Marlow’s answer to “Is this book worth the read? All my friends LOVE it, but I'm not sure if I would like it. It does…” > Likes and Comments
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lol yeah a lot of the stereotypes really bug me but for some reason it's just so bad it's good
not the racial stereotypes or the female stereotypes or the borderline sexism but just the writing in general
Yeah I see what you mean. I did find this book pretty funny, but I definitely won’t be finishing the series. Off the top of my head, I can only come up with one bipoc character and I’m 90% sure that all of the girls on the covers are white which is... pretty messed up... The stereotypes about females were also super weird to read, but the prevalence of r*pe culture was horrifying. Reading this book as a queer person was also a crappy experience because yet again... we don’t exist.
I get that. There were definitely times when I just wanted to throw the book across the room and ask myself what I was doing. It's really strange that she has such a large fan base because honestly the writing isn't good on top of little to no representation of BIPOC characters, LGTBQ+ characters, and the clear ignorance of the author. I'm a writer myself and I definitely want to break outside of clichés and accurately and respectfully portray BIPOC and LGBTQ+ characters, especially with the amount of white cis writers that do a poor job, or they are just openly horrible people. *ahem! J.K. Rowling* I'm dumbfounded that none of Kiera's friends or *literally anyone* that she had proofread her book brought up any of these major issues. Surely someone must've noticed? It's sad that something like this got published in the place of something else that could've potentially been so much better. I think the initial story idea was good, but the way she wrote it was NOT good, quality and morality wise, and that if someone else had this idea for a story before her, maybe Jane Austen wouldn't be rolling in her grave. Also, could you explain more about the r*pe culture part? I read the book a few months ago, so I don't remember everything.
There were just a ton of super creepy men in this book. One of them was 40, and he joked about spending time with "thirty-five beautiful women" which is just so, so creepy, especially when you remember that they were all 16-20 years old. Plus, neither Aspen or Maxon ever asks for consent, and there was even a part towards the end of the book in which America was thinking about how she might've said no to Aspen being in her room at that moment if she had been given the option. Throughout the book, he consistently guilts her into doing things that she doesn't want. Even if Maxon, at least, had ever asked for consent, that would have been entirely overshadowed for me by creepy old guy No. 370857 at the beginning of the book telling America that it would be unwise for her to say no to anything Maxon asked of her. Also, when the author describes what happened to Lucy, she has one of the other maids excuse the rapist by saying, "I'm not sure they have very many women with them, if you catch my meaning." That is just so disgusting on so many levels.
Not related to The Selection, but is there a place where I can read your writing? I would love to read more work with good representation!
Now that you've laid it all out there, I definitely remember. I hated the part where creepy old guy No. 370857 said that she shouldn't say no to Maxon. Even if the author partially 'resolved' it later on, did she think about the kind of message this would send to the masses of teenagers who would read her book? Again, she's basically saying that men are in charge. Ugh.
I completely agree, it is disgusting. I still cannot comprehend how a beta reader didn't catch any of this.
I don't have anything like that as of now, but that could change in the future. If/when that does change, I can let you know-if you like? I'm a teen, and I'm still developing my skills as a writer, so there aren't many people that read my stories. I like to write prose and poetry too, though! However, I CAN point you towards some books I liked that were well-rounded and had representation!!!
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Madeleine
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Jan 10, 2021 07:02PM
lol yeah a lot of the stereotypes really bug me but for some reason it's just so bad it's good
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not the racial stereotypes or the female stereotypes or the borderline sexism but just the writing in general
Yeah I see what you mean. I did find this book pretty funny, but I definitely won’t be finishing the series. Off the top of my head, I can only come up with one bipoc character and I’m 90% sure that all of the girls on the covers are white which is... pretty messed up... The stereotypes about females were also super weird to read, but the prevalence of r*pe culture was horrifying. Reading this book as a queer person was also a crappy experience because yet again... we don’t exist.
I get that. There were definitely times when I just wanted to throw the book across the room and ask myself what I was doing. It's really strange that she has such a large fan base because honestly the writing isn't good on top of little to no representation of BIPOC characters, LGTBQ+ characters, and the clear ignorance of the author. I'm a writer myself and I definitely want to break outside of clichés and accurately and respectfully portray BIPOC and LGBTQ+ characters, especially with the amount of white cis writers that do a poor job, or they are just openly horrible people. *ahem! J.K. Rowling* I'm dumbfounded that none of Kiera's friends or *literally anyone* that she had proofread her book brought up any of these major issues. Surely someone must've noticed? It's sad that something like this got published in the place of something else that could've potentially been so much better. I think the initial story idea was good, but the way she wrote it was NOT good, quality and morality wise, and that if someone else had this idea for a story before her, maybe Jane Austen wouldn't be rolling in her grave. Also, could you explain more about the r*pe culture part? I read the book a few months ago, so I don't remember everything.
There were just a ton of super creepy men in this book. One of them was 40, and he joked about spending time with "thirty-five beautiful women" which is just so, so creepy, especially when you remember that they were all 16-20 years old. Plus, neither Aspen or Maxon ever asks for consent, and there was even a part towards the end of the book in which America was thinking about how she might've said no to Aspen being in her room at that moment if she had been given the option. Throughout the book, he consistently guilts her into doing things that she doesn't want. Even if Maxon, at least, had ever asked for consent, that would have been entirely overshadowed for me by creepy old guy No. 370857 at the beginning of the book telling America that it would be unwise for her to say no to anything Maxon asked of her. Also, when the author describes what happened to Lucy, she has one of the other maids excuse the rapist by saying, "I'm not sure they have very many women with them, if you catch my meaning." That is just so disgusting on so many levels. Not related to The Selection, but is there a place where I can read your writing? I would love to read more work with good representation!
Now that you've laid it all out there, I definitely remember. I hated the part where creepy old guy No. 370857 said that she shouldn't say no to Maxon. Even if the author partially 'resolved' it later on, did she think about the kind of message this would send to the masses of teenagers who would read her book? Again, she's basically saying that men are in charge. Ugh.I completely agree, it is disgusting. I still cannot comprehend how a beta reader didn't catch any of this.
I don't have anything like that as of now, but that could change in the future. If/when that does change, I can let you know-if you like? I'm a teen, and I'm still developing my skills as a writer, so there aren't many people that read my stories. I like to write prose and poetry too, though! However, I CAN point you towards some books I liked that were well-rounded and had representation!!!
