Is Hidden Pictures Transphobic? Discussing the 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards Winner for Horror
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.พ. 2023
- People seem to have a LOT of feelings about this over on Goodreads, so I decided to read the book for myself to bring you a review and discussion of Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak. This was the winner of the 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards in the horror category and has been wildly popular. But is it transphobic? I say yes. And explain why.
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Thank you for making this video!
This book is such a strong example of how media genuinely does matter and affect people's lives.
It's at least encouraging that you've already had interactions with people who are unaware but willing to learn more!
Thanks Cara! I think this kind of thing really does matter. And yes! There are definitely some people who just didn't realize why it was a problem.
Shout out to the multiple Hogwarts Legacy ads I got during this video. I don't know why the entire internet thinks I'm at all interests in all that
Oof!
Thank you for this video. As you know, I was one of the readers who reached out to you about this book. I was completely ignorant of the stereotype surrounding the parents of trans kids, so I missed the full significance of the twist and ignorantly thought this wasn't about trans issues because the kid was cis.
Watching your video, it's honestly embarrassing that I missed the not-so-hidden agenda. 🤦♀️
I appreciate you speaking with kindness to readers like myself who missed the mark. I picked this up on a sick afternoon in bed after hearing a friend's gushing review and had a surface level read without a lot of critical thought of the details.
Looking back, there were so many random pieces of the narrative that ONLY make sense once you put together the pieces of this wild agenda.
Thanks for this Rachel! I really appreciate your willingness to listen. And I get it, sometimes I miss things too if I’m not paying close attention. I hope this is helpful in getting the information out to people who just didn’t realize why this is harmful.
This was me! Definitely embarrassing but keep in mind you did the homework, became educated and that’s what matters in the end.
First of thank you for calling this out. I read this book and I feel foolish and stupid for not seeing how the ending was transphobic and for not seeing all the dog whistles. I was one of the people that voted for this book on the goodreads awards. I now feel awful and embarrassed, if I would have known going into this book or even picked up on the issues I would never have supported this book or author. Again thank you for addressing these issues, I clearly still have a lot to learn.
Thank you for sharing and being willing to listen! I know there are people with good intentions who just didn’t see it, which is why I wanted to make this.
Whew...it is so refreshing to see someone else speaking up on this book. Last year, I immediately bought it and I stayed up all night reading it. It was like 5am and I'm sitting in bed just horrified. I was so uncomfortable and so beyond angry that something like this was even published today. I don't know this author, you can actually find very little about him or his personal life or beliefs and I think there's probably a very strategic marketing reason for that at this point. But yes, he clearly had an agenda with this. The unchallenged racism, the JK Rowling praise, this poor innocent Christian girl being pitted against these evil liberals. He knew exactly what he was doing. And the fact that so many people can't see that is whats really scary and really dangerous. Because it's sneaky. It's covert. It's trying to be disguised as a normal thriller. It isn't blatant to most people and that's why it's so important to keep speaking up about it. I will never purchase another of his books in the future. Thanks for making this video! And I wish you and your family all the love in the world!
Yes to all of this! It’s very clear there was an agenda here and it’s wild how popular the book has been. Thank you for the support!
What if it's a pen name for JK Rowling?
It’s rly not that deep
@@bellamarquis8753 No, you're very wrong. It really IS that deep. Some of us care about the wellbeing of other humans. 👍
@@el_nachos442 I mean, yeah...I'm sure I could make it a lot gayer if I tried. I doubt you could handle it though.
Thank you. I was one of the Goodreads people (under my real name) who questioned the ending. I guess I was naive, because I just thought that the idea that a parent would try to change a child's gender based on the parents feelings is so ludicrous that no one would think that and it had to be a plot device, not intentional. I also wasn't aware of all the nuances (JK Rowling, anti liberal bias) which add up to trans phobic intention. I am a Christian who belongs to a liberal denomination and I have dropped out of most of my Christian social media groups because of the beating I have taken for saying that the C in Christian doesn't stand for conservative.
Thank you! I appreciate your willingness to listen. And with my background I know not all Christians and churches buy into this, but we are seeing a lot of it. Thanks for your support!
Actually it happens.
