Problematic BIPOC Authors & their books | what happens now?

[@themusicsnob]

I am so glad y’all pointed out the domestic violence that is played for laughs when women do it in media. That has always really bothered me and I feel like it doesn’t get enough push back at all

[@JesseOnYoutube]

it really really doesn't. thank you for the support :)

[@ForTheLoveOfMusicals]

Personally “problematic” has lost all meaning to me because the meaning is way to broad. It’s used both for small fixable problems within a book and for things like “the author is wanted for murder” and “the author is advocating for genocide” and it just makes no sense to me to use the same word for those two vastly different scenarios

[@JesseOnYoutube]

really good point, anne. do you have suggestions on better words to use? no pressure if not.

[@alexreid1173]

Thank y’all for bringing up Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow! I’m physically disabled, and I wish there was actual representation that wasn’t just inspiration porn, infantilization, and pity. Being disabled can be difficult and frustrating… but how I’m treated as a disabled person is often worse than just what my medical issues alone do. It’s ridiculous that disabled rep in popular media is still so bad. I would love to see an in depth video whenever :)

[@JesseOnYoutube]

“How I’m treated is worse than my medical issues” Alex, go off

[@JesseOnYoutube]

You def deserve better and we will keep speaking up in hopes that arrives sooner for you

[@Financiallyfreeauthor]

An area that desperately needs #ownvoices

[@cjtorres5917]

Do we know Gabrielle Zevin does not suffer from physical disability? Or have a close family member who does? Don't get me wrong, I'm no fan. I haven't read Tomorrow x3 and have no plans to read it. I have personally seen GZ appropriate experiences from others' lives into her books. But I also think maybe that's kind of what authors do? NOT trying to apologize for her or her bad disability rep. I have serious physical disability myself. Just not sure she's not speaking from personal experience in this case.

[@quartzyuploads]

I remember trying to read A Little Life and immediately feeling gross from how desolate and upsetting a lot of the content was, so I immediately DNF’d it. This video was the confirmation I needed to never pick up another Hanya Yanagihara again ! So thank y’all for that ! This was an excellent video, highlighting problematic content and pointing out that being problematic doesn’t entirely mean being “radioactive” as y’all put it is very refreshing ! Keep up the awesome work ^^ !!

[@JesseOnYoutube]

desolate is the perfect word to describe her view of disabled futures. tysm for the tender comment and encouragement!

[@Financiallyfreeauthor]

That author proudly did absolutely no research about disabled lives. I am so tired of books about the disabled experience written by authors who don’t know anything and they get praised for being so “raw and real.” 🤢

[@StoriesForCoffee]

“This synopsis is longer than my entire relationship with my father.” I scream laughed, Jesse 💀💀

[@tammietriestoread]

in addition to the issues y'all talked about in tomorrowx3, there was also a whole thing about zevin being heavily inspired an actual board game created by a woman and not including her name anywhere in the acknowledgements. ironic because a recurring theme in the book is female game developers not getting the credit they deserve 💀

[@JesseOnYoutube]

What?!

[@danaslitlist1]

Yea yes yes! Problematic doesn’t always mean unreadable or as y’all say “radioactive”! We don’t have to toss out the entire book but it would be wrong and sometimes even unethical to not discuss the elements that are problematic! Edit: I cannot support the author of Tomorrow x3 because of how she stole the game elements from a female game designer and never gave her credit and went out of their way to exclude an acknowledgment. :))) which sucks cause I wanted to read it for the disability rep, but apparently I didn’t miss out LOL

[@JesseOnYoutube]

What is wrong w Zevin lmao

[@Shinia_Lambert]

I also love the distinction you made between a work having a problematic aspect not automatically meaning that the entire work has to be discarded. Great work Jesse!

[@sarahs.6838]

Hanya Yanigahara always struck me as that stereotypical writer who wants to write the GREAT [insert nationality here] NOVEL, and those are always trauma p*rn. I think it comes from the tradition of war novels (traditionally masculine) being seen as more literary, more “important” than domestic novels (traditionally feminine). In order for a female/femme author to be seen as a “great” author she must include the trauma to make her novel “important” instead of a nuanced character study. It’s inherently patriarchal to me, which is why it is so disconcerting that she places Queer & BIPOC people into those narratives without interrogating her writing style.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

this gives a lot to think about so thank you

[@andiman44]

The fact that I read a You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight kindle sample and didn’t even blink at that scene shows how normalized it is. So glad you pointed that out.

