Title: We Awaken

Author: Calista Lynne

Publisher: Harmony Ink Press

Pages: 180

Rating: 3/5

Goodreads | Amazon | Harmony Ink Press

A very beautiful and important book to read. Asexuality is not as visible on the LGBTQ+ spectrum as it should be, but Lynne takes this information gracefully and creates a fantastical dream world that even gets you sucked in. The world was very normal and yet so undeniably whimsical that I was reading so much into the world and the plot, that I forget entirely where I am. Although, it took me a while to warm up to our MC, Victoria, I thought her journey through asexuality and understanding what it means for herself, was very powerful. I loved reading about Ashlinn and Victoria's relationship as it was unbelievably endearing and charming!!! <3

Even though I did enjoy parts of the book, I just wish everything wasn't so rushed. I loved the girls' relationship and I loved the world but the way everything panned out in the last 20 pages felt so fast. I didn't have time to even think about the ending, because, albeit it was a happy one (yay!!), the consequences leading up to it didn't feel as real as it should have been.The pacing was done very well at the start but was completely deconstructed at the end. I was really hoping for a more drawn out conclusion that left me as breathless as the beginning did. 

Nonetheless, I did like this and I really loved the portrayal of the relationship and the dream world.

Hey guys, it's me, Mana! You're probably thinking, "Who?" well it's probably because I've been semi-absent for a good portion of this year. College takes up a lot of my time, but here I am, back, with a post I wrote on tumblr and I thought to share. So in some preface, please if you have anything to add let me know and if i did get something wrong, tell me!! I will correct it 100%.

In a simple world, I could read books that are about me, about my aspirations, has my culture, and I wouldn’t even have to bat an eyelash because it’s well researched and correct and wonderfully done.

Sadly, that is not the case. 

I recently asked myself (and a group of friends who share my frustrations), “idk what’s worst: token diversity or no rep at all”. Verbatim. And I thought about this question because, no really, which is worse?

Is there even a competition because frankly both kind of fucking suck?

I bring this up because in the span of however many months, over and over, there has been these slight microaggressions, racism, and an absolute disregard of the feelings and understanding of a character of color. 

Adding characters of color to fill a quota is not representation. It does not equate to the seemingly flawless well-rounded white characters and apparently, adding random characters to be flat and one dimensional is how we are using our platform to promote more ~diversity~. I use the term diversity lightly, because it is much more than just adding a person of color to a story and being done with it. 

In understanding what exactly I mean by these recent YA novels, I’ll list out common tropes that seem to never leave.

1. Asian being a the common descriptor for any “Asian” character. I’ve seen it, you’ve seen it, in all your favorite books. Not many are exempt and it’s irritating how authors don’t see the issue on lumping all of Asia together. Saying, “This Asian girl came up to me” gives me nothing. First, it’s lazy and second, still it perpetrates that every single Asian person is the same. We are not, fyi. 

2. We are all exotic! Isn’t that great? Othering is so in right now. No matter what, someone has to say “you are so exotic” thinking it’s a synonym to “sexy” when really, it’s further alienating us and reinforcing that all people of color are these ~strange creatures of the night~. We are not. lmfao. 

3. Stereotypes, stereotypes, stereotypes! There is always going to be stereotypes that many authors will play on because they obviously don’t know how to write their character. Relying on stereotypes to construct your character isn’t “development”, we are supposed to be deconstructing them, actually. We are supposed to take these stereotypes and say, “fuck this, you are so much more than this”. 

4. Poorly done research on a culture outside of your own. I am no expert, but when someone is writing a culture that they are not part of, you immediately start researching extensively. You talk to various people from that culture , you treat the material you are using in an appropriate matter. When you write a story and it’s published, it’s forever. Do not consider writing a story outside your own experiences if you cannot do it appropriately.  (this is not a discouragement on doing it, but please remember you are respectfully writing not appropriating.) But, please, remember that the best way is to read books who are OF that culture: i.e Written in the Stars by Aisha Saeed is an example, it’s far more accurate and they need/deserve the support more. 

5. Mocha, caramel, but never white chocolate. It seems that the trend of equating skin color with random foods is only reserved for brown characters. Alternatives: brown, dark skinned. Wow, yeah, it’s that easy. Making it so that our skin color is like a food further implies that we are ~exotic~ and alienates us into “otherism”. Being called a food isn’t quirky or cute.