The only gender clinic in the UK close because of that; health professionals pressuring parents into this and/or parents pressuring their kids (mostly because oh homophobia) so they’d still be ‘hetero’ when they’re attracted to the same sex
My brother committed su!cide about 7 years ago because my mother and other adults got onto him about “not being right mentally”, “God hated him”, and many times denouncing him and any relation with him because he wasn’t the way they wanted him to be. To this day they still say the devil got to him but have never once looked at themselves as the problem, simply because they are Christian, they cannot be wrong or hurt people.
caught you through the "GoodReads winners of the last Decade" playlist, and saw you had a review for this, and so glad I came here. can't wait to see more from you!
Thanks for calling this out, Bethany! I hope more folks who aren't aware of how narratives like this are actively harmful watch and learn.
Thank you! I truly hope for that as well.
The fact that this won in 2022 is beyond me. 🤯
Thank you so much for making this video. I am so frustrated that not enough reviewers are calling out the blatant transphobia. Even ones that didn’t really like it aren’t explaining WHY it’s transphobic. WHY it’s a problem. They are just giving it a pass. Thank you for always being such an advocate and ally!
I hope this video is helpful!
HOLY SHIT. based on everything you mentioned, it's hard to believe anyone can miss all the right-wing propaganda of it. the evil atheist parents vs. the good girl christian nanny, the gender essentialism, THE COP WITH THE STARS AND STRIPES TATTOOS? BARF. thank you soooo much bethany for making this video and informing us about all this! this warning needs to be spread about this book
Yeah it is wild! Thank you for the support.
Dumb comment.
I have a genuine question here so please don't attack me for it.
I don't understand why it's wrong to have a main character that's good and Christian and the bad guys be atheist?
I understand every other criticism but not that one.
If it were reversed and the good guys were atheists and the bad guys were Christians would that have made it okay or equally as bad?
I did read this book last year and felt so upset at the ending. It was gross. Also the part you didn’t get into with the “ghost” and what really happened to her/ where she went felt so contrived.
There’s honestly just so much to not like about it!
Yes that too! There was more I could have said but I didn’t want this to be overly long.
Thank you for reading and reviewing this, I struggled writing my review out and you spoke about it so well!
im an athiest and the representation of athiests was moreso a religion than the lack of religion.
Hats off to you Bethany for making this video. If I want an honest opinion on a book I always look to your channel. I was going to purchase this book before I knew all of this and now I won’t even make it a library option. So glad you have put this out here 🤗🤗❤
Wow if I was a Nanny and found that my employer was jerking off in to my underwear and had put cameras up, would I take it on the chin (not literally) I would have gone absolutely ballistic and they would be finding a new nanny. Oh my days. This book really sounds like a piece of work!!
Thanks for the support! I’m glad it was helpful.
This!
Thank you very much Bethany! I learned about a few dog whistles I wasn't aware of (I blame being Canadian) and a lot about how awful this book is. I really appreciate you doing the legwork for us all here. It's super appreciated.
I’m glad it was helpful! I know some of it might not be obvious to everyone.
Yikes! The real horror of this books is definitely it's messaging. Kinda scared that this won the goodreads choice awards O.o
Yeah it’s wild
Very glad this video exists. I was so confused when I saw this book on the GR choice awards. Had never heard of it in a good way.
This book is wild. It most definitely is an agenda book. This isn’t just a simple horror book. This is propaganda. The cop in the book has definitely participated in police brutality off page. You just know it. This book is harming people and that’s very unfortunate. You can’t have a book like this at time when people are literally dying because transphobia. This book shouldn’t have even made to the GR awards. This video was so good, Bethany!
Yes exactly. This kind of book is actively harmful. Thanks Jessica!
i dnf the book because the writing was bad and there were a lot of red flags that made me raise my eyebrows. i really went into the book blind because it was available at my library and i read it assuming it was a ghost story.
Thank you for making this video! I felt the exact same way when I read it months ago and was baffled by all the positive reviews. I hope this can reach more audiences and help educate others! ❤
I hope so too!
Thank you for reading this book just so you can talk about it. I appreciate this video, sincerely. I hope you don't mind me sharing, but I am currently living in an apartment with a roommate, prior to knowing that she was so transphobic and just very unfriendly to the queer community, out of necessity. I hardly ever invite my friends over because I want them to feel safe, even if it's just a 15 minute quick visit. I wish I was able to invite them over on occasion, but only if they will feel safe. Anyways, I just think calling these things out is very important.
I’m really sorry to hear that. Thank you for the support!
@@BeautifullyBookishBethany the video is very well done.