[@petiolereads]

The autistic rep in Miracle Creek by Angie Kim. So much to enjoy about the book, but fuck. It's about an accident that happens during an experimental treatment for autism, run by a Korean-American family, and all of the fallout from that accident. It is, however, great rep for mothers of autistic children who are struggling and want to cure them. To quote a review by Luminosity Library (that I found while trying to find an autistic perspective on the book because my alarm bells were ringing), "We can talk about the difficulties of being a full time carer without labeling disabled people as burdens... It’s not your disabled child that’s taken your life away, it’s a world that cares so little for disabled people that it won’t put money into our care."

[@JesseOnYoutube]

oh my god we read that and were like ???????? everyone was praising it and we were SO confused

[@freddie.spaghetti]

i LOVE the nuance y’all handle these topics with, it is so amazing and refreshing to see

[@JesseOnYoutube]

omg good!! we never wanna present a situation without that critical nuance

[@brittainxgoffy7989]

A different author I've found to be problematic is Sherman Alexie- he sexually harassed multiple women but his work is still required reading/viewing in colleges.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

never heard of him. gonna google. thankyou

[@booksandbigideas8720]

Oh yes he fully admitted it.

[@JuleUni]

I get so uncomfortable when I read AAVE in non black author books, cause I'm not sure if they thought it would make their book seem cool or if they were mocking black culture. I also had a non black supervisor who'd use AAVE whenever she would speak, I hated that sht and I find it offensive.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

That’s why when Paris said “a desperate sad attempt to hang w the cool kids” (paraphrasing) i died bc Facts

[@tecsiederp]

would love a video on tomorrow x3, you're like the first person i've heard say anything negative about it and i finally feel less alone 😂

[@TatyanaVogt]

Really appreciate this, some really great points are made and I think more people should talk about this stuff in the community without cutting off the authors right off the bat because of it, cause we need room to grow and improve. There are also a lot of people who are way more harsh on POC authors in a problematic way so if we can do it in a more "positive" understanding way that should hopefully balance things out. Love this!

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Your comments are always so insightful. Why don’t we talk more 🙈

[@bridgetuphoff2129]

Dang. You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight is up next on my Libby list. I might not listen to it now. I totally agree with what you said about it being "quirky" when women assault their male partners. As someone who was in an abusive relationship for 17 years, that is NOT OK. That's not the vibe. And yawl's snaps on yawl's dad take me out every time.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

lmao we're always like 'when are ppl going to get sick of our dad jokes' lMAO

[@josieann4390]

Love seeing y'all back on KZbin! 💜💜

[@katpablo]

Thank you as always for such thoughtful and thought-provoking content. ✨✨✨

[@jasonhill8506]

I love the Raisin in the Sun but there is a transphobic line that can be changed and make sense for the story.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

thats the classic play right? thank you for bringing this up!!

[@jasonhill8506]

@@JesseOnKZbin Yes it a classic and one of the best

[@BooksToAshes]

I love a Raisin in the Sun but haven’t read it since I was a teen. I never even noticed that back then. Hopefully that part can someday be removed.

[@rosalial3869]

Can you cite which line? I read that play years ago, but don’t recall that. Thanks

[@jasonhill8506]

@@rosalial3869 "last time I checked doctor can't turn he into she"

[@BookishMandy]

Every time I watch y’all and your commentary, I learn something that I never realized was so normalized. As a midwestern small town person, it has always been “men can’t hit women but women can hit men,” and I never thought of it as problematic. But you are so right and I don’t think I am going to be able to overlook it in books and other media.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

awww Mandy, we are so glad we could help a lil epiphany moment! also team midwest :) we're in minneapolis!

[@kyeoptawerk93ah]

I will not read anything else from the author of crazy rich asians. I read all three in that series and only got more frustrated/angry the more i read because of the colorism/discrimination towards se asians in it. I'm the child of a se asian immigrant and reading it in a book and not seeing any character say "hey thats not cool" isn't for me. i dont need to read that in a book that is supposed to be fun. Like i go through singapore to go to indonesia and have seen first hand how east asians in Singapore have treated my mom vs me and me before i tell them I'm indonesian vs after. Someone who worked in the airport had a HUGE attitude change when i told him "oh my mom is indonesian" when he asked why i had my name if im from the u.s. the interaction turned negative/cold/dismissive so fast. I love reading from minority authors because i typically enjoy their books more but i acknowledge that no author is perfect and there will be issues in minority authors books. I think people are scared? to criticize minority authors because they dont want to be seen as hateful/bigoted but if the criticism is legit just say it. Everyone needs to be held accountable for issues and hopefully learn from them

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Thank you for sharing this critique. It’s valued and so are you 🙏🏽💓

[@TSfan217]

Thanks for sharing! I like hearing the way y’all critique different books. Agree that we can critique books without throwing the whole author away. Authors (and their fans) should be less defensive when readers critique their work

[@janetgriffin7779]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I absolutely love y’all’s videos because y’all really help me think more about what I’m reading. Please keep these videos coming!

