kaleidoscope of tropes #8: fake identity

Hello, friends!

I can’t believe myself I am finally bringing back this feature in my blog. I think I’ve been sadly uninspired to write posts on tropes considering how popular they’ve become of a discussion in media, which makes no sense, because the rise in popularity should’ve made me more excited to talk about them but alas… that was not the case.

But FINALLY, I am back!!!!! And I am here to share with you a recent favorite.

But first:

WHAT IS A TROPE?

In storytelling, a trope is just that — a conceptual figure of speech, a storytelling shorthand for a concept that the audience will recognize and understand instantly. Above all, a trope is a convention. It can be a plot trick, a setup, a narrative structure, a character type, a linguistic idiom… you know it when you see it. (source)

And today’s is:

FAKE IDENTITY

I don’t think I had realized how much a fake identity story works for me but I certainly love following characters going through all kinds of ventures to keep up a façade, low-key lying to other people and then having to do the walk-of-shame as they come clean about what they’ve done but claiming, underneath it all, IT WAS REAL ALL ALONG!!!!!!! We love, love a cliché.

EXHIBIT #A: SUPER FAKE LOVE SONG, BY DAVID YOON

In this one we follow Sunny Dae, a self-proclaimed nerd who wants to impress this new girl in town, Cirus. Accidentally, he ends up showing her to his brother’s room instead of his own and seeing the band posters and cool guitars, she assumes Sunny is into music and part of a band – which he’s very much not, but doesn’t really have the heart to tell her.

You can imagine that building a relationship based on the lie that you are a musician, in a band, who loves rock is not great, to say the least. But I still loved and rooted for Sunny so hard throughout the whole thing!!!!

Mostly because as a teenager, he’s still figuring himself out so while trying out this “new” Sunny persona, he starts to realize he might enjoy some parts of it – music, playing an instrument, being closer to his brother…

I also love how supportive his friends were in joining him on his lie even though they really didn’t have to. A+ friend group for sure.

EXHIBIT #B: THIS WILL BE FUNNY SOMEDAY, BY KATIE HENRY

OK, OK, it is true that I did not love this book and may have even given it a 2 star. But I *have* to recommend it because it’s certainly a messy fake identity case.

In this one, our protagonist Isabel lives life as a shadow of herself – she can never really speak her mind in class, her siblings are constantly outshining her and her boyfriend is ultra controlling. Things go sideways, though, when she ends up accidentally on the stage of a stand-up bar and making new college friends, telling them she too is in college when she’s very much not.

Isabel ends up creating a whole other personality for herself – Izzy, the one who does stand up comedy, is in college and also might be the one she *truly* is if anyone in her life gave her the chance to be.

While this book didn’t work for me compared to other titles by Katie Henry, when it comes to the fake identity shenanigans it definitely delivered, ESPECIALLY in the ultra-cringey sequences as the protagonist bumps into someone she knows for real and is trying to keep her two lies at the same time.

EXHIBIT #A: LET IT SHINE

D-COMs are always doing the most with the fake identity trope. The Lizzie McGuire movie could be here as well as any other Cinderella stories.

But I wanted to talk about Let It Shine, mostly because I only watched this one for the first time this year which feels like an absolute travesty.

In Let It Shine, we follow Cyrus, who’s too shy and insecure about actually rapping in front of people but loves writing lines and is quite talented at it. Suddenly, the opportunity to win a record label through a contest presents itself and he sends his own song under the name “Truth” and a picture of him and his best friend. And when he wins the contest, people assume Kris (best friend) is the one behind Truth.

This movie is so interesting because while, yes the fake identity situation is a big part of it, it also discusses heavily whether choosing a certain type of music is the one thing that makes you “respectable” and the importance of music and safe spaces.

Also the soundtrack is BOMB!!!!!!!!

EXHIBIT #B: CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE DRAMA QUEEN

I wanted to choose this one because the relatability factor is embarrassingly high for me.

Our protagonist in this one is Lola – her real name is Mary but she tells everyone it is Lola because it makes her cool and hip – starting at a new school and deciding to make a whole new identity for herself for…… nothing but the funzies?

I love Lola because she’s insanely chaotic and wreaking havoc just to make herself seem cooler. And I have the fear that had I not been consistently humbled as a child by my older sister I would’ve grown up to be exactly like her!!!!!

This movie is also pure fanfic, about best friend bonds and boyband leaders and it’s true, pure joy.

Do you also have an unhealthy connection with the fake identity trope? If you have any recommendations – especially for books! – please share them in the comments!

a reading “vlog” where i try to find a new favorite author

Hello, friends!

So, a long time ago (ok, more like back in 2020), the phenomenal Caitlin started this series in her blog called “Caitlin Reads“, where she would “read a couple of books that fit a certain theme and then give updates as she read, which would include pictures from her real life in order to give the post more of a “reading vlog” feel.”

I loved this feature, OK. I also miss Caitlin and her posts A LOT and would simply cry if she was ever to return to blogging. But alas I digress.

Basically: I wanted to try my hand out at reading within a theme and also coming up with frequent updates about my read and share small snippets of life in-between. I don’t know if I will do this again, and I also have no idea if/how to title this series, but if you have ideas, let me know!

The theme for this one was: trying to find a new favorite author. So, basically, I decided to read a book by an author I had read at least once before to see how I *actually* feel about their work and if I would be inclined to read anything by them again.

The books I read were:

ISN’T IT BROMANTIC, by LYSSA KAY ADAMS. I have read The Bromance Book Club by this author and absolutely loved it! I wonder how I’ll feel about this one, considering most people who continued on with the series found the rest of them to be mediocre.

DARIUS THE GREAT DESERVES BETTER by ADIB KHORRAM. I really loved the first one in this duology, Darius the Great Is Not Okay and have been meaning to pick up this second one been ages! I’m very excited because hello, gay love triangle.

THE PARIS APARTMENT by LUCY FOLEY. I was not the biggest fan of The Guest List when I read it, but found it to be a solid thriller with spooky vibes. Will also be buddy reading this one with my sister, though I have no idea what it is actually about, lol.

ISN’T IT BROMANTIC BY LYSSA KAY ADAMS

January, 24th

23%

Currently writing this in the subway, as a woman next to me sits with a bag that smells heavenly of Arab food. Anyway. I am only 20% into it and already absolutely thriving. I had no idea that this was a hurt/comfort story, as Elena has to take care of Vlad after an injury.

I love how well Lyssa Kay Adams writes about failed marriages. Althought this one is about a lot more, as it involves arranged marriages, foreign visas, journalists’ mysteriously disappearing in the middle of the night and a group of old ladies who hang out with a hockey superstar. Still fun, though!

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January 25th
37%

Because today was not as blazing hot as every other day has been in São Paulo, I finally took my book outside of the air-con! I spent my lunch break by the shade and it was very hard not fangirling, as I was technically still in public.

Elena and Vlad continue to be adorable, but I also loved seeing the guys from the Bromance Book Club. They are all so fun and their dynamic together has always been my favorite thing about this series. So far, they have not disappointed.