I wish I had a mom like you. its really hard being trans when I feel like I don't feel understood by my family. thank you for making this video
I hope you find people who get it to be your family. ❤️
@@BeautifullyBookishBethany thank you so much. it means a lot to me!
I cant believe, I almost picked this book bec. it was sold to me as "good horror". I'm so glad, I caught your review before I felt hurt and harmed by the amount of hatred and ignorance Jason Rekulak seems to have for people like me.
😐
Thank you so much for this video and for everything you do to bring to light the issues with this book!
It's honestly so worrisome to me that it won Goodreads awards, the popularity contest of the book world. I really hope that more people will learn to discern such things and how to see through all this veiled bs. Books like this are harmful exactly because they are built on the dog-whistles and insidious stereotypes which are easy to write off as "oh but they didn't mean it like that!" so it's especially important that people know what it actually means and talks about and who it targets. So once again thank you so much for talking about it!
I appreciate your hard work! That couldn't have been an easy one to review. Thank you!
Thank! Not easy but hopefully worthwhile.
Wow your last bit about your child made me tear up 😢
I don't talk a lot about them publicly to protect privacy, but it's definitely a part of why this matters so much to me.
Thanks so much for making this vid, I was so put off without even thinking deep about it, just the weird gender ideas and takes on religion or lack thereof, but seeing you lay it all out really drives it home. It’s definitely one where if someone likes it I just side eye them. I’m so upset it won the horror award wtf.
I read this before seeing any reviews, and I've felt this book is so much worse than even the negative reviews and comments have conveyed. Thank you for taking the time to make this video!
Yeah it was much worse than I was expecting. Thank you for the support
Thank you for making this video. I have seen so many booktubers review this book with 5 stars and not a one mentioned any of this. The first I heard was watching your Goodreads panel video and now I want to know WHY? I looked through other written reviews the day of your Goodreads video and so many others were calling out this book for its very problematic messages. So how did other influencers on booktube, who I would say SHOULD have picked up on this, not? Thank you Bethany (and the others on your panel that video) who brought attention to this.
I completely agree. I just did a watch back of a few goodreads choice videos, scrubbing through to see opinions of this book. A few people called it out for being harmful, but I found some people who loved it, too.... I'm not going to call people out, but I think I'll be unsubscribing from a few. Loving this book seems like a pretty clear indicator of some very specific beliefs.
I hear you. I do know some people just genuinely didn’t pick up on it and have been willing to learn, but there is a cross-section of conservatism on BookTube as well.
I didn’t see all the things you mentioned as I read the book, I am glad you did the video to make me more aware. I felt uneasy during some of the parts you mentioned though and now I understand better as to why. This was informative and important information. Thank you.
Thank you for this video. I read the twist as the parents hiding the kid's real identity so they weren't caught. I really thought the parents were lying about it so they wouldn't get caught. Listening to you, I'm realizing how ingrained these ideas are in all media. I really appreciate this explanation!
I came here from reading your review on good reads after reading this book.
I hadn't heard anything about this book before reading it. I just read the synopsis and was interested.
& I have to say, I agree 100% with you. Couldn't have put it better myself.
There were some other things that I noticed though that drove me crazy.
First off, how in the hell did Mallory just seem to kind of know what the truth was? As she was getting to it, I was like "where did that even come from? what lead you along this nonsensical path?" it's the most outlandish explanation.The only reason I can think of is that it's continuing on with the rhetoric that "trans kids don't exist", so it clearly must be something completely insane to prove that Teddy's leftist, atheist parents really are evil.
Second, and what bothered me the most, was when the the mom "revealed" to Mallory that Teddy was trans and Mallory was like "why didn't you tell me? you should have told me," making a big deal about it. Are you serious?? Even if Teddy was trans, how is that ANY of her business? & when she was saying that, it's almost like they were trying to make her sound like she would have been fine with Teddy being trans, which I honestly find hard to believe.
Finally, someone brings this up! I thought I was paranoid thinking that there was a hidden agenda in this book because EVERYONE I watch and know was singing this book praises!
No there is absolutely an agenda!
I just read the book. I loved it. I'm a leftist, a liberal and part of the lmbtqi+ community.
That being said, I couldn't agree less with you. Never once felt like this was rightist or transphobic. All these things you mentioned feels like overthinking a basic scenario. All these things written in the book could be a real scenario. There could be evil crazy leftist parents, there could be a little girls, forced to be boys. Just because the writer wrote about this, doesn't mean they want to force some propaganda down your throat. It's just a story.