[@moustik31]

Please review Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow! 🙏🏾 Edit: I HATE how As.-Am. have commodified AAVE for "lolz". It's not "appreciation", it's extraction/ministrel show. Pure and simple.

[@moustik31]

Edit: I listened to criticism about RF Kuang books and points. were. made.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

PLS LINK THAT OMG bc u know we WORSHIP her

[@JesseOnYoutube]

its gotta b a hard habit to break esp bc we feel like Asian Americans have latched on to Black culture for some very valid reasons BUT its a fine line between participating and appropriation, love this comment

[@nicoswanmakes]

Another vote for this review.

[@moustik31]

@@JesseOnKZbin Cindy (formerly known as Read With Cindy) made a good review of "Yellowface". kzbin.info/www/bejne/gIbHd56ImcyDerc Lou from the channel Lou Reads Things is making a part-by-part review of "Babel". Here is part 1. kzbin.info/www/bejne/j6e1fmNoZt10hbM

[@andiman44]

This is how I’ve been feeling after reading the Poppy war trilogy recently. The way the brown-skinned, Taiwanese main character was characterized throughout the series…was giving yikes. And based on what I’ve heard of Yellowface, Kuang just used her racist white main character as a mouthpiece for all the critique she’s received in the past which makes me think she hasn’t done any introspection which is unfortunate.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

We are heading so much tea about yellow face and dying to read it

[@blehblehblehdracula]

THANK YOU for the absolute read on people using feminine abusers as a plot device or comedy. My uncle was murdered by his wife. People autopilot accepting female abusers and don’t think of the actual reality of abuse being abuse, whether you have a penis or not. (Excuse the gender specifics here, but it’s so bad with cismales and cisfemales and it’s so accepted and I. Don’t. Get. It.).

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Ugh. We are sorry that happened. It was entirely preventable and not ok. Wishing you as much healing ❤️‍🩹 as possible

[@piperrigsby4899]

i'm so sorry that that happened

[@ChemicalPenguinn]

When you make videos about problematic books I click as soon as I see them because I want to know the tea (and also to judge whether or not I still want to read the books/support the authors involved)

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Thank you 💓💓💓

[@asmrbookishness]

Thank y’all for once again gifting us with a beautifully nuanced review.

[@bex9708]

I feel like a good general rule (for white people especially, myself included) is DO NOT write characters with an accent or dialect you don't use. Simple as. Also listen to own-voice creators and deffer to their judgement because we will always have our blind spots.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

This!

[@DauntlessBookReader]

So I've watched this video twice now and everything was well said as per usual y'all have some of the best discussions on BookTube 💯

[@JesseOnYoutube]

whenever someone rewatches it means a lot because .... we rewatch videos for comfort too

[@jaleesaRBTBC]

Thanks for bringing up that scene from You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight. It irked my nerves. I don’t think putting hands on people, even if it’s intended to be playful, is cute. It’s unnecessary. There’s other ways to communicate that a character is fed up. I, too, wouldn’t have felt some type of way if there was at least one character would’ve intervened and said something. 🤦🏾‍♀️

[@JesseOnYoutube]

thank you bc we worried we were overreacting but its GROSS

[@ToBeBlackandLoved]

I also hated Cinderella Is Dead. Kalynn Bayron has definitely grown as an author, but there’s still a lot of work she can do. Glad that y’all pointed that out, it’s something I completely missed. I really enjoyed the book overall!

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Have you read poison heart? That’s a book we’re looking forward to reading as well. We’re loving her new one despite having a major criticism. Other than that it’s a phenomenal work so far

[@imaraoctavia]

I bought my dear Henry but I haven’t read it yet

[@ToBeBlackandLoved]

@@JesseOnKZbin I loved This Poison Heart. Got the chance to talk to her about it when I first came out. Excited to hear what y’all think after reading.

