YABookgate

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I, for one, am enjoying the debacle that is the OwnVoices cannibalism. The sooner people realize that it’s pointless to try to pander to the OwnVoices shit, the sooner hacks could be weeded out of the publishing industry.

And holy fuck, that little passage sample of writing is a shit ton a lot worse than anything I’ve ever seen from the Twilight saga. If it isn’t a rule already, you shouldn’t have a character speak more than twice per paragraph- especially if said section is less than four sentences long.
Yeah, that paragraph could have been done better to avoid the character speaking 3x like that while still keeping the message.

I seriously don't get it. I guess publishers have a hard-on for marginalized groups to the point of ignoring quality just to get representation? According to several reviews I've seen (some being from non-binary people), it was pretty bad, even by their standards (two people, who left one and two star reviews, said they were rooting for the author because they were non-binary, so it's not like they WANTED to hate it). There is apparently a part where the character (who seems to be semi autobiographical) says the ultimate goal of queer people is to exterminate cishets. Like, what the fuck?? Who would want to be associated with this?
 
And holy fuck, that little passage sample of writing is a shit ton a lot worse than anything I’ve ever seen from the Twilight saga. If it isn’t a rule already, you shouldn’t have a character speak more than twice per paragraph- especially if said section is less than four sentences long.
Yeah, that paragraph could have been done better to avoid the character speaking 3x like that while still keeping the message.

Fixed it:
773711


(Fuck, I hate the present tense.)
 
I mean, I guess literally every single birth on the planet could become artificial insemination, but that seems like a lot of extra work without any reward.
To be fair, you'd probably be fine if you were bi or 'pan' or whatever the fuck, so reproduction the normal way would probably not completely die out. Hell, you could be a MTF dating a FTM and have kids in what is technically a hetero relationship but isn't cis. But still a lot of work.
Fixed it:
View attachment 773711

(Fuck, I hate the present tense.)
See, that wasn't so hard. And I can even think of another way to keep the quote together that isn't that (I would have said 'He says it with a smile' at the end myself, which isn't as good, but still better than the original).

I really can't imagine being okay with getting published for something that isn't talent. Mason got fucking Scholastic to publish him (that means he didn't self-publish, which is way easier to do with shitty books) and you know it isn't due to his talent/writing skills. I don't know that I'd be okay with being published if my talent had less to do with it than me being in *insert marginalized community here*. Then again, maybe I haven't been published because I haven't tried pushing hard enough that I'm a woman, and thus am marginalized, and you're sexist if you don't publish me, which I get the feeling Mason and his ilk do.
 
Yeah, that paragraph could have been done better to avoid the character speaking 3x like that while still keeping the message.

I seriously don't get it. I guess publishers have a hard-on for marginalized groups to the point of ignoring quality just to get representation? According to several reviews I've seen (some being from non-binary people), it was pretty bad, even by their standards (two people, who left one and two star reviews, said they were rooting for the author because they were non-binary, so it's not like they WANTED to hate it). There is apparently a part where the character (who seems to be semi autobiographical) says the ultimate goal of queer people is to exterminate cishets. Like, what the fuck?? Who would want to be associated with this?
Another issue I saw brought up was the author using the word "queer" constantly, which is a slur, and then in one section slyly shaming people who don't like to use it for themselves when it's "easier". I'm a shitlord and even I know that's shitty.

I can't believe a major publishing house picked this up, and I feel bad for the LGBT teenagers who are being told they need to relate to badly written nonsense just because publishers are valuing labels over writing. Gay teens deserve well written books, and it's too bad something like Annie On My Mind is so rare compared to empty virtue-signaling in novel form.
 
Another issue I saw brought up was the author using the word "queer" constantly, which is a slur, and then in one section slyly shaming people who don't like to use it for themselves when it's "easier". I'm a shitlord and even I know that's shitty.

I can't believe a major publishing house picked this up, and I feel bad for the LGBT teenagers who are being told they need to relate to badly written nonsense just because publishers are valuing labels over writing. Gay teens deserve well written books, and it's too bad something like Annie On My Mind is so rare compared to empty virtue-signaling in novel form.
It makes me sad for the state of society that even if you give a good reason for rejecting a novel like this (bad writing or even bad representation), you're shunned for being bigoted/whatever buzzword applies, to the point of being boycotted (in the case of a company) or blacklisted (in the case of an agent). I have to wonder if Scholastic actually wanted to publish him for SJW points (from what I gathered, this is one of the first examples of a non-binary main character in a novel, at least in a YA one) or if they were afraid of what he'd do if they turned him down. Probably both honestly.
 