But that's just my two cents. Also I'm European so there could be some cultural barrier, but this whole video seems like a conspiracy theory.
The fact it won blew my mind cause I agree with you when you say that even without the transphobic/alt right rhetoric it was still a very mediocre story. It was a very basic stroy from start to finish and some things were so dumb I couldn't believe anyone could take this seriously.
I mean one of the main things that tells the main character the kid isn't "actually trans" is because she likes purple..
Because of course everyone knows little boys can't like purple..
Omg yes! 🙄
This book isn't my genre really so I would not pick it up. But thank you for making this video to educate others. Sending
Thank you!
I don't keep up with the Goodreads award because I just don't have the ability to read the relevant participants but yeah this book sounds interesting.. definitely pushing its own agenda & ideals. I thought you handled the discourse well so it was entertaining but informative for something I've never read. Subbed :)
I gotta be honest, I didn't think about the JK Rowling connection and I think for me (as a former JK fan) it's the biggest red flag I didn't noticed. I just thought "geez, I wouldn't use her as an example for an author, but you do you" and didn't think much of it. I do live in one of those countries that doesn't have that much transphobia (I have come across it but it's not common, here classism it's the biggest problem) and things aren't as politized as they are on the USA so a lot of stuff went over my head. I thought "oh no, it's this a transphobic thing?" but I dismissed once the argument that it was to hide the kid's identity, even though in my mind there was a hint of doubt still.
I see a lot of valid points in here, I may give it another read to see it from that perspective but even right now just hearing about hearing you I can see how it's bashing "the left" (I really hate that in the USA and other countrie you have those dumb concepts, as if people have teams and everything it's black and white). I just took the atheist bashing as in every movie where the skeptic is an idiot and it's used to create conflict.
I do disagree about your opinions on it being over the top (for the most part) and character's making decisions that made no sense for the most part. Also that ignoring (or in my case it went over my head since I don't think about political view when I read) the politics is a bad book though, but it's obvious that's the least of the problem you mention in this video. But maybe my view is skewed because I pulled an all-nighter because I was so invested in the thriller part of the book.
Anyway, great video. Probably will be thinking about this for a while
Thank you very much for doing this video, I feel pretty bad because I actually though this was a good book, even when I feel something weird when I was reading it. Hope more people see this video.
Damn, I popped this onto my tbr while I was scrolling through the goodreads end of year lists because I thought the synopsis sounded great, didn't actually read reviews or look further into it. I was actually just debating whether to get it on audio but now I definitely will not be. On one hand I want to be shocked that this managed to get so much acclaim on platforms like goodreads, but I think it comes down to the fact that we aren't usually taught to recognize things like transphobia in media, and it's still so ubiquitous both in fictional works and in everyday spaces (and I mean JKR has literally publicly attached herself to far right political heads and people still defend the fact that she's not an out and out bigot lol. We can talk about media literacy and learning how to recognize these issues when they come up, but first people have to actually /want/ to do that, you know. And a lot of people don't, which, whatever, I just probably won't accept media recs or hot takes from them 🤷♀️). There's also a critical distinction between characters in a story having an agenda that's harmful (whether or not the work critiques that, or critiques it well), & the piece of media itself having an agenda that's harmful, and this sounds very much like the latter.
It’s interesting to see this point of view! I just finished Hidden pictures and was so surprised by the twist ending and still don’t know how I feel about it? I loved it up until like 80% when that twist ending reveled itself and now I don’t know if I’m shocked, loved it or hate it? I think it’s so weird Teddy was marked as “transgender” and stolen.. like I think if somehow Mallory found proof the ghost was Annie and put her spirit to rest, saved the day, proved she wasn’t crazy and they all lived happily ever after that still would have been great. I never saw this book as transphobic, but maybe I wasn’t looking hard enough. Like on the surface I saw Mitzi’s character as being mocked as the “stereotypical conservative” and called crazy. So I assumed the author was left leaning. But now after reading the ending I’m not sure what to think.
I've heard a lot of rumors about this book, so it is nice to have it confirmed, so I appreciate your input! I will continue to stay far away from it 😬
I’m glad it was helpful!
I read this for book club, I had no idea it was brand new. I did not like the twist and the ending didn't even need it.
