Questions About The Wicker King (The Wicker King, #1)

by K. Ancrum (Goodreads Author)

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Answered Questions (8)

I'm getting conflicting information here; the author's website says this is about bi boys, but various reviewers have said it's only queer-baiting, the bisexuality never makes it clearly/explicitly onto the page. Is this a queer novel or not?

K. Ancrum This is a friendship-to-love slow burn scenario from the perspective of an unreliable narrator clinging to the closet door with his fingertips. Jack i…moreThis is a friendship-to-love slow burn scenario from the perspective of an unreliable narrator clinging to the closet door with his fingertips. Jack is bisexual, August is Questioning until the end. Both characters have relationships with girls while obviously being sexually attracted to each other and don't get together until the end of the book. [SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT]

The accusations of queerbaiting honestly filled me with dismay. Maybe because this is a journey where someone slowly comes to terms with his attraction for the whole book, rather than being "out" the whole book some people assumed that this was queerbaiting. <spoiler>But the words "I love you" were definitely explicitly used. August has sex with another character while thinking of Jack (and then panics). In addition, every single character in the book besides the MC tries to point out to the MC that his feelings for his friend may not be platonic. The book is mixed media and one of the art pieces is a note where Jack asks August out-- which he writes in the beginning of the book and doesn't give to August until the end of the book--and August says yes (Which was available in the ARC).

In the final version, not only is the confession more fleshed out, but they also kiss. And more, in the book to be released after this, they are in a Poly family with another character (R) and are raising a child together, who is a major character.

This book was never intended to be anything but queer. It just takes these kids a while to get there, that's all. :)</spoiler>(less)

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This question contains spoilers... (view spoiler)

K. Ancrum Both. The love would have always existed without the codependency, but I'm not quite sure if codependency can even develop without love or without an …moreBoth. The love would have always existed without the codependency, but I'm not quite sure if codependency can even develop without love or without an environment of care/dependence.

If August and Jack had normal lives, with normal parents and Jack never got sick, the story of them wouldn't cease to exist, it would be a standard, softer friends-to-love story where they maybe had a cute homecoming love confession. Or maybe they'd still wait until the last minute and only become brave enough to kiss at graduation. They'd probably spend the whole 4 years flirting terribly and having fun with their friends. Or maybe Jack would have the energy and confidence to be bolder, maybe seduce August and treat him to the whole stereotypical nerd/jock dynamic of a love story while reminding him that technically he's both the nerd and the jock because he gets better grades than August.

They would laugh more. And hang out for fun instead of necessity. And they would touch each other with less desperation.

The love would always be there. It would just have been easier. (less)

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So when the author says poly family, does she mean that Rina is more of a surrogate mother and is co parenting with them or that their all romantically involved?

K. Ancrum All romantically involved. In TWK Rina kisses jack, holds his hand, lets him into her bed while she's naked and its implied in the letter August recei…moreAll romantically involved. In TWK Rina kisses jack, holds his hand, lets him into her bed while she's naked and its implied in the letter August receives that they're living together when Jack leaves the hospital. Jack and Rina actually had their own meet-cute love story in the background of August's unreliable narration.

They were functionally """dating the same girl""" for the entire latter half of the book, but I chose not to have drama about that because:

1. Love triangles are exhausting to me and there are more of them than happy poly couples in YA, so I decided to create some representation.
2. August and Jack are both bi-romantic.
3. August's incompatibility with both Gordie and Carrie-Anne was heavily based on their restricting his access to Jack. Whereas Rina, on the other hand, embraces and nurtures his romantic interest in Jack. Which is attractive to him.
4. Rina and her home were designed to be the singular place of refuge for these two people, not a source of drama.
5. This is August's orientation discovery journey. His coming to terms with his same sex attraction to Jack would have way more of his "angst attention" than his easier relationship with Rina.

Rina isn't romantic competition to either Jack or August, she fits with them both individually and she fits with them together. August likes her because she's not judgmental and makes him feel free and because Jack chose her for him and August thinks that that is romantic. Jack likes her because she's a spitfire who reminds him of August, and because watching her take care of August (along side him) is romantic to him. She isn't standing in between Jack and August, they are holding hands in a circle: jack and august holding each others hands tightly, but also holding Rina's hand perhaps a bit looser.

What happens next!

There is a time jump, but you see them next in THE WEIGHT OF THE STARS with their son Ahmed. They all live together and share a bedroom. August has developed the same catatonic depression issues his mother had, but he actually has a support system (rina/jack) and is thriving both socially and in his career (author) despite it. There is a line in the book about "no one knowing who Ahmed's father is" which is meant to imply that they are all romantically involved. Rina and Jack are legally married, but Ahmed has August's last name.

As parents, they put severe effort into therapy being a major part of their lives, and Ahmed talks openly about being in therapy as a basic wellness that everyone should have access to. They have cemented their home as a place where Ahmed's troubled friends can find refuge and feel comfortable with responsible adult supervision. There is also a scene where Ahmed and his friend (the MC) come to Jack/August/Rina's home late at night and start trying to cook themselves dinner but Jack wakes up and runs downstairs to cook dinner for them because he doesn't want them to feel the loneliness of a dark cold home the way he did.

The entire experience of them in THE WEIGHT OF THE STARS is catharsis in which damaged neglected children grow up to be family focused, loving, and careful parents who do everything they can to make sure that the teens in their lives are doing well. Adults who are trying their best to be the sort of adults that they wished were around them during the struggle that was THE WICKER KING, and freely enjoying a love that sustained them during the darkest period of their lives.

And its cute, very cute, to see: https://cutt.ly/2eCAvLF

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Looking for more? Here's a few fun free things:

K. Ancrum Wanna hear the playlists listed in the book? They're available on Spotify!

https://open.spotify.com/user/thewick...

Curious about Jack's world and want…moreWanna hear the playlists listed in the book? They're available on Spotify!

https://open.spotify.com/user/thewick...

Curious about Jack's world and want to dig deeper? Check out the free e-book from his POV:

https://us.macmillan.com/thelegendoft...
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How long before we get to read The Weight Of The Stars?