What an actual review should say: "I'm an emotionally stunted adult who reads books about and for emotionally stunted teens written by emotionally stunted adults."
 
Get a load of this shit.

It comes from the same site as the Temperaments test I made a thread about. It's supposed to be a "what character are you test," but every character option is from Harry Potter or Game of Thrones


This is why the West deserves extinction.
 
That’s one way to tell YA authors to write for adults.


Something that always struck me about YA is that it felt intentionally watered down, not punched up. When I was a teenager I had way more "adult" interests than navigating school society or asking a girl out, and a lot of "adult" literature explored deeper themes that were more interesting to me.
 
I, for one, am enjoying the debacle that is the OwnVoices cannibalism. The sooner people realize that it’s pointless to try to pander to the OwnVoices shit, the sooner hacks could be weeded out of the publishing industry.

OwnVoices is nothing more than a tool for white progressives to comfortably order minority writers and readers to stay in their own fucking ghettos, thank you.
 
There is apparently a part where the character (who seems to be semi autobiographical) says the ultimate goal of queer people is to exterminate cishets. Like, what the fuck?? Who would want to be associated with this?
I'm glad the book spells it out like that. Remember, their ideology (intersectionalism) is fundamentally Marxist inspired, but instead of capitalists being the oppressors which will be overthrown, it's the cishets (or men, or white people, etc. for other "aggrieved groups"). The "proletarian" equivalent is of course troons and tumblrgenders. It's basically the most idiotic take on communism possible, yet unlike communism, it's safe to push by major corporations like Scholastic (in this case) since it doesn't involve rich people being guillotined and no one has any examples yet of this sort of communism in practice.

Hell, most people don't even recognize it as communist-inspired (this is criticized by a lot of old-school communists of many tendencies). That's why these people hate the use of the term "cultural Marxism" so much because that's a step in the right direction as to recognizing this sort of insanity. They also hate criticism of the Frankfurt School (communists) since they're the pioneers of critical theory, the underlying ideology of intersectionalism which has led to these "gender Marxists", "racial Marxists", etc.
 
So this came out yesterday from John Boyne about his 'transphobic' book. Will get an archive link when I can. Got a server error just now. EDIT: Archive link is now available.

I don't disagree. I've actually seen '(s)he writes what (s)he knows' used as a criticism before, to point out shallow writing. Also, who cares? #OwnVoices and the like is just glorified gatekeeping. The more I see from this guy, the more I like him. I want to buy all of his books, even though none of them seem like my cup of tea.
 
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A writer needs three things, experience, observation, and imagination, any two of which, at times any one of which, can supply the lack of the others. -William Faulkner

Needless to say, this quote is more accurate and succinct than all the deranged missives on Twitter about staying in your lane
 
So this came out yesterday from John Boyne about his 'transphobic' book. Will get an archive link when I can. Got a server error just now.

I don't disagree. I've actually seen '(s)he writes what she knows' used as a criticism before, to point out shallow writing. Also, who cares? #OwnVoices and the like is just glorified gatekeeping. The more I see from this guy, the more I like him. I want to buy all of his books, even though none of them seem like my cup of tea.
The virgin #OwnVoices vs the Chad John Boyne.

I hate seeing this guy get hate mobbed for literally no reason by people who don’t even have a fraction of his talent.

ETA:
782338

That's... That's literally the only 'problem' you guys keep shrieking about.
 
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The virgin #OwnVoices vs the Chad John Boyne.

I hate seeing this guy get hate mobbed for literally no reason by people who don’t even have a fraction of his talent.
It seems like jealousy to an extent. They hate him for being more talented and successful.
ETA:
782338

That's... That's literally the only 'problem' you guys keep shrieking about.
They've also screeched about him misgendering the sister, but he has REPEATEDLY explained why he's done this. THAT WAS THE WHOLE POINT. It's from the perspective of a 12yo boy whose brother comes out as trans and he hates it. The entire point of the story is that he can't really accept it. These idiots are simultaneously offended that people downplay the struggles they have with coming out as trans but are also offended if you try to explain that.

Also, fuck off Jay. I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt with your initial review of this book, but no. You wouldn't listen when he tried to explain, so fuck you.
 
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