I completely agree with what you are saying I just have a quick question, do you think the author pushed the atheist card (not only bc of the authors love for right wing propaganda) but also to make sure the nanny don’t bring up the “super natural” bc that’s what the parents were trying to escape from because they were haunted from their past, idk if that makes sense. I hate all the crap in this book but I was just curious if that could have been a reason too?
I read this so quickly last year and remember enjoying it as a thriller but felt weird about the Christian vs leftist atheist thing and something about the ending did feel off to me. But I kinda shrugged it off. I wish I had thought more deeply and realized how harmful the messaging was. Thanks for making this video and being so informative and perceptive!
Thanks for this, just finished the book and couldn't believe the twist. Very disappointing that so many people give this book a pass
Wow, this book is so much worse than I was aware of. Thank you for talking about this.
Thanks for the support! It was worse than I was expecting as well.
Thank you thank you thank you for this video. I really appreciate it
Never read this book, but after the review, I don't think I'll ever will due to the never-ending transphobia in it.
This is honestly worse than I thought it was going to be. How did this get published? I'll now be side eyeing anyone who unequivocally loves this.... my goodness.
It was worse than I expected too. A few people just didn’t see it and have been willing to listen, but that’s not always the case.
It sounds like actual horror in book form.
And I got this weird 'Turn of the Screw' vibe from the story. I didn't read it, and doubt I will. (Turn of the Screw was about a nanny slowly losing her mind, to the point she murders one of her charges. It was a High School Lit class. We had to read it and then debate whether the nanny was right, or if she was driven crazy. I hated it.)
Thank you for this review.
god, thankful i came across this video. this book is on my list for a while and i had no idea, it sounds just so awful. thank you for this
Is nongender confirming the same as nonbinary? I try to use correct terms.
Thanks for asking! Gender non-conforming is more of an umbrella term that can mean trans or non-binary or just not falling within expected gender expression. I think it can be an especially useful term to use for kids who are still figuring out their gender identity.
I’m glad I saw this before I picked up this book. Immediately getting it off my TBR. Wow
Thank you! I read this back in June, and was so taken aback by how right-wing propagandist it felt, yet NO ONE mentioned it. I thought it was all in my head.
Yiiiiiikkeesss - How did this win the goodreads choice awards? 😖😖😒
That's what I want to know!!
@@BeautifullyBookishBethany wow, this sounds like an amalgamation of EVERY conservative caricature out there right now
I’m so freaking glad I found this review. I read this last week ((from the library thankfully!)) and I convinced myself I was just being overly sensitive and picky when I was being icked out by all the right wing/ religious propaganda and the transphobia. I’m so glad that others saw it too and are speaking out about it! Thank you so much for making this review! 💗
No, you're definitely not being sensitive!
Thanks for making this video and bringing attention to how harmful this book is. Thanks for clearly explaining how and why it is transphobic.
Thank you for the support!
Thanks for making this video!
This is an amazing breakdown!
Thank you for doing this. That could not have been an easy book to read.
Thank you so much for this video. There were definitely things that made me uncomfortable when reading but pushed to the back of my mind to keep reading. Along with other things that were just kinda thrown in that I didn’t register until you talked about them and I was like OH YEAH OMG. I think I was just focused on figuring out the haunted ghost aspect that my brain skimmed over the rest. Which I guess that’s a whole other topic on what society had done to my brain lol anyway before this comment gets any longer I want to say thank you again ❤
omg, this is so CATHARTIC, so happy to have found your video! I read this back in October cause it was so hyped. At first I was like: this is so boring and paint-by-numbers (pun intended) but spoiler alert - it ended up being a book I talked a lot about with people as I was using it as an example on framing in books and how even though it seems liberal on the surface, it is sooo conservative, it hurts. even before the twist ending I was getting a lot of red flags (millionaire mexicans getting rich by gardening?!?! racist & sexist libertarian next door who ends up being not only helpful but victimized?! a poor Christian heroine who is not allowed to talk about her faith?! but also she notices how the groceries are vegan and from whole foods?!) and then all the twists came and I fully saw the transphobia on display, it was just. so. much. of. it. everything becoming clear. even the fact that the two villains were 1. A VA psychologist!!!!! (who also had a lot of money, somehow) and 2. an academic. ugh, some of the things you mentioned I never even noticed, because by then I was completely checked out and wanted to throw the book across the room.