What I will say is that I am 100% choosing to ignore every piece of character description that Lyssa Kay Adams throws at us. Vlad is supposed to be this tall, muscular guy with a beard and ridiculous amounts of body hair and I am ignoring all that and picturing him like Richard Madden in my head. Too late.

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January, 26th
58%

Today was pretty uneventful, so I don’t have much to share. But I will say that when it comes to the book, there are certainly a few things I don’t love. The first one is the amount of food references. I recently read another foodie romance (A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow) and I just really don’t like reading about food, lol. I wish this book didn’t have *that* many descriptions of cheese, soups and other Russian dishes.

Also, when it comes to the “book inside the book” – aka Promise Me, the war romance that Vlad is writing that mirrors a lot of his relationship with Elena -, I don’t love the idea of the guys writing the book, instead of reading one, and I think it’s mostly because it makes it too explicit that the book is Vlad’s self-insert character, when the fun of this segment is the hero organically learning from romance books.

Still, the bathtub scene between Elena and Vlad is ICONIC.

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January, 27th
76%

I had a *morning* today. Not only my train was stuck underground several minutes, but I also had to leave the wagon as a weird guy was bothering people and then every escalator was broken. :) I love public transportation so much.

At least the book is REALLY good. Like, REALLY good. Angst levels in a solid 9/10. However, I am very nervous about what the third act break up will look like, as everything seems too blissful at the moment, which obviously can’t last, considering there’s still 25% of the book left.

Still, I love the fact that the main conflict is so much about how “I don’t deserve you”, “I am not good enough for you”, “You’re better off without me”. I love this as a romantic trope and the book is delivering sooooo much.

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January, 28th
86%

My snack of choice will always be M&Ms and water. I can survive on it alone.

I am enjoying this one, of course, but I am slightly disappointed by how the book Vlad is writing is mirroring too much his circumstances with Elena, to the point where it’s kinda “meta”. I don’t like this at all? Like, when romance books are aware that they are romance books and mention the actual tropes throughout the story? Uh, no thanks.

I do love that, despite this being a failed marriage book, Vlad is not a hero that struggles with communication at all and he has the most swoon-worthy lines. I also have no idea if this is the last book in the series, but I would really enjoy to see Colton having his own story!

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January 30th
100%

I am done with this one, friends! Today was a pretty chill day and I ended up re-watching the 2020 version of Emma as well, which is so iconic and great. Still thinking about the “hand-on-the-waist” scene and “If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.”

As for Isn’t it Bromantic, I didn’t love the ending that much. It was very thriller-esque and I stand by the fact that if I want to read a thriller, then I’ll pick up a thriller, not a romance. I still feel like a lot of responsibility was put on Vlad’s shoulders for not “fighting enough” for Elena, when Elena also had very glaring problems with communication that she never addressed?

 

FINAL THOUGHTS: This was a fun ride and I would recommend it for fans of the series. I still prefer Bromance Book Club, but I certainly enjoyed the angst + hurt&comfort + the dynamic between Vlad and friends.

DARIUS THE GREAT DESERVES BETTER BY ADIB KHORRAM

February, 21st
12%

Finally! I am continuing on with Darius’ story! I don’t know why it took me so long to pick up this book, but it’s finally happening.

Mondays are such busy days for me. I work until 3, then have keyboard classes at 4 and pilates at 6. I feel like an Upper East Side kid telling you my schedule of extracurriculars, lol. But yes, needless to say, by the time I’m home I want to do nothing, so I ended up reading very little today.

Nonetheless, I am so obsessed with Darius’ platonic relationship with Sohrab. They’re too cute!

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February 22nd
25%

Friends, it’s way too hot for me to function. Seriously. I hate summer and seeing the weather for the following days (in Celsius) makes me want to *** tbh.

As for the book, I’ve been finding the writing to be quite robotic, with a lot of “I did this”, “Mom did that”, “Dad said this”, and not a lot of emotion at all. But it does make it for a very quick read.

I don’t love the direction the love triangle is going, mostly because Darius’ relationship with Landon is something that happened off-page, so we don’t really see them falling in love. So far, I don’t care that much for their relationship, and if I’m being honest, it reminds me too much of Victor and Benji from Love Victor – a pairing I truly can not stand. Since all Landon and Darius have done so far is kiss and be interrupted by one of their parents, it’s not much I can work with.

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February 24th
p. 100

So, as far as romance goes, this is getting really repetitive and really bad. All Landon and Darius have done so far is kiss – get interrupted by a parent or co-worker – kiss more – Darius gets uncomfortable and asks Landon to stop and then the cycle restarts. They haven’t had a SINGLE meaningful conversation. Literally. Not one. We know more about Chip’s life and insecurities and family and burdens and I know that’s probably the whole point, but oh my God at least *try* giving Landon a personality? Ugh.

On a more positive note, I got my tickets to watch The Batman in a week!!!! I am very excited for this one, mostly because I developed a Rob Pattinson crush since quarantine (I was more of a team Jacob as a kid), and the trailer for this one looks SO GOOD.

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February 25th
p. 148

Today, the last episode of Love is Blind season 2 came out and let’s just say: as much as I was not shocked with the results, I am still SHAKEN at least by one of them. I also totally downloaded it to watch on the subway and almost missed my stop TWICE.

As far as the book is going, I am enjoying seeing the dynamic between Darius and his dad. It makes my heart warm seeing how much they’ve developed since book one and I also really love how the author has paralleled their experiences with clinical depression.

I am confused about the presence of Darius’ grandmas though. They haven’t talked about anything particularly meaningful at all and I am not sure as to what we’re supposed to make of this dynamic.

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February 26th
100%

Today I went on a roadtrip with my family for Carnaval so I ended up finishing this one while on the road. (Also: peek this gorgeous sunset. Maybe I don’t hate summer).

I am glad I finished it, but oof, it was certainly not a favorite. I enjoyed how this book talked about grief and I definitely teared up at times, but the romance was so fucking frustrating to read about. The scenes were repetitive and the miscommunication was off the charts. I was also pretty bummed about how little we saw of Sohrab and it felt like his existence was mostly to help with Darius’ development, as he was basically given no plot or individual development whatsoever? Ugh.

FINAL THOUGHTS: This one was not my favorite. I was frustrated at the romance, disappointed by how Sohrab was written and found overall the writing to be very mechanic. The family dynamics and mental health rep were pretty good though.

THE PARIS APARTMENT BY LUCY FOLEY

March 9th
20%

This book is actually a buddy read I am doing with my sister this month of March. She has already finished the book (she reads so quickly!) and gave it 2 stars, so I am not hopeful I’ll enjoy this one too much.

So far, I am a bit confused by the narration, just because there are so many characters, but I am enjoying the audiobook experience and the short chapters. However, I didn’t find the setting spooky in the slightest. What I enjoyed about The Guest List, by this author, was how atmospheric the setting of this remote island was, but an apartment complex is not exactly the creepiest place and I don’t think the writing is helping too much in that department.

