women’s studies or anything, I’m talking about mainstream reviews. And I’m talking about mainstream books and movies here. And I’m not talking about Goodreads reviews, because the people on Goodreads are way more smart and savvy than the average bear. But I’d still love to see some nice reviews that focus on whether or not girls and women are treated in a way that would make us proud. You can send me the link to the review right here on Goodreads.
(Hey, right after writing this I saw a review of Crimson Peak in Time magazine which focused on the fact that Guillermo del Toro had turned out a movie with a female hero who rescued herself. I was impressed, although the article did use the word “damsel” in the title, which is a no no as far as I’m concerned. It makes me want to see the movie. It also makes me want to count the number of sins in the movie.)
And, by the way, yes, I do realize that I am radical in the way I think about the stories I read and see. I am On Beyond Zebra, way out beyond the Oort cloud of our solar system radical about them. I am so radical that I actually want to be able to change a character’s sex in a pivotal scene (people have sex; words have gender . . . sorry, but that’s the way it is) and I want it not to make a difference. I want females to be completely equal to males. I want them to be exactly as competent, as complex, as integral to the plot, as numerous, as humorous, as courageous, as canny, as revered when aged, as gallant when young.
Okay, I can already see the hands up out there asking The Question. I will answer. Yes, I too write books. Are my books without sin against women and girls?
Hell, no. If you think so, reread the motto of this review series. No book is without this kind of sin. Mine sure aren’t. The older I get the better I see such problems and the more I learn about why they must be avoided. I’ll say right now that there are many instances when I fell into the trap of doing what was easy instead of what was right. In my own defense I will only add that from the beginning of my writing career I had a nebulous idea that girls were getting a raw deal out of most of the literature they were being fed, both at school and at home, and I had an equally vague sense that I ought to somehow fight against it. Some of my books hold up better than others to the kind of close scrutiny I hope you’ll now start giving them. As for the sins: I apologize most sincerely. I can’t promise that future books will be perfect, either, but I can try not to make a complete fool out of my female characters and myself.
So, all right, I think the best way to go on explaining what these reviews are about is to go ahead and review a book, and my first choice has to be one written by my favorite author of all time: Sir Terry Pratchett. First I’m going to review it for the things all reviewers look at, then I’m going into snarky mode. And don’t worry, don’t worry, although there are going to be spoilers aplenty I will give clear and prominent warning when they are coming, so your reading experience won’t be ruined. Without more ado . . .
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett
Okay, first of all, what is this review series? I’ll try to keep it simple, partially because right now I only have a moiety of my marbles and simple is all I can handle (but that is one loooong story that I will post on my website for anyone who is wondering if something has been going on with me in 2015. For now, suffice it to say that I almost died. Yeah, for real!).
Just before I get started, though, there’s one thing I simply have to say, and that is thank you. Thank you to all of my friends on Goodreads, to all of you who have signed up to read my reviews. You don’t know how much I appreciate each of you, and what a thrill it is every day to get emails saying that so-and-so is now following me. I read every message and it keeps me going, especially when life gets rough. So, straight from my heart: thank you. Thank you so very, very much.
Now. This review series is not just about whether I think a book is worth reading or not. Well, I tell a lie, because it is really, but that’s because my brain seems to work differently than most other reviewers’ brains. I like books, movies, music videos, even—gasp—some commercials for two distinctly different reasons. One is based on the things most other people look for, like spiky original writing, cool plot twists, characterization, cinematography, and so on. The second is based on their treatment of women, and by this I do not mean was some scantily-clad young babe an enemy martial artist who fought the only female “hero” on the good guys’ team and yanked out some hair. And yes, I deliberately said “guys” there, which is a sin in my book.
The thing is that I am constantly gobsmacked by reviews that rave about books and movies but seem to have been written by people who don’t see what I see. The reviewers never mention the fact that, say, females in one incredibly popular book are 99 percent more likely than males to squeal when they speak—and do squeal, a lot, in the face of danger or excitement—while males are 100 percent more likely to bellow. (And if you’re going to argue with me that squealing doesn’t somehow imply more immaturity and/or lack of courage than bellowing you might as well stop reading this review right now cos I’m not even going there.)
The reviewers overlook it when words that imply male gender are used for groups that contain both sexes: good guys, Man, mankind, policeman, chairman, this man, that man, every example’s a man man. Even when the infamous “a person . . . his” sin is committed nobody seems to care or notice.
