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Emma

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Unseelie (The Unseelie Duology, #1)

by Ivelisse Housman (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: 2023-favourites, currently-reading

read in February 2023

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Emma said: " This book means the absolute world to me. Regardless of the quality of this book (which is incredibly high don't get me wrong), the fact that this book exists is worth so much to me. This is a book where someone like me exists, without having to make This book means the absolute world to me. Regardless of the quality of this book (which is incredibly high don't get me wrong), the fact that this book exists is worth so much to me. This is a book where someone like me exists, without having to make the entire story about the things that are "wrong" with them. Seelie's autistic traits are a part of who she is, and there is no point in the story where it feels like the narrative wants to change who she is. This story celebrates Seelie for who she is. She is strong and difficult and annoying and kind. She exists as an autistic person that is both celebrated for the things that make her who she is, but also not let off the hook for the shitty things she does. She screws up and has to apologize and make amends. This book above all else, makes it clear that although Seelie may be different to the other characters, she is still a fully developed and well-rounded character. She isn't infantilized, she isn't made out to be a saint, she isn't villainized, she is a real and multifaceted person. And she's fucking powerful. She's an incredibly powerful magical creature, and she is the hero of her own story. She's fucking cool, she has awesome powers, and she learns to wield them in order to protect the people she loves. Everything Seelie does is done for love, and I know without a doubt that her character was made with love from Housman as well.

Besides how genuinely important this book is to me, it's also just really good. It's well written, it's interesting, it's funny. The other characters in this book are fantastic and I love them almost as much. The magic in this book is very well-thought out. The world is explored very well. I think every facet of this book is so well done, and even if the autistic rep doesn't mean as much to you as it does to me, you'll enjoy this book as a really good fantasy novel.

Some other things I really liked are as follows:
- the enemies to lovers in this is perfect. This is exactly how enemies to lovers should be done. They hate each other, they form a precarious alliance, they become friends, they realize that there's something else there. This is slow burn perfection, and I was just squealing the entire time with how much I loved Seelie and Raze. Their banter is so good. The transition from hatred to friendship is so well-written. It perfectly sets up the relationship between the two of them for the next book (which I will be VERY impatiently waiting for). Seelie and Raze are what other enemies to lovers ships wish they were.

- Raze! and Olani and Isolde! I think these characters are just as fleshed-out and interesting as Seelie. Raze is such a loveable idiot, and I loved watching him let his guard down and stop being so purposefully charming. Olani is both gentle and a badass, and I adored her reluctant role as mother to her three stupid ass children. She is so cool and kind and lovely. Isolde is such a little shit, and I love her. She is very stubborn and mischievous, but she is also so full of love for her sister. I cannot express to you how much I love the four of them. I think they are so perfectly balanced together, and I loved reading about them, both in their interactions and separately. And their interactions are so good. They're funny and stupid and full of frustration, and so full of love and kindness and empathy.