YA can be wonderful, but when there are constant little things: that is not progression, that’s carelessness. If you truly wanted to dispel all these negative connotations, these microaggressions, you would realize in your writing. You would ask beta readers who are not white or part of that culture you are writing of. You would use your tools, because you care, not because you are filling the token diversity quota.

Maybe no representation means there is no disappointment of having “diversity” issues but I want to say we could all do better, way better than what we have been doing.

Resources:

#Whitewashedout: a place to read about first hand experiences that many people have dealt with in their entire life (this is from people who are from Asia, specifically)

Writing With Color:  Offers help and resources to help research and understand writing characters of color.

Intentionally vague because my experiences come from as a South Asian and I cannot speak for other cultures at all, as it is not my place!<3

Silvana's Review

Beyond The Red is one you need to keep your eye out when it comes out. What drew me in probably was the royalty aspect the book has. We have an alien queen and she is hated by her people  because they think a woman cannot rule. They want her brother to rule. I'm laughing at these people who live in her city because girls are deadly when you least expect it and I love that Kora is ruthless and sweet at the same time. She is one of my favorite characters and I wish to read more about her because she has so much story to give.

I loved the world Ava Jae drew us. It's space and it's a planet that it's filled to the neck with red sand. The clothes the characters wear, the costums, the relationships and the way the system of this world works, was fascinating to me to read about. It is action-packed (I don't think there was a moment were there was no intense scenes or running from something or political intrigue in this book). The story flows through the pages easily and you get captured by the hands of a really good plotline.  

If you are into sci-fi, well developed world, political intrigue in the royal court, forbidden romance, a badass hero and a powerful queen, Beyond The Red is for you and you got to pick it up because I desperately need a sequel. 

Mana's Review

I'm Ava Jae. 

I write. I read. I Photoshop. Then I tweet/blog/tumbl/post/vlog/instagram about it and some pretty awesome people like and read and watch it. I'm also an Assistant Editor at Entangled, and I'm represented by the wonderful Louise Fury of The Bent Agency. 

 I write YA and NA paranormal, Sci-Fi and Fantasy novels because I love writing about self-discovery and the complicated worlds of young people. Then I like to take their emotionally-ridden lives, rip them apart and set them on fire. My debut novel BEYOND THE RED will be published in hardcover and e-book by Sky Pony Press in March 2016. It has aliens and kissing and explosions and you can add it to your Goodreads shelf here. 

 I also have an addiction to movies, but that's another matter entirely.

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Heidi grew up in Hawaii where she rode horses and raised peacocks, and then she moved to New York City and grew up some more, as one tends to do. Her favorite thing, outside of writing, is travel, and she has haggled for rugs in Morocco, hiked the trails of the Ko'olau Valley, and huddled in a tent in Africa while lions roared in the dark.

She holds an MBA from New York University in Musical Theatre Writing, of all things, and she's written books and lyrics for shows including The Time Travelers Convention, Under Construction, and The Hole. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their pet snake, whose wings will likely grow in any day now.

Title: Winter by Marissa Meyer

Series: The Lunar Chronicles

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Published: November 10th, 2015

Buy: Kindle | iBooks | Barnes and Nobles | Audible | [etc]

Rating:

Goodreads Synopsis:

Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana. 

Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won't approve of her feelings for her childhood friend - the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn't as weak as Levana believes her to be and she's been undermining her stepmother's wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that's been raging for far too long.

Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter defeat Levana and find their happily ever afters?

My original review contains some spoilers, so I'll hold off on this one! So, Winter, was actually really good and despite my ramblings/rants about my issues on it on my original review (which you can find right here ), I have the feeling that I need to at least talk about all the goods things I liked rather than the bad.

THE ROMANCE WAS SO GOOD! Everyone knows I am an actual sucker for the fake dating trope (God, it's literally the best trope on earth!), Cress and Thorne were basically my priority for the past two books. There was only a handful of scenes, but every single scene sucked me in no question. It held a lot weight and I was so,  so, in love. I loved their dynamic and all their scenes were so breathtaking.

THE PLOT WAS AMAZING. Fast paced, plot twists left and right.  For a book with a huge cast, it's hard to include every single character in order to help flesh out their story. There is so much you can do, but Meyers knows what she's doing when it comes to crafting characters. She knows how to make them funny, heart wrenching, awkward, and even witty (Good ol' Kai gave me a laugh or two). I think her strongest was her characters. The Rampion Crew are one of the cutest found friendships out there. (And yes, my second favorite trope.)

Despite my complaints, I  did love the plot most of all. I love fairy tales and I love, love retellings with that sprinkle of cliches/tropes. My favorite kinds!!