Ah, but those are just word choices, although I will expound in a little discussion on my webpage upon why even seemingly harmless words influence thinking and are desperately important. What about actual characterization: How are girls and women treated in the story? Surely, when the guys in the adventure are all given heroic roles and the females, who are sometimes the actual “heroines,” are sexually or romantically objectified, made into weak, lifeless, undeveloped cardboard cutouts, surely then most reviewers notice, right? Surely the reviewers care whether or not girls and women have a career or passion outside of being good little wives, surely some of them note when strong women are invariably classified as bitches or witches, surely somebody is keeping tally of how much females contribute to the meat of the tale being told, yes?
No. Not that I’ve seen. If you’ve seen it, I’m ecstatic and incidentally I’d love it if you’d email the review to me. Now, granted, I’m not talking about reviews by periodicals for women’s studies or anything, I’m talking about mainstream reviews. And I’m talking about mainstream books and movies here. And I’m not talking about Goodreads reviews, because the people on Goodreads are way more smart and savvy than the average bear. But I’d still love to see some nice reviews that focus on whether or not girls and women are treated in a way that would make us proud. You can send me the link to the review right here on Goodreads.
(Hey, right after writing this I saw a review of Crimson Peak in Time magazine which focused on the fact that Guillermo del Toro had turned out a movie with a female hero who rescued herself. I was impressed, although the article did use the word “damsel” in the title, which is a no no as far as I’m concerned. It makes me want to see the movie. It also makes me want to count the number of sins in the movie.)
And, by the way, yes, I do realize that I am radical in the way I think about the stories I read and see. I am On Beyond Zebra, way out beyond the Oort cloud of our solar system radical about them. I am so radical that I actually want to be able to change a character’s sex in a pivotal scene (people have sex; words have gender . . . sorry, but that’s the way it is) and I want it not to make a difference. I want females to be completely equal to males. I want them to be exactly as competent, as complex, as integral to the plot, as numerous, as humorous, as courageous, as canny, as revered when aged, as gallant when young.
Okay, I can already see the hands up out there asking The Question. I will answer. Yes, I too write books. Are my books without sin against women and girls?
Hell, no. If you think so, reread the motto of this review series. No book is without this kind of sin. Mine sure aren’t. The older I get the better I see such problems and the more I learn about why they must be avoided. I’ll say right now that there are many instances when I fell into the trap of doing what was easy instead of what was right. In my own defense I will only add that from the beginning of my writing career I had a nebulous idea that girls were getting a raw deal out of most of the literature they were being fed, both at school and at home, and I had an equally vague sense that I ought to somehow fight against it. Some of my books hold up better than others to the kind of close scrutiny I hope you’ll now start giving them. As for the sins: I apologize most sincerely. I can’t promise that future books will be perfect, either, but I can try not to make a complete fool out of my female characters and myself.
So, all right, I think the best way to go on explaining what these reviews are about is to go ahead and review a book, and my first choice has to be one written by my favorite author of all time: Sir Terry Pratchett. First I’m going to review it for the things all reviewers look at, then I’m going into snarky mode. And don’t worry, don’t worry, although there are going to be spoilers aplenty I will give clear and prominent warning when they are coming, so your reading experience won’t be ruined. Without more ado . . .
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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This is such an important conversation to have. It wasn't so long ago that female writers were widely considered inept and second rate, and legendary women like the Brontë sisters were forced to publish their books under male aliases. Today, studieslike this one show that the New York Times and the New York Review of Books review books written by male authors 83% of the time--and those reviewers? They're more than 80% male.
Sadly, female authors themselves seem to do their gender a disservice by reinforcing negative stereotypes of women in our society.
As a bestselling author in the young adult genre, you're in a unique position to influence the way women--and men--view gender roles.
I'm a longtime reader of your work, and like most, The Forbidden Game is one of my favorite books. It’s a book about overcoming male privilege and entitlement. Julian feels entitled to the Jenny’s body, mind, spirit, and life. He psychologically tortures her and plays sick games in a show of male dominance that MANY other characters created by many other authors parrot (i.e. Fifty Shades of Sexism). The difference in your work is that your heroines are NOT victims. The female character in The Forbidden Game--Jenny--is not the weak, submissive elk that Julian is so keen to paint her as. She’s the victor of the efforts meant to oppress and objectify her. In this series, you show readers that Jenny is not a toy; she is a person. She doesn't want to be doted on with gifts and persuaded into a relationship with someone who is clearly a sadistic "male chauvinist pig." In the end, her strength is overpowering--and she didn't use her muscles (although Dee, another strong female character did), and she didn't use her superpowers (because women in real life don't have those)--she used her wit/intelligence/skill, her bravery, and most of all, her desire to be "[her] own master." This is the most inspiring and feminist of all of your books. It tackles a theme of female empowerment that most books stray from.