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March 10th
40%

Peek me finally watching Hairspray for the first time. Yes, I had never watched the movie before. A blasphemy, I know! I am glad I finally watched it, though. Zac Efron looks sooooooo dreamy.

As for the book, I am still very confused by the narrations. I feel like more characters are being added every time I click play on my audiobook, lmao. The previous book I had read by this author had a premise where you didn’t know who was the murderer, but you also didn’t know who *had* been murdered. The Paris Apartment doesn’t have that element – you’re trying to figure out what happened to Ben, the protagonist’s brother -, but that’s pretty much it. I do like the French accent in the audiobook narration, though!

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March 12th
89%

It’s the weekend, so I have been basically playing Ball Sort Puzzle while listening to the audiobook. Aside from this one, I am also obsessed with Gardenscapes and Bubble Buster and definitely guilty of spending way too much time on them when on my phone.

A lot has been revealed in The Paris Apartment that I did not expect. I do agree with one thing my sister pointed out which is, there’s a reveal halfway through the book and if you were to read the first half looking for hints of such reveal, you’d find none. However, after that, the tone changes immediately. It was basically the author omitting information for only when it was convenient to do so, which sucks when you’re in a thriller.

However, I like Jess as a protagonist and the direction the book is going overall is pretty interesting.

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March 13th
100%

And, I finished it! Honestly, I am surprised at how quickly I flew through this book, and I think it’s a testament to how engaging and well done the audiobook was. If you can listen to it, I’d recommend it!

I did like the ending, as there were surprising twists I definitely didn’t see coming. However, if I was to compare this one to The Guest List, I’d say I prefer the latter, mostly because the atmosphere of it was much more spooky. I wasn’t necessarily thrilled by The Paris Apartment, I more wanted to figure out the mystery alongside the protagonist.

 

FINAL THOUGHTS: I didn’t like it as much as The Guest List, as it wasn’t as scary or atmospheric, but the characters are cool and the audiobook is pretty fantastic. I would consider reading from Lucy Foley again, for sure.

But, did I find a new favorite author after all?

I think it’s safe to say Lyssa Kay Adams is a solid romance author for me. Especially if she’s writing in the second chance romance/failed marriage trope, it’s safe to say I’ll enjoy it! Lucy Foley is also an author I’ll be on the lookout for new releases. Unfortunately, I’m not super excited to pick up Adib Khorram’s newest book though because of how :/ the experience with this one was. But I am not writing him off completely, considering some aspects of the book were really well done.

Do you have a favorite author you discovered recently? Have you read any of these books? If so, what are your thoughts? Let’s chat in the comments!

an updated discussion on how i use goodreads

Hello, friends!

Recently, I was going through a few of my old posts and stumbled upon this one, all about how I use Goodreads. I thought it was really interesting to look back on and figured I should probably do an updated version, as the way I use Goodreads has changed a lot.

For once, I should start by saying I still exclusively use Goodreads. I know many people have migrated to Storygraph or use both platforms together, but I really do not have the desire or patience to import my current GR database to another website. I am definitely a bit old school and while I do agree Goodreads needs MANY improvements, I guess I’ll be sticking with it for now.

ONE. REVIEWS

In my old post, I talked about how I barely really did any reviews on Goodreads. And for the most part, it’s true, I do use Goodreads as a Letterboxd, meaning most of my reviews are funny one-liners. (I am particularly proud of my Call Down the Hawk one, albeit my forever favorite is my History is All You Left me one).

However, I’ve also been trying to use Goodreads to share slightly lengthier reviews. Mostly because I have a lot of thoughts, but not enough patience to format an actual review on my blog. Oops. I also don’t care that much if I get zero views on my Goodreads review, although this 2-star review for Counting Down With You got seventeen likes and made me feel like I was Goodreads-famous for a while there.

TWO. TRACKING TBR

I never use Goodreads to track my TBRs, it’s true. To this day, I have like five books on my TBR shelf because I find weird to have nothing there, lol. But there’s no rhyme or reason as to why those are the five books there, it is a very random selection.

The way I track my TBR these days is through Notion! I find it the most convenient, especially when coming up with monthly TBRs, as I have the option to filter through genre and tags. So, let’s say I want to read an adult romance with queer rep: I can easily filter and find out which books in my current TBR fit the bill!

It is also convenient because you have the gallery option and I can also easily see which books would fit prompts as “blue cover” or “trees on the cover”.

THREE. TRACKING TIME TO FINISH A BOOK

This was something that changed since the first time I wrote this post. I used to only add a book to Goodreads once I had finished them, so hardly ever the time showed on Goodreads was accurate to how long it had actually taken me to read the whole book.

Now, I’ve gotten a lot better about adding the book to Goodreads as soon as I start it and marking as “read” as soon as I finish it. However, I still hardly ever remember to log any updates. I want to be better about that as well, but I am too forgetful and I also don’t want to unnecessarily spam anyone.

FOUR. GOODREADS CHALLENGE

I still take part on the Goodreads Challenge every year. It’s something I shouldn’t take so seriously, but I kinda do, lol. I know it’s not the end of the world if I don’t complete a challenge, but it still makes me feel unproductive if I am not as close to everyone else.

Currently, my goal is 70 books and I am 7 books ahead. I will probably increase the number if I reach 70 by September/October. I do wish I could read 100 books in a year, but sadly with my current schedule, I can’t make this happen yet.

How do YOU use Goodreads? Do you use Notion to track any reading-related things? Do you remember to log in updates as you’re reading a book or not? Let me know in the comments!

do likable characters make for a good book?

Hello, friends!

I come to you today with a discussion. (Also: 10/10 writing this post at work. Don’t tell my boss). I was thinking about the things I enjoy in books and most of the time, it comes down to the characters. But, is it true that likable characters makes for a good book?

But, first, let’s make something clear: good characters =/= likable characters. A character can have an amazing development and be someone’s favorite, even though they’re actually pretty unlikable. Devi, from Never Have I Ever, is a character I know many people would consider unlikable – she’s selfish, definitely doesn’t think things through, impulsive and overdramatic. However, she’s still one of my favorite characters in the show and I think a very well-written one. Never Have I Ever definitely would not be the same without Devi!

I do think it’s possible to like a character that is deemed unlikable, BUT for the sake of this discussion, I’ll just be focusing on how unlikable characters can break or make a plot and how likable characters can as well.

UNLIKABLE CLASSICS

I remember finishing Wuthering Heights and seeing someone’s review talking about how this is their favorite book, and how they had never thought about the characters being awful and problematic, because that’s kinda the whole point. I think that was my first time considering that people can love a book, but not its characters.

The characters in Wuthering Heights are all pretty awful. They’re mean, self-centered, aggressive and disrespectful. And the reading experience of this book was not personally enjoyable, as the plot is literally just the characters doing their character things. I had a hard time engaging myself with the story.