- the sister relationship in this was wonderful. I love books about complicated sibling relationships, and I really appreciated how real Seelie and Isolde's relationship was. They fight, they argue, but they also love each other fiercely and without hesitation. I think something Housman does exceptionally well here is show that Isolde gets frustrated with Seelie. It is absolutely a real part of being autistic that you are going to upset the people who love you. And Seelie does upset Isolde, in a lot of ways that come from her autism. But the thing is, Isolde never stops loving Seelie, even for a second, and their fights never feel like Isolde resents Seelie for her autistic traits. I think Housman perfectly balances the reality of their relationship: Seelie can't control who she is and how she interacts with the world, and Isolde doesn't want her to. Isolde knows Seelie sees the world differently, and she loves that about her. But she also gets genuinely frustrated by Seelie, even though she knows it's not something Seelie can totally control. Housman does a great job of showing that Isolde's reactions are 100% valid and human, and she doesn't have to stop feeling her emotions because they're targeted at things Seelie can't control. What Housman shows instead, is that Isolde still loves Seelie, and will never stop working to get her sister to understand her side. She wants to work with Seelie and help them come to an understanding, rather than force Seelie into a person she isn't. I think Housman perfectly captures not only a really real and loving sister relationship, but also what it's like to love someone with autism unconditionally and what it's like for Seelie to love someone without autism unconditionally. She knows she needs to apologize to Isolde, she understands her emotions and actions aren't being 100% fair to her sister, and she works to make sure Isolde knows that. She wants Isolde to feel just as loved and understood as Isolde wants her to feel. The two of them never stop fighting for each other, even when they bug the shit out of each other, and I think that is real sibling love. They screw up, they make amends, and they love each other truly unconditionally. It is really wonderful.
And this is just a little aside, I do like that this book shows that the people that love you most can be the ones who hurt you the most. Being autistic is really hard sometimes, and as much as the people who love you try, they really aren't ever going to understand what it's like to be you. They're going to mess up, they're going to hurt you, and sometimes they are going to make you feel like there is something wrong with you. But it's important that not only does Seelie understand that Isolde still loves her even when she hurts her badly, but that Isolde also works really hard to prove that she doesn't think Seelie is broken. She is understanding and angry, and the coexistence is true to life.
- I love fairies. so much. fairies are so cool. I love that we get to go to the fairy realms and see how cool they are. I love that we get to explore the fairy magic and also the enchanter magic. The way the fairy realms are described is so vivid and incredible. The Seelie realm is beautiful and bright and magical, the Unseelie realm is beautiful but in a menacing way, and you feel like you're there in these fantastical worlds. The descriptions are so good.
- I would fucking die for the baby firedrake. Fully. I love it so much. (view spoiler)
- No but seriously, the world in this book is amazing. It is such a lush and colourful world. It is full of magic and danger and shiny things. I think it is truly wonderful and I want to live inside this world (but as a fairy or an enchanter because I prefer to stay alive).

One more thing about Seelie. I truly adore how Housman takes care to challenge autistic stereotypes. There are a lot of stereotypes about autistic people that are founded A) in studies of white straight men with autism, B) in real characteristics that are totally misunderstood, and C) just in fucking nothing. Here is a little list of some of the incorrect stereotypes that Seelie defies:
1. Autistic people can't lie - Seelie can lie, she can manipulate. She's not bad at it. What she isn't good at is doing things in bad faith. She's not good with inauthentic actions.
2. Autistic people don't feel empathy- this one is a personal least favourite of mine. Autistic people have actually been shown to have heightened empathy. Seelie is a perfect example of this. She thinks first and foremost about the firedrake as a living creature who deserves kindness and love. She, despite hating him at first, does reluctantly understand Raze. She is so beautifully empathetic.
3. Autistic people are violent- Seelie is not a violent person. She does violent things, but out of necessity and no more than the other characters.
4. Autistic people can't share- Seelie shares her space with her sister, her things with Olani and Raze. It makes her uncomfortable, but only because Olani and Raze are strangers. As they all get to know each other, it becomes much less of a problem for her that they're in her space and touching her things.
5. Autism is only something white men have- This is the big one. There are plenty of doctors who won't even diagnose girls and women with autism. There are plenty of doctors who don't believe that people of colour can have autism. There is so much power in Seelie's representation. She is a woman, and a woman of colour. She is clearly autistic, and none of the other characters ever challenge her on this. Seelie existing as she is is a rebellion in so many ways.

I knew from the very first page that I was going to love this book. The very first page states that changeling myths are likely just people trying to explain autistic children before they knew what that meant. This book takes that idea, and gives it such life and love and colour. It builds a world around Seelie, rather than forcing her into a world that already exists. I know this is a YA book, that it's a fantasy about fairies, but for people like me- this book is everything. ...more "

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— Sep 14, 2025 10:44AM

Sep 12, 2025 09:55AM · see review