That's why the synopsis you released for Rematch is so troubling.
"She intimates in her fight with Mom that in accordance with their strongly maintained family beliefs she's still a virgin, but that that's likely to change in the next month, whether she wears a veil and stands before a minister or not."
Fact Check: 97% of people in the United States have premarital sex, and of the 3% of those who wait until marriage, 60% are women. That’s because the message of abstinence isn’t geared toward men—it’s meant intended to target women.
There is a BIG problem with the abstinence double standard in America. Young girls who have sex are ‘dirty sluts with daddy issues,’ while young men who have sex are just fulfilling their natural impulses to reproduce, and it is a beautiful thing and a rite of passage when a male loses his virginity.
Women are told that they are pure little flowers. Women are told that the most important thing they can do in life is get married, settle down, and have a family with someone they love and trust enough to preserve their body for. Women are told that the most important thing in their lives is sacrificing their bodies to please men! Meanwhile, men are encouraged to ‘spread their seed,’ and have all the sex they want with ‘bad girls.’
This creates a sense of deep-rooted shame with young women. Teenage girls feel immense guilt when they kiss boys (or other girls) or show any kind of indication that they aren’t baby-breeding machines, but actual human beings with sexual desire just like men. There are already so many different ways that young girls like me are unconsciously conditioned to believe that their self-worth is dependent upon their participation in or refrain from sex. “By describing a girl’s virginity as her ‘purity,’ and suggesting that this purity must be maintained at all costs, these ceremonies imply that a girl losing her virginity before marriage makes her impure — dirty, contaminated, worthless.”
That’s why the wedding dress is traditionally white—to symbolize chastity and purity. Initially (before birth control or pregnancy tests existed), ensuring a girl’s virginity was deemed necessary because it meant she would belong completely to a man upon marriage. That’s why a father traditionally “gives away” his daughter during wedding ceremonies. More importantly, it also meant a man wasn’t tying himself down to a woman who was already pregnant with another man’s child. Because what mattered to men was using women as brand-new, personal love dolls, meant to fulfill their wifely duties and produce men's heirs, and that was the extent of women's worth.
Now that we live in 2015 and have electricity and toothpaste, not much has changed when it comes to weddings. And according to the synopsis you wrote for Rematch, not much has changed when it comes to the abstinence double standard. I first read The Forbidden Game when I was 15 and a virgin. Now I’m 18 and I’m not, and you know what? I haven’t gone against my values. I know that I’m a driven, focused, intellectual young lady who is EQUAL in every way to a man. And I know that my sexuality is mine, and that my body will accomplish far more important things than serving as a virgin offering to satisfy the carnal lust of a unevenly experienced newly married man.
If the message for women is wait until marriage, girls are going to get married a WHOLE lot sooner than they really should. They shouldn't have to put their careers on the back burner and get married when they're barely out of high school just so experience love. There are more important things in life than marriage and children--especially when someone is 18-20 and the world is just opening up to them. Please don't tamp down Jenny's fire in Rematch by making her ashamed of her own body and essentially a slave to Tom. Wanting to 'possess all of her' while she's really still a child is what Julian wanted, and that's NOT a positive message to send to young girls. We are more than men's 'second-halves'--we're courageous, expressive, talented, intelligent (and yes, SEXUAL) creatures. Until that line of thinking is changed, women will continue to be accessories on the arms of men.
According to this post, you consider yourself a “radical” when it comes to the depiction of women in books. I LOVE your novels, and I love how you express the importance of equality between men and women, and the influence that subtlety in writing has on readers. You said you didn’t want reviewers to stay quiet about these issues anymore, so I had to point out that you have the opportunity to do something major for females with The Forbidden Game sequel. Thank you so much for the strong, powerful, and feminist characters you create in your works. They are beacons of hope to us all, and powerful role models for young girls like me. Please continue to stand up for us!
Alexis wrote: "If the message for women is wait until marriage, girls are going to get married a WHOLE lot sooner than they really should."I have been waiting until marriage but I'm not rushing out to find someone to marry.