But, I do know this story is many people’s favorite. People connect with it even though they don’t like the characters, either because of the themes or the writing. And I do think it *is* possible to enjoy a book, even if the characters kinda suck.

I definitely felt that way about Felix Ever After. Felix was not a “likable” protagonist – he was cunning and mean and was legit catfishing a guy to blackmail him afterwards. Definitely not good-guy-behavior. But the book was actually refreshing, exactly because Felix was such an unique protagonist. Plus, Kacen Callender developed all the other themes of family, relationships, self love, gender and sexuality incredibly well. There’s a good cast of queer characters who are all incredibly messy and flawed as well and, if anything, this just adds to the story.

My experience turned out to be quite different with both books, even though I’m pretty sure I gave both of them the same rating (the grey area of 3-star books is a topic for another discussion, though). I didn’t like Wuthering Heights that much, probably because the themes that were discussed weren’t as cut and dry, and I couldn’t really understand the point the author was trying to make. As for Felix Ever After, while I had my fair share of gripes with the dialogues and the overall pacing of the relationships, I definitely liked this one a lot better – even through Felix’s unlikableness.

OUR SAVIOURS

And what about a book that has flaws all around but likable characters? It definitely becomes harder to rate stories like these: because, yes, I recognize the flaws, but alsooooo I am attached to the characters!

The most perfect example of that has to be The Raven Cycle series. I think everyone can agree that this books’ actual plot is… mediocre, at best. It is incredibly confusing, the villains are sooooo poorly written and for the ending very anti-climatic. But it’s still such a popular series because Maggie Stiefvater created these characters so well. They’re dramatic and a bit antagonistic, and not all perfect, but they’re likable and easy to relate with. Their dynamic is incredible and it definitely makes it for a fun reading experience.

However, I also totally understand the different perspective. I recently finished The Gilded Wolves and, as much as the characters were interesting, not even they could salvage this firestorm of a book. It was ultimately too poorly written imo: the pacing completely off and the action sequences read like a fever dream. I enjoyed the characters dynamics, but even that felt so surface level.

This is not a rant review for The Gilded Wolves, but the point I’m trying to make is that, in this case, the characters, as likable, interesting and relatable as they were, were not enough to make me actually like the book. As for The Raven Cycle, maybe I just connected more with Maggie Stiefvater’s writing or I cared more about the characters, but they definitely saved the book’s confusing plot.

What do you think? Do you also find that books can make or break a story? Do you have examples of books with unlikable characters that you still enjoyed and books with likable characters that you still hated? Let’s discuss in the comments!

i read ace by angela chen and i am now a new person (a review & discussion)

Hello, friends!

So, back in April, I read Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society and the Meaning of Sex, written by Angela Chen. I had seen this book being mentioned before, when people were discussing asexuality, and it felt like a good place to learn more about it, as a label I gravitate more and more towards.

Disclaimer: this post is going to be super personal. If you don’t care about it, and just want to know my thoughts on the book: I loved it & I encourage anyone – ace or not – to read it.

THE PROBLEM WITH LABELS

The one thing that always stopped me from using “ace” as a label was the fact that I could change my mind about it. How to know if I’m asexual if no one ever actually had an interest in me either? The phrase “Am I ace or just ugly?” is written in my journal at least 400 times.

And that’s, already, the first thing I loved about the book: the way the author acknowledges that it’s okay to change your mind, and therefore, find a better label out there that suits you best.

Especially when we’re talking about communities, it’s impossible not to feel like an imposter, like if I join and leave, then my presence there was less relevant. And it’s fascinating how this book actually made me realize that so many people go through this journey as well and seeing how normal it was for them, made me realize it could be a normal process for me too. I have joined communities and left them before – the number of fandoms I was once a part of is literally too many to count – and that doesn’t mean they didn’t matter to me at the time when I joined them. And when it comes to labels, so many people grow up thinking they’re straight, just to realize they’re actually not. Some think they’re gay and then realize they’re actually bi, or pan, or trans. Labels are not written in blood or ink, and it’s okay for them to change.

Not only that, but it’s also okay not to know one thing or the other. Like, I may never know if I’m asexual because I’m ace or because I’m just not desirable. And it felt, for the longest time, like the answer to one would cancel out the other, as if I couldn’t just be both or neither.

INTERSECTIONALITY

The book touches a lot in the intersectionality of asexuality and race, as well as asexuality and disability. And that was the part that impacted me the most, as these are two almost opposing communities and living in that intersection is like being rejected by both sides. The ace community wants to prove that asexuality is NOT a disability. The disabled community wants to prove that being disabled doesn’t automatically make you ace. So it must absolutely suck to be both.

But what I was able to apply to my experience was what one of the interviewed – Cara – discussed: the fact that she doesn’t know if she is actually asexual or if she is disabled, and therefore, by our society ableist standards, undesirable. And there’s no way of her knowing, because she’ll never get to just *stop* being disabled. So the answer becomes irrelevant. It doesn’t matter which one causes the other, because you can’t strip someone out of their disability, to figure out how different their sexuality would be. We’re all MORE THAN ONE THING and they’re all intertwined. Her disability might affect her asexuality, and that’s how things *are* supposed to work. Again, it made me feel a bit ridiculous that I for some reason thought things could be different.

It’s the same thing when it comes to sexual assault victims. The ace community strives to prove that asexuality has nothing to do with trauma, but that lowkey invalidates sexual assault victims who ALSO choose to label themselves as asexual. Again, you can’t know what that person would choose as a label if they hadn’t gone through that, because you can’t take their trauma back. One thing may affect the other and it doesn’t invalidate their experience as ace in the slightest.

WHY I ONLY WRITE THE GOLD-STAR ACE

I hadn’t even realized just how many prejudices I had internalized by trying to affirm asexuality as a valid identity. One of them was the aiming of the “gold star ace”.

I hadn’t realized it then, but I started writing ace characters when I was 13, in my first ever writing project. I have no idea when I first heard the word “asexual”, but I was already familiar with it at the point, and wanted to write about an ace character. This character was: white, blonde, tall, and a MASSIVE celebrity. Like, Ariana Grande level of celebrity. And her biggest “scandal” was the fact she never dated. She was never seen with anyone, never had hook ups or rumors or flings, or any of that. And people were constantly pressuring her to get a boyfriend.

I did envision her to get one by the end, so I imagine she was more demi than ace, but nonetheless, I’d wanted to write about a character who was, in every sense of the word, a desirable person, and that still CHOSE not to have sex. It wasn’t because no one else wanted them, it was because they didn’t want anyone else.

And I loved how Angela Chen made me question that. Why was that identity the one I was striving for? Why was *that* person going to finally validate asexuality as a real thing? If my character had been disabled, fat, neurodivergent and not-white, then they wouldn’t be the “perfect ace”, because all of these other labels would become things for others to point: *this* is why you’re not having sex. Not because you’re ace, but because ___, ____, ____.