I was furious when this won, because beyond the politics it is not even a competent horror. I read about 10 of the nominees in that category and all of them were more competent books and horror novels than this one. I am still pissed off about this and that's why finding your video discussing it helps me have some catharsis, it makes me feel seen.
re: HP references, it's very frustrating because I keep finding them in romance books that were published last year. Even something ostensibly more leftist, like Pride and Protest, but I'm like: ffs, this was 2022/ is 2023, why are we still doing HP references in like everything?! thanks for this video! sorry for the long rant!
ok this is actually super wild, because the son of this author is one of my best friends who i’ve known since elementary school. I’m an intended sociology major so this is a topic i’m interested in for multiple reasons. i’m writing this on my phone so please forgive my poor formatting/editing
I would make the argument that the rhetoric of the christian character does not represent the ideas of the author/his family. i thought it was a fun read and i was also actually a little uncomfortable with the twist being the way it is. The assumption made in this video is that Jason is pushing HIS right wing/conservative ideas into this book. i must admit, i do not know that much about jason’s personal political beliefs, but i do know his children and i promise you they’re not conservatives.
At the same time though, i appreciate some of the criticisms you’ve brought up, though i also disagree with plenty of them. i’m curious about asking my friend about some these so i can gain some more insight into the motives behind placing some of the (as you’ve done a good job of highlighting) questionable political perspectives. I think there is some good stuff in the book about college educated/wealthy/white people discounting the narratives of those they deem as less than. I also think you’ve kind of failed to account for the distress of the main character while she’s making some of the questionable decisions. something i liked was that the parents were calling out some of mallory’s bad behavior and the entire point is that it IS problematic and not appropriate. it does get absolved by her being right which is kinda ehh, but it did feel to me that the intention there was to make the reader doubt , since mallory is kind of unreliable.
i do want to ask abt the biological gender shit and also abt the ending, because some of that stuff was definitely a little sus, and teddy definitely faced a lot of trauma. also the harry potter stuff??? i didn’t notice at first but yes it was kinda weird that it was mentioned alongside the way the ending panned out.
Oh dear... honestly, no comments from me. this sounds.. yikes...
(I mean that the book sound yikes! just in case that was not clear. 😅)
I will be staying faaaaar away from this book. I don't rate books I haven't read, but damn this makes me want to break that rule... do we know, has the author said anything since the problems in the book have been gaining traction publicly?
I don’t believe so and I suspect he won’t.
Thank you for explaining the context here and just how transphobic this book is! I'll admit I wasn't aware just how bad it was when I read the twist, because I guess I was giving it the benefit of the doubt. But taking the twist within the context of the book this sounds 100% transphobic. Like, there's no way this author didn't know exactly what they were doing when they wrote this.
wow this was so much worse than I thought. Thanks for this video.
It really was
I haven't read this book & didn't even know it was transopic
Thank you for the time and effort you put into the analysis of this book. 🖤
I appreciate you using your platform to educate about marginalized communities and the tropes and propaganda used against them. Thank you.
Found your channel by way of Reads with Rachel. It always does my heart good to see young reviewers who aren't steeped in the kind of toxic positivity that elevates privileged white voices at the expense of the minority groups their discourse is harming.
Thanks for the video. I honestly didn't see it that way when I initially read it. But hearing you explain it def. Opened up my eyes to that. Maybe because I'm uneducated on these topics...but nevertheless. Thank you
This book was so bad. How are you the only one bringing up the OBVIOUS issues with it? Thank you!
it took me some time to get to this review (bc transphobia) but thank you so much for your in-depth review! it means a lot
Repackaging the end of sleep away camp isn't particularly interesting or creative either...
Thank you for this!!!
Just finished reading this & gave it 1 star for all the reasons you discussed. Couldnt believe all the positive reviews on goodreads??? I was getting such weird vibes from very early on & it only got worse. Saw your review on goodreads & wanted to come watch your video too. Thanks for sharing how terrible this book is!
Thank you for letting us know. Shame on the publishing house which issued this trash.
I have not read the book yet, but I'm about to because I'm going to make the cover for our edition, and I'm really curious to see is it really transphobic or not. As a gay man myself I think I'm gonna catch it if it really is that bad as you said. Because no one else said that and suddenly you do and all the comments followed, so yeah, I'm curious.
@@AB-jk6pr yup, it's definitely not. When I told my editor about this rumour he was like "are you kidding me? This same book? No way." :D
I'm so glad I found this comment.@@zhivkopetrov6767
GoodReads obviously can’t be trusted
I cannot believe this book won the Goodreads Choice Award. This book and the beliefs it is pushing are abhorrent. Not to mention, the writing seems poorly done. Thank you for this video; it was very well done.