[@kyeoptawerk93ah]

I liked Cinderella is dead 😭 but I know there was a lot of work that needed to be done because there were some issues I had with it myself

[@takewhisks8193]

Ok I'm only at the beginning of the video and I'm all "yes!! Criticism helps us be better!" Criticism is for the mistakes you don't know you made so you can learn from them as much as the ones you knew about ❤

[@jamierose156]

Y'all always do such good nuanced reviews about this stuff. I've been looking forward to Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow but as a physically disabled person I'm now nervous about it, so if y'all did do an in depth review of it that'd be really appreciated

[@maxjunimo]

PLEASE make a video about TomorrowX3. I'm a chronically ill & disabled white person with a partner in the games industry so I'd love to see others' opinions outside of my echo chamber.

[@ladylovesteadreads]

Very well done. I love the way ya'll challenge us to think critically about what we read.

[@harriyanna]

with me, it would be a book i read a while ago called "when all h*ll breaks loose" by camika spencer because its disgustingly homophobic/biphobic. idk if i want to check out her other work bc of how awful that book treated not being straight.

[@visionary202]

I am so with you about being over women hitting/slapping/hurting their romantic partners regardless of reasoning, let alone when it's considered humorous! I find it sickening as well

[@BreeKaitlyn]

I really would love to see your thoughts on "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow". I feel like that book was so loved, but honestly, I could not vibe with it. I'm studying animation as my minor at college and thought I would honestly love the book due to Sam and Sadie working on video games, but I absolutely hated it with all the problems - especially with what happened to Sadie and her professor.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

THE SADIE PROFESSOR THING OMG WHY

[@BreeKaitlyn]

@@JesseOnKZbin NOOOO DON'T EVEN. JUST YIKES - I can't believe the author even included that.😥

[@kikisav7224]

Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi. Most of the book was gripping but the ending was just another example of a book, movie, etc demonizing the queer character and using their transness as a plot twist. I saw some comments of reviews that said the character might not have been trans but instead probably had DID. But the thing is, if that’s the case, it’s still not good!

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Wtf?! Never heard of this critique despite all the applause for this book. Thank u!

[@kikisav7224]

@@JesseOnKZbin Yeah, I was excited to read from this author but that ending left a bad taste in my mouth

[@keeperofthenerd6694]

Thaaaaaaank you for bringing up the domestic abuse against men thing. The way media so often portrays it as a joke or as something that's not serious is frankly disgusting. Not only is it physical abuse but it's often down played by others. The men being abused are so often seen as a week or "not man enough" for being hurt by a women. It plays into the narrative that "real" men don't show feelings, "real" men are tough, "real" men don't cry. The very thing that shames men for seeking mental health help and drives the suicide rate among men. It's something I've seen with my siblings (although thank goodness none of them have been abused by a partner). Abuse is abuse and portraying it that way in media without any commentary on it or the problems of such a portrayal has real world consequences.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

men receive these awful messages and some people cannot understand the ways the patriarchy hurts men. what you wrote is such a good example. its gotta change.

[@audrelordelore]

I could listen to you talk about topics that we both share a passion for for hours.

[@dylanwickersham5610]

Unrelated but are y'all wearing a Daria shirt? It looks good. Great video as usual!

[@mplbooks]

I feel like so many people are all-or-nothing about books and authors. Like one flaw or fault means the book or author must be blacklisted. There are certainly some situations that may call for that, but not EVERYTHING. I believe in being discerning but also giving a little grace. And just because I call something out (a TV show or book or whatever) doesn't automatically mean I hate it, either. Or that I "must not be a true fan." I can be a fan of something and still criticize it. That is absolutely allowed.

[@lornatw]

Excited for this! Vid suggestion: 'problematic' authors (anykind) who are no longer 'problematic'/changed ❤ sometimes it hard to keep uptodate and know whether someone is progressing or not and whether it's okay to promote them or not but I'm a true beliver that people can make good enough changes and acknowledgements!

[@JesseOnYoutube]

loveeeeee this idea

[@100frogsinatrenchcoat]

Damn. I was super excited to read You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight but casual DV in media is so upsetting I might actually pass :/ A great video as usual!💗

[@JayGTheAwkwardBookworm]

NOT NUMBER FIVE 😂😂

[@JesseOnYoutube]

the way u consistently entertain and validate our SHITTY HUMOR lmaooooo

[@JayGTheAwkwardBookworm]

@@JesseOnKZbin I am in love with it 😂😂

[@bentheoverlord]

This was an absolutely fantastic discussion !