And that is simply *not* true. It’s honestly a bit ridiculous to expect that the “gold star ace” exists and only if they do is that our existence will be validated. We are ALREADY existing. People ALREADY feel like they’re ace. It’s not a matter of whether to not we’re “allowed” to exist, because we already do.

THINGS I LEARNED WITH ‘ACE’

Besides everything I talked about that the book helped me change my perspective on, I also love how “Ace” taught me about a lot of topics I didn’t know enough about.

One of them was the idea of “rape is not sex”. When I started reading this segment, I vehemently disagreed with the author, just because the phrase “rape is not sex” is something I’d heard being repeated so often, in contexts where I generally agreed with people who used them (feminist segments, defending victims of sexual assault, talking about rape culture, etc), but the more she talked about it, the more it became clear that statements like that just help perpetuate even further an idea that sex should always be something good. And sex doesn’t have to be all that.

I also had never given much thought about how asexuality is perceived in relationships, especially with allosexual partners. Mostly because I am aromatic, so the thought of navigating asexuality in a relationship just didn’t feel worth having. But throughout the book, Chen goes in depth about sexual enhancement products and how they not only have side effects that disproportionately affect women, but how their use is recommended without considering the societal pressure where people are expected to always want to have sex, and how THAT is what we should be treating.

It was definitely a learning experience, as I previously knew close to nothing about these practices and it made me not only more aware, but more critical of them too.

WHAT I THOUGHT WAS LACKING

While the book was amazing and one of the easiest 5-stars I gave all year, I did think it was lacking in some aspects.

One thing I found weird was how much the author went on about how the feminist movement hardly ever welcomes asexual women or just women who simply don’t want to have sex. I understood her point but I feel like it’s something already discussed a lot in feminism – how moving towards more forward thinking and the embracing of women who are open about their sexuality should not mean the shaming and the “leaving behind” of women who choose celibacy. It’s a similar concept to the feminist view of motherhood: no woman should be shamed into becoming a mom, but no woman should be shamed for genuinely wanting to either. I thought these were old news, but if just yesterday, I had to listen to my college professor, well-versed in feminism, shaming his own cousin because she used “mom” to define herself, then it might indeed not be as “common knowledge” as some may think.

I also wish the author had touched more on the place of aces within the queer community. While she’s very open throughout the book about seeing asexuals as part of the community, we all know they’re not as easily welcomed. Every Pride Month I feel like we witness the same conversation happening on Twitter – whether or not aces are allowed to celebrate Pride & whether or not they are *really queer*. I’d have liked to listen to experiences of people who felt like they were not exactly welcomed by the queer community and had to build their own.

There also weren’t a lot of people being interviewed who define themselves as aromantic and asexual, which was something I missed, especially because society pressures us into romance even more than it pressures us into sex. While sex is, in some cultures and for some demographics, considered something too “vulgar” to be talking about, you hear stories of romantic love from as early as a toddler, when you watch Cinderella for the first time. I wish there had been a broader conversation on aromanticism and its differences and similarities with asexuality.

This turned into a whole fucking essay, so I apologize. Let me know if you’ve read Ace, your thoughts & what was a book that you read recently that changed your life!

a meta discussion on blogging (& me simping for percy jackson)

Hello, friends!

Today’s post is going to be a bit of a lenghty discussion, mostly on blogging. I was nominated for The Sunshine Blogger Award by Belle (thank you very much!) and I thought answering her questions in this format would be fun.

ON BLOGGING

One challenge you faced while blogging?

I think the biggest one is finding a schedule. I’ve been *a lot* better at it this year, but every time I get slightly more busy, my blogging takes the back burden and I turn behind on blog hopping and answering to comments. Then, I get incredibly overwhelmed and take even longer to get back. It’s a pretty bad cycle. I hope by being consistent, I’ll also find time to do so when I’m busy, so I don’t get into the same old toxic routine.

Another challenge I’ll say I’ve faced is the fact I’m not in social media that much. I tried bookstagram but really didn’t like it, I also *hate* Twitter and overall social media makes me anxious. I like consuming content there, but I hate being the one creating it. Because of that, I know my blogging growth has taken a lot longer, since I know how much being active on social media can boost your engagement. But I think slower growth is a sacrifice I’m willing to make for my blog in the name of my mental health.

I’d also like to add that recently WordPress has been my biggest source of stress. I feel no motivation to draft posts because I hate the block editor and I’m also constantly redirected to this wp-admin page that makes all my images look wonky and I can’t stop it from automatically sending me there. Now, I have to mentally prepare myself to have at least five mental breakdowns while doing anything in this website and it’s definitely not encouraging.

Inspiration behind my blog’s name?

Literally, none at all? Lmao. I wanted a name and I liked the idea of “bookish” ____ (enter word here). As someone who loves taking sunset pictures, I thought “sky” would be cute, and easy to build an aesthetic from (related to clouds, sun, the weather, etc). It’s probably not gramatically accurate, but that’s already my brand anyway, so it doesn’t really matter, lol.

How long I’ve been blogging?

Going on 3 years this December! Yohoo!

ON READING

How has reading impacted your life?

Obviously, reading has led me to create this blog, which is something I mention in every single job interview I’ve done so far, lol. Ever since I saw Xandra mentioning she’d added her blog in her CV, I realized how smart that actually was, especially for me, as it shows my English skills pretty well.

On top of that, I think reading just makes me happy. Everyone has something different that they do on their own that makes them happy – doodling, makeup, yoga, or just listening to music really loudly, taking a long bus ride, people-watching and noticing small things in life. When I think about what makes me happy, reading is literally all that comes to mind.

When I got the opportunity for my current job, I was excited, but also sad cause I knew I wouldn’t have as much time to read and I like too much the person I am when I’m reading.

A book that reminds me of my past?

As someone who grew up reading, there are a lot of books that I associate with my childhood and preteen years. But I’m still attached to most of them (cof cof Percy Jackson), so a book that reminds me of my past and that I no longer really think about that much would be The Hunger Games trilogy.

I had a lot of fun reading those books as a kid (I literally read them when I was 11, which was probably not age-appropriately at all) and I remember watching every single movie on release day with my family. I also had a Tumblr around that time and was active on the fandom, which was very exciting (still remember watching the 1st movie premiere in a low-quality livestream and talking about it with my tumblr friends lol).

Predict a 5 star read

I have to be honest, I don’t have a lot of 5-star-reads in my radar at the moment. I do think it’s very likely I’ll end up loving An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green, simply because everyone I know loves this book, and I do think the comentary on internet and social media will blow my mind.

If you could live a character life for one day, who would it be?

Anyone in the Percy Jackson franchise. Because they get to interact with Percy and I consider that a win.

PERSONAL

One thing you want to achieve in 2021? / Country I want to visit post COVID.

I mentioned this in my goals post about how I wanted to visit Edinburgh by the end of the year, so Scotland is at the top of the list of places I want to visit post COVID. I don’t know if I will be achieveing this goal, because realistically, I am a broke university student with currently 100R$ in my bank account, but one can dream, right?