This is much worse than I thought. I thought about reading it to see if it was transphobic but I don’t think I can do it.
How did this book win a Goodreads award?! How did it get published?!
Good reads awards are based on reviews and popularity am I correct? So there are thousands of people who thought this was good? My god
Yeah it’s wild. A lot of people liked it.
This book sounds so fucking cringe. I am curious how this win reflects on the Goodreads community as a whole. It's interesting that the number of votes is less than half the actual number of ratings. The next 5 highest books had *more* votes than ratings which I think suggests it's a minority of readers who are adamantly defending this book.
I still can't help but wonder how so many people ended up reading this fucking book in the first place. To me, that is still a damning reflection of the Goodreads community.
It's terrible. But that is really interesting! I think there are people who want this agenda to sneak in under the radar tbh.
Are we sure this wasn’t written by JK Rowling? She really does like to weave a heap of fatphobia into all her works. And the mum being too poor and fat to help her daughter sounds like something JKR would write 😂
I thought it was a fun ghost story and the relgious aspects you are focusing on were generally secondary and unimportant, simply existing to create a dichotomy between the characters. I personally didn't think about politics a single time reading this book. This feels like a terminally online breakdown of things that make up less than 1% of what the book is about
I totally agree with your observations. Also, Propaganda aside, this book was pathetic in a purely literary sense. Plot riddled with holes, very poorly written.. I bought the book because it won the GR award for best Horror fiction 2022. I feel cheated. How did it ever win this award in the first place?!
Not gonna say this is the first poor quality book 📙 that won a goodreads choice award, as that would be redundant 😏(hasn't Sarah J Maas won like ever since she's put pen to paper 😔). I read it and yes, it's a bad as you say and yet also somehow worse. 🤦♀️ You could literally make a drinking 🍻 game out of everytime a racist, misogynist, homophobic or transphobic trope was put on display-of course, you'd probably also end up dying of alcohol poisoning.
Wow. Talk about being problematic from page one. Thank you for enduring this and calling out all the issues.
Thank you so much for taking the time to film this detailed review. I was curious about this book, because I love horror. I heard mixed things about the content, but was unable to find any actual details until I saw your GR review, and now this video. So, thank you for laying out exactly what this book is and what it's doing. I'm so glad I didn't buy it. Never touching a book by this author.
I think I’ve mentioned this before…too many issues go unnoticed in books because of the cost and time investment in reading the book and then calling it out. There’s also a broad streak of conservativism in the bookish community. Not the same thing and forgive me for going off topic, but I’ve seen fully antisemitic links in booktubers’ info boxes. I think the bookish community flies under the radar just enough that certain issues aren’t rising to the surface.
Oh wow! Yeah, I think there are definitely multiple streams in the community, some are more conservative. But I saw people loving this who would normally know better and I think it's important to call out.
How did this author think that any of this would be okay in 2022? This sounds so much worse than being just transphobic because it’s got plenty of other problems people should be equally concerned about.
Yeah, it’s really not good.
Thanks for pointing out the ways this books is transphobic. To me, the normalizing of these type of ideas is the most dangerous as it makes these beliefs sound reasonable. The sad part is the popularity of the book could make people who might know nothing about the subject internalize these harmful ideas.
Yes, that’s what concerns me. It’s trying to fly under the radar.
Now this book is definitely not for me
I’ve come to realize all these hyped tik tok loved books suck! I got duped into reading too many bad books hyped up by even worse readers.
Thanks for the video. I had missed the controversy, and am happy to remove that one from my reading list. It's extra disturbing to me since I follow extreme right wing bloviator Alex Jones quite closely, and some of what you brought up sounds exactly like a laundered version of his regular anti-trans screeds. Of course I am a vegan atheist liberal, so I may be biased.
Wow, why does that not surprise me? Yeah, I think this is clearly a book with an agenda trying to pass itself off as a normal thriller.
Good job.
Thanks Beth
Is the opioid addiction in the book that she got in an accident/sports injury and was then prescribed opioids, and became addicted? Aka the only way fiction seems to think opioid addiction happens.
10:32 this reminds me a comment in one of cynical reviews videos i forget what about, but the commentor tell a funny story about her mother teaching to her read at young age incase this question brought upon they're mother will just handed them a biology book