There are more important things in life than marriage and children--especially when someone is 18-20 and the world is just opening up to them.
While I agree that someone in their late teens/early twenties should be more focused on their futures, careers and themselves in general, I am getting tired of women who choose to get married and have a desire to have children are looked down upon these days.
If a woman falls in love, willingly gets married and willingly wants to have children with her husband and DARES to want to be a "housewife", she is spat on and treated as a example nobody should ever want to be.
But if a woman stays single for the rest of her life while having casual sex or numerous one night stands, she is a true role model and feminist for the ages.
Am I the only one who sees what's wrong with this picture?
Regarding Rematch, My complaints are that the sequel is not necessary and having Jenny decide to marry Tom so young when she decided she didn't need to a Tom OR a Julian makes her OOC like all L.J.'s other plans and sequels she's been doing. Please, reconsider writing it and call it off, L.J.
The Secrets I Can't Keep------------------------------------------------------------------------
By: Benafsha
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Everything is dead, all the memories that I had.
Everything in the past, I knew it wouldn't last.
He changed me, to someone who I can be.
People say I'm from the past, I know my friend has a spell to cast.
One step forward two steps back, dead bodies are laying without blood on the rack.
The secret I can't keep, I have to take a huge leap.
To know where I am, and who I've become.
People arn't who they seem, they'll die if sunlight reaches to them in a light beam.
I know my life never goes the way I want it to, now I don't even have a clue.
You have to keep secrets to live your life, but then people will just come and stab you with a knife.
You are who you are and you can't change that, if you try you'll get stuck in a net.
Try that's the best you can do to live your life now, before you know you'll compell someone and they'll bow.
The Vampire Diaries are are big part of my life and I can't live without them, and that's all I have for now bam.
So true, "man whore" was the equivalent of a male slut back in my school days.
Self Publishing is a long journey. Being an Indie author, I always help to have a support system to create an ebook cover, edit and proofread, interior design. For marketing, I use usabookreviewers.com to gather book reviews and bookbub.com to market my book. I also started gathering email subscribers. So much to do...
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My grandmother sent me three books from your Night World series in the late 90s. The covers turned me off at the time, but my mother insisted I read them. My entire life changed because I did.
It wasn't just that your books were engaging. It wasn't just that they drew vampires, shapeshifters, and witches in a whole new way for me. It was that the female leads were always interesting. In particular, Rashel Jordan became my role model. Even back then I was in awe of her strength both outside and in; her cleverness, her bravery as a child. She was so unlike me yet everything I ever wanted to be (aside from the dead parents, of course). And it wasn't just her. Thea, Jez, Maggie, Mary-Lynnette, even Gillian--arguably the mentally weaker of them all at first--captivated and inspired me.
I wrote you once before that you inspired me to write. And I'll admit I still take a lot of cues from you. You always wove a tale of young women who, even if they didn't start out strong, they grew. They were never static, never completely helpless. Even when they fell in love they retained their strength. That Rashel and Quinn could both learn gentleness after meeting each other always spoke to me. That Ash could admit his wrongdoings and become even a little more humble fascinated me, because it was the strength of a woman he loved who inspired him to do it (at least, that's how I've always interpreted it).
Your work may not be without flaws, but it has always backed the inner strength and intelligence of women. And I, for one, am forever grateful. It is because you spoke to this woman as a young girl that I was able to not just delve into what would become a passion, but always remember that girls and women are strong. We are not helpless, and we should not allow society to paint us into corners. My full-time job is in male-dominated blue collar, and the sexism is rampant. I have been harassed physically and verbally; if I go off-station I'm treated as a "woman" and not a worker. If I raise my voice like a male colleague does, I'm not assertive, I'm a bitch. And through all of that I still plug on and do what I do. If it makes be a bitch, so be it, but I want that to change. And I sincerely believe that a huge part of that change can--and should--stem from authors. It is why I detest Twilight but still adore Vampire Diaries: the difference is in how much the main female lead conducts and thinks of herself. It's not "just fiction;" it's an impact on young readers. I know this, because that is precisely what your work did to me.
I apologize for the rant, but I wanted you to know that you did make a difference to this one reader. So thank you for writing the work that I could turn to when I was down and remind myself that not everything has to be awful and that there are women out there who are brave, strong, and assertive while still loving, caring, and gentle.
Thank you. Thank you so much.