Use three words to describe yourself.

I’d rather choose three Sims traits to describe myself. Creative, Loner and Bookworm.

I can also describe myself using three songs. Ribs, by Lorde. Meet Me in the Hallway, by Harry Styles. Everybody’s Changing, by Keane.

But three words? Uh, not sure, lol.

Let me know in the comments some answers to these questions: what’s one thing you want to achieve in 2021? And which fictional character you would like to live as for one day? Also: if you have a blogging schedule, what’s your secret? (pls help)

discussion: why do we have to stop calling books “underrated”? (spoiler: we don’t).

Hello, friends!

I know today’s discussion is probably going to be coming from an “unpopular perspective”, but my experience through Twitter has made me realize a lot of things about the book community. Including that it can be quite annoying, lol.

So, today’s post was inspired by a lot of tweets I’ve seen of people questioning what an “underrated book” really is. And, apparently, people have very STRONG reactions when you use the word “underrated”, lol.

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First and foremost, what is the meaning of “underrated”?

“Not rated or valued highly enough”.

We typically use this word to talk about books that we don’t see enough people praising or hyping up and that we feel like deserve more recognition.

So, here’s how I feel about it. (Pls, feel free to disagree with me in the comments!)

ONE. THE BOOK COMMUNITY IS NOT A MONOLITH

Like any other community, the bookish one is also full of “bubbles”. In the sense that, if you’re in book twitter, your experience will probably be different from if you’re on book tube, or even book blogging.

I know of books that are very popular amongst book bloggers and yet, I hardly ever see booktubers talking about it. An example is C.G. Drews’ books. As a blogger, Cait’s books are very well known within the book blogging community, as well as bookstagram, but not necessarily amongst booktube.

So for people who consume mostly booktube content, it’s possible that they’d have never heard of A Thousand Perfect Notes or The Boy Who Steals Houses.

Not only that, but some creators focus more in one genre than the other. There are some cult-classic adult fantasy out there that I’d never heard about in my life. That, of course, doesn’t mean these books are “underrated” simply because I have never heard of them, BUT it can create the feeling amongst others that this book doesn’t get recognition enough because it’s not talked about in the bubbles I am in. (Which is not the adult-fantasy bubble).

This disparity even happens between countries! There are some titles that were very popular in the US and, yet, were never published in Brazil (where I live), because Brazilian readers are not interested in this type of content. Meaning that, if I was to talk about a book for Brazilian readers, even if it’s very well-known for an American audience, it can be a completely new title for them.

It’s also important to remember that not everyone who reads is in the community actively every day. Some people simply walk into Barnes and Noble and pick up whatever seems interesting to them. And that probably means that the books who are not in the “best-sellers” display shelves probably come across as “underrated” for them, because their metric is not what’s being talked about in social media, but what’s being advertised as popular.

TWO. THIS LOWKEY LEADS TO GATE-KEEPING

Gate-keeping’s definition is “the activity of controlling, and usually limiting, general access to something”.

Even though I’m sure that some people don’t consider this a big deal, I imagine it must be discouraging to tweet about what you believe to be an “underrated” or “not appreciated enough” book just to be made fun of.

The book community should be for everyone, including the people who only read popular books! And if by their definition, this book is not “appreciated enough”, whether that is in their community and following/followers, aka, inside *their* bubble, they should be able to express that without feeling embarrassed.

When I first joined book blogging, I was very scared because I didn’t read enough books, and most importantly, I hadn’t read some really “popular” series (like Throne of Glass, Daughter of Smoke & Bone, The Lunar Chronicles). And, at the time, that was the sentiment: that some series were must-reads and in order to take part in some of those discussions, I felt the need to also read them.

Now that the sentiment has changed, meaning that the book community has grown so much that people have become tired of hearing about the same books and want more “refreshing” and “not as well-known” recommendations, the feeling also changes: now I should *not* be reading the popular books and, instead, turning into something else.

It’s a lot to keep up with.

(I also won’t even get in the discussion that when people say they want “refreshing” recommendations, what they really mean is: “I want a book series exactly like this really popular one but that is not as big”, not *actually* unknown books, such as translated works by marginalized authors.)

Basically: let people say what they want, lol. It shouldn’t bother you this much.

THREE. CHECK YOUR FOLLOWING!

I do understand that some people may feel like the act of having popular books being classified as “underrated” gets in the way of *actual* indie books being talked about in the way they should. But I consider that more a problem with the following and the part of the community you’re interacting with.

If you feel like you’re only being recommended the same books over and over, and even the “underrated” recs are already familiar to you, then perhaps that means you need to refresh your following!

There are a lot of bloggers and booktubers out there who are constantly recommending indie authors/self-published books, or simply books that are less talked about in the community.

(A personal favorite of mine is Ashley @ Bookish Realm, who’s a librarian, and has a lot of recommendations for all different genres/age groups for less-known books).

I think this feeling of frustration from people misusing the word “underrated” could change if people just followed people who then, actually gave them the “underrated” recs they’re looking for.

FOUR. THE “1,000 REVIEWS” IS NOT A GOOD ENOUGH METRIC

I’ve also heard people trying to now coin the term “underrated” to only be used when a book has less than 1,000 reviews on Goodreads.

This metric doesn’t work not only because Goodreads is not ~the~ platform, and there are plenty of people out there who read a ton and talk about their reads online and who still don’t use it.

Our Wayward Fate by Gloria Chao. Despite this book only having 814 ratings on Goodreads, I have 10 friends on Goodreads who either have read it or marked it as to-read, meaning they’ve heard about it. Gloria Chao is actually a well-known author, at least in my online bubble.

A Thousand Fires, by Shannon Price. This book only has 366! ratings on Goodreads, and yet, I remember seeing it in SO many lists of “end of the year” releases back in 2019. So much so, I was intrigued to pick it up. (And I’m not one for reading “””indie””” books).

Let’s Call It a Doomsday, by Katie Henry. This book does have over a 1,000 ratings on Goodreads and yet I hardly ever see anyone talking about Katie Henry, even though I mostly follow people who also talk about YA contemporary a ton. (To compare it to Wayward Fate, only 5 of my Goodreads friends have it marked).

A Boy Worth Knowing, by Jennifer Cosgrove. This one has close to 2,000 ratings on Goodreads, and yet, when I talked about it in my recommendations post, all the comments said they’d never heard of it before. (Only 3 friends have it marked).

Now, of course, that experiment doesn’t really mean anything, as I am comparing it to *my* perspective – aka *my* Goodreads friends, *my* comments, and what *I* see in other blogs. Which just further proves my point that the whole debacle of using or not using the word “underrated” is dumb because every person in the community is going to have a different perspective on what’s popular/what’s not.

Also, there are a lot of books who were particularly popular when they came out (2016, 2017), but are not as talked about today. And it doesn’t mean whatever discussion that book evokes is no longer relevant. So if that means adding a popular book from 2016 into an “underrated books” list, if that will make people more interested in picking it up than if it was a “backlist reads” list, then so be it! “Old” books can still be relevant. (It’s tragic to even think that 2016 books are considered “old”, when that was literally 4 years ago, lol. But that’s a discussion for another day).

SO: what are your thoughts? Do you get frustrated when you see someone talking about a popular book/author being underrated, or you don’t care? Do you think a metric should exist for how we talk about these books? What are some of YOUR personal favorite “underrated” reads? Let’s chat in the comments!

kaleidoscope of tropes #6: two bros chillin’ in a hot tub only one feet apart even if they’re not gay

Hello, friends!

First of all, I apologize for the gigantic title. I ended up not writing a post for this series last month, but at last, it returns!

WHAT IS A TROPE?

In storytelling, a trope is just that — a conceptual figure of speech, a storytelling shorthand for a concept that the audience will recognize and understand instantly. Above all, a trope is a convention. It can be a plot trick, a setup, a narrative structure, a character type, a linguistic idiom… you know it when you see it. (source)

Today’s trope is going to be:

TWO BROS CHILLIN’ A HOT TUBE ONLY ONE FEET APART EVEN IF THEY’RE NOT GAY

I hope y’all were able to get the Vine reference, but basically this is what I decided to use as a title for the trope that consists of a relationship between two men that is devoided of toxic masculinity. It’s a friendship where they can be affectionate, loving and open to each other, despite their sexuality.

EXHIBIT #A: WILL GRAYSON, WILL GRAYSON, BY JOHN GREEN AND DAVID LEVITHAN

It’s been such a long time since I read this book, but I have so many great memories from it! And it’s all because of the relationship betwen one of the Will Graysons and the true main character of this story, Tiny Cooper.

As I said, even though this book does not center in Tiny, he *is* our main character. He’s the one link between the two Will Grayson’s. The one written by John Green is Tiny’s long-term best friend and I loved how sweet, but realistic their friendship was.

Will is not interested in theater, but joins the play because Tiny insists and because he’s a good friend too. What I liked about their dynamic is how even if they try to keep this no-homo vibe, they literally can’t, lol. Because they love each other too much and it meant a lot to see Will being open and vocal about it after all, regardless of how Tiny can be uncomfortable about public displays of affection.

EXHIBIT #B: DEAR MARTIN, BY NIC STONE

Me talking about Nic Stone, AGAIN??????

Yes.

There are several amazing elements in Dear Martin that I won’t be discussing entirely, but you can check more in-depth reasons to read this book here.

Here we have Manny and Justyce, who have been best-friends for a really long time, and are both some of the few black kids at their prep school. Even though they come from very different backgrounds – with Manny’s dad being CEO of a company, while Justyce comes from a much more humble background and a single mom -, they’re shown to be very close and very understanding of each other’s circumstances.

Their friendship has its ups and downs throughout the book, but what I like a lot about this dynamic here is that Manny is super open and affectionate and brings this out on Justyce too. He’s not shy in telling him he loves him and being his best supportive self, and even if Justyce pretends to be uncomfortable, it’s clear he loves and appreciates Manny just as much.

Be warned that they’re going to break your heart, though!

EXHIBIT #A: BAS AND ARTHUR, FROM SKAM FRANCE

I literally do nothing else in this blog but talk about Nic Stone and SKAM remakes. I apologize that my content is so repetitive, but clearly I love them.

I absolutely love the boysquad from SKAM France. They’re hilarious and have such a pure but chaotic friendship. That’s the best way I can define Bas and Arthur’s bromance: chaotic. Both are very… unique individuals, I guess you would say, and when they come together, is pure chaos, but also pure brotherhood.

What makes them fit so well in this trope to me is how neither really understand the concept of toxic masculinity and are constantly flirting with each other, because they’re just sure of their sexuality like that. It’s really funny and adorable, but I also love seeing the other more dramatic layers of their friendship too.

EXHIBIT #B: POLO, ANDER AND GUZMÁN FROM ELITE

This is the angstiest bromance of all times, period. But God I *love* them.

They’re shown to have been best friends since forever, and I think the reason why they fit into this trope so well is simply because of the undeniable chemistry all the characters in ELITE have with each other. I don’t know how to explain it, but even if they’re not in romantic relationships with each other, there’s always this underlying tension in all dynamics.

I think this is noticeable in all interactions of this trio – some more than others. But I really appreciate how being friends for so long makes it so they’re very comfortable around each other (sometimes too comfortable cof cof), and yet that doesn’t always have to be seen as something romantic or sexual.

I don’t know if I have a favorite tier, like, if I prefer Polo x Guzmán or Ander x Polo. I like all three of them, in their absolute messiness, hilariousness and angst.

If you have any recommendations for this trope, pleeeease, let me know. I’ll love to discuss them with you in the comments!

a discussion about our expectations on own-voices books ft. me opening up about colonization, white-washed references & why i don’t talk about brazil anymore

Hello, friends!

I am bringing yet again another discussion. Being on Twitter recently has sparked my interest in some of these, so at least there’s one good thing coming from my time in that God forsaken app. (Y’all who use Twitter on a regular basis deserve veteran discounts. That shit is so toxic lmao)

During the last month, I took part in the Latinx Readathon and that was my first time reading so many books by Latinx authors. While I did really appreciate my experience, I also felt like it opened up a lot of internal discussions on how much international/white content I consume regularly.

@jojosiwasbraintumor

I don’t stop thinking abt this tweet AND YES I’m gonna do this STUPID standing in front of a tweet trend because it works #foryou #foryoupage

♬ NO WHERE TO RUN by Stegosaurus Rex – morguehorde

That’s literally me, lmao. Not only because I blog and talk in English regularly, but because most of my interests are not Brazilian or Latinx. I’ve been more recently facing that regularly, especially since I started university and most of my friends there are interested in Brazilian movies, artists and content creators, and I didn’t know any of them. On one hand, I did feel great because it was feeding my quirky, different, not-like-other-girls Aquarius rising persona where I’d be interested in things that they weren’t, but on the other, I realized I should be supporting more Brazilian creators. We talk a lot about #own-voices, and yet, I’ve read more books published in the US about Latinx-Americans than books published in Brazil by actual Latinx.

That’s not the point of this discussion, though, because I do feel like most of you can not relate with it, and that’s fine. My point is that, in the process of reading more Latinx books, I realized I was, in turn, expecting to immediately like and relate with all books and characters.

I do think that we all have this expectation whenever we pick up an own-voices book. Recently, there was a discourse on Loveless, by Alice Oseman and I won’t be getting into all the points of that discussion, but the most relevant one for this post is the fact many people felt like it was not a “good” own-voices work because sex-repulsed aro/ace were the only ones being represented.

The book never set itself to represent every single ace experience out there. I talked more about this in my last discussion, but this is not how own-voices books should be perceived, because NO book is going to tackle all the numerous experiences that marginalized folks go through.

That’s a big reason as to why I stopped writing about Brazil in my blog. If you followed me last year, you may remember I had a feature called “A Trip to my Home Country” where I talked about elements of Brazilian culture. But I didn’t feel comfortable writing about that anymore because I realized I have a very superficial perspective on Brazil, despite living here my whole life, and I didn’t want to share information that was inaccurate and in return, lead people to believing that this is what Brazil is actually like. But it is also true that I’d never be able to represent, in any work, all Brazilian people out there, because our experiences are VASTLY different.

I think the key is not in the author, but in the reader. When you read a book by an Asian-American author, you should know that this is not representative of every Asian-American person out there. And, in my opinion, it shouldn’t be the author’s responsibility to tweak their story so that readers can understand that this just “one experience”.

Yet, I feel like our expectations, especially when it comes to authors of color, is always that they should do the most. When I picked up History is All You Left Me, recently, I even considered adding in my review that there were no characters of color in the story. But then I started to question why would that be a problem. Just because Adam Silvera is a Latinx man, it doesn’t mean he has to write about only Latinx people. If a white author had written that book, would I’ve been mad that they only included white characters?

I’m sorry to keep repeating the same books, but when I was reading reviews for Like a Love Story, I encountered myself in a similar position. I was looking for reviews that were rather negative to see if others had noticed the problematic remarks that this book contains, and I found a similar issue that people felt like, because the book had been written by an author of color, that they were surprised there were no references of queer people of color throughout the book. While I do understand that is a very valid concern, I’d like to ask that: if Like a Love Story had been written by a white author, would people complain that the references throughout the book were all white as well?

I do think that most of these reviewers would have a problem with it regardless, but it made me think if we don’t have different expectations when it comes to authors of color. If it was a white man talking about how Madonna was a life-changing figure for him, it would be expected, but if it’s a man of color, then we question why wouldn’t he have Marsha P. Johnson then?

It’s kinda funny, actually. It reminds me of an episode in Everybody Hates Chris, where all of his projects would be about Martin Luther King, because being black, that’s what all of his teachers expected of him. Let me remind you that people of color can talk about whatever the fuck they want and write about whatever the fuck they want.

(Of course as long as they’re not being mysoginistic, racist, ableist or homophobic but I think that goes unsaid).

Ok, but how does this tie with everything I said before, about my own experience?

Well, because I do think it’s harder for some of us, folks from colonized countries and who’ve experienced hardcore imperialism over the years, to get to know and be proud of our own country’s culture and art. I’m happy to say that for the past ten years, I’ve seen a rise of young people consuming more Brazilian created content, whether that would be in music or YouTube and even books. But if you ask my mom, who grew up in the 80s, all her favorite musical references were probably American, with a few exceptions of Brazilian artists.

I do understand that we should always strive to be closer to our own culture. But I think it’s always important to remind y’all that this is not a possibility for every person out there, and that some people don’t have white-washed references only out of choice (like me, btw. I completely think in my case it’s a choice and something I need to work and be better at, because I have privileged resources to support my own country’s content and art and I choose to consume mostly international media), but because of historical systems that have oppressed marginalized folks to the point where their own content is seen as irrelevant or less.

So this is something I wish more reviewers would take into consideration when setting up their reviews and expectations for books by authors of color.

Alright. This discussion is huge, but I hope I’ve made myself clear. Let’s talk in the comments.

kaleidoscope of tropes #6: a series of coincidences

Hello, friends!

Welcome to another post in this series where I discuss tropes. Because I know there’s some new people here, this is just basically me talking endlessly about some of my favorite/least favorite tropes in fictions and providing you with examples. But first:

WHAT IS A TROPE?

In storytelling, a trope is just that — a conceptual figure of speech, a storytelling shorthand for a concept that the audience will recognize and understand instantly. Above all, a trope is a convention. It can be a plot trick, a setup, a narrative structure, a character type, a linguistic idiom… you know it when you see it. (source)

Today’s trope is going to be:

A SERIES OF COINCIDENCES

I overanalyze coincidences constantly. I am not a really spiritual person, so I like to think of them as little signs of the universe that I am on the right track. I really like whenever books explore that: it always feels like a sprinkle of magic in a non-fantastical story.

EXHIBIT #A: I’LL GIVE YOU THE SUN, BY JANDY NELSON

I talked about this in my review of this book, but the quote “We were all heading for each other on a collision course, no matter what. Maybe some people are just meant to be in the same story.” sums it up pretty well.

This book is filled with coincidences, where these characters’ stories are all intertwined, even if they don’t know it just yet. I know some people who read it would consider it a stretch, but I think it adds to the atmosphere of this book, which is already a bit fantastical, even though is a contemporary novel.

The way these characters view the world is always so interesting, because they’re filled with daydreams and paintings in their heads or superstitions and conversations that never existed. It doesn’t surprise me that so much of their story was also destined in a way, and I love how the author works that throughout the book so you just slowly find out how they’re all connected after all.

EXHIBIT #B: OUR WAYWARD FATE, BY GLORIA CHAO

OK, so I do not love this book and I did find the romance to be a bit rushed and insta-love-y, but this story will also explore a number of coincidences so of course I had to mention it.

This one is a re-telling of the Chinese folktale “The Butterfly Lovers”, so I imagine there’s where so many of these coincidences come from. In this book, I’d definitely say this builds the more magical atmosphere of the story, and that’s why I found it so fascinating, because while still being a contemporary novel, it had sprinkles of magical realism that made it really unique.

This book is literally called “wayward fate”, so you can expect that it will present some twists in your expected soulmate story, and it’s all presented in an incredibly smart way.

EXHIBIT #A: SERENDIPITY

I don’t typically watch or love Christmas movies, but this one is the best of the best. Set in New York in the 90s, one of our main characters is obsessed with coincidences and takes that as a sign for every decision she makes.

At the beginning of the movie, we see these two characters meeting and hitting it off. Our protagonist then suggests that the way they should check whether or not this is a worth-moving forward relationship is by entering an elevator and choosing a floor at random. If they choose the same one, then it’s meant to be. The movie then continues to explore the series of encounters and misencounters and it’s just a lot of fun.

I honestly related quite a bit to that main character, lmao. Even though I do not make that many life-changing decisions based in out-of-my-control events, I have the tendency to also believe rather blindly that the universe can tells us whenever we’re on the right track or not.

EXHIBIT #B: A LOT LIKE LOVE

I talked about this movie so many times in my blog it’s kinda ridiculous at this point, lol.

What can I say? I just love myself some Ashton Kutcher, ok.

Much like Serendipity, this one will follow the encounters and misencounters of our main characters through the years. Even though I don’t consider all of them to be coincidences or fate, there’s one at the end of the movie that always makes me!!!! when I watch it and I watch this movie pretty often, lol.

I don’t typically like this “ships of the night” trope (hence why I don’t like movies such as Love, Rosie or One Day) but A Lot Like Love just hits different. The soundtrack is also a bop and I had to recommend it.

If you have recommendations for this trope, please let me know! I’d love to chat with you guys in the comments!