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Thank you SO much, Ben

[@graceezri8870]

I must admit I haven’t read 99% of these books but I really appreciate the conversation. I loved y’all’s point about being able to call out the problematic aspects in books without throwing away the author completely.

[@tirill452]

Listened to "This Poisoned Heart" by Kalynn Bayron a few weeks ago and I feel so sorry for the pupper, the book did something that made me so annoyed that I just started walking faster and faster in anger, and my poor puppy was so confused trying to keep up. It wasn't a problematic thing, more of a really annoying "growing up I realized that due to [insert magical ability] this [insert thing] always happened" followed by "I was so confused when [thing] didn't affect me" and "I was extra careful incase [thing she's always been immune to] happens" .... like she didn't just go on and on about how her magical power made the thing not dangerous to her. I started the book for the first time at the beginning of the walk, and when we got home 15 minutes later I was so pissed because she said it over and over an over and over again. That's not a problematic thing, it's just so annoying, I'm getting annoyed at it now and I'm not even reading it.

[@brittanyhoward1741]

the only one that I can think about is Tomi Adeyemi. There are multiple but the biggest one that comes to mind was her extensive black on black trauma, PARTICULARY regarding the very heavy slavery undertones. Like homegirl really wrote a AFRICAN fantasy where the MC has both her parents die horrifically in front of her, gets tortured and burned and branded by a genocidal leader who declared war on her people just because of a body trait (*hotel Rwanda flashbacks*) and then in book 2 gets put knocked out and then gets put on a ship, in the middle of the sea, in chains, by characters that are much lighter skinned than she is (it also hurts worse knowing that the same people were also POC as well) 😭😭

[@vicenterosa25]

i love y'alls videos, always so well thought out and funny ❤ my problem with Hanya Yanagihara is that she has stated in an interview that she thinks therapy is like religion, something you have to believe in to work. like WHAT?! i am NEVER going to read or support someone who writes trauma p0rn and then makes therapy sound less than 100% scientifically based with many many evidences of making someone's mental illness manageable

[@JesseOnYoutube]

thank you so much!!!! :) this means a lot.

[@Robi-Chaud]

I love knowing that there is someone out there who who shares my opinion of Donna Tartt

[@JesseOnYoutube]

!!!💓

[@chriscze6153]

Pausing video - I mean, as I said in your last video I have loved every book rec I've taken from y'all so far, but I'm glad to see what we don't like seems to line up too - seeing someone FINALLY say they didn't vibe with On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous makes me so glad someone else gets it. I almost never DNF and I had to DNF that one. But yes, we stan a queer Asian poet and I'm glad he's as beloved as he is.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

We are reading twins and that makes us so happy chris!!!!!!

[@Ligitness8010]

First 🎉 I've never been this early! Cool! Love yall's vids!! Hope yall are doing well!!

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Ahhh Ty Ty!!!!!!!! We’re doing great! About to head to a coffee shop and work on our books :)

[@ThePhantomofBooktube]

Amazing video I've always heard about Hanya's books being problmatic but I didn't know about the other authors. Yes it's so true sometimes a book has one or two problematic lines but the book is still enjoyable for other reasons. I hate it when people say someone is trying to cancel a book for pointing out a few harmful lines that could have been edited out. I laughed when y'all said non black people you can comment your opinions about this but I will never care and then it cuts to **racists in the comments** typing. 😂 I had so many issues with the disabled representation in If I had your face by Frances Cha. I still loved the book because it addressed sexism in Korea in an interesting way and was entertaining to read but as a disabled person the way the disabled character was treated and her point of view was horrible. Many people praised this book for it's discussion on sexism but when it first came out I didn't see anyone talk about the ableism. I don't know if since it's release others had commented on it but when I read it I didn't see any reviews mentioning this at all. There is a mute character who becomes mute because of abuse and she says in the book that she doesn't live life like everyone else or use the same energy as everyone else because she's mute. Throughout her point of view she sees disabled people as dangerous, weird for not making eye contact, scary and runs away from them. Another book but this one I haven't read and it's a translated book Almond by Sohn Won-Pyung. Many people recommend this book and say it's amazing. I found a review from someone on GoodReads , who has the brain condition depicted in the book, calling it out for the inaccurate and harmful representation. I've never seen anyone else discuss these issues only praise.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Am very excited for almond and heard nothing but praise as well. I read and loved IIHYF so much but also was mad uncomfortable with how the disabled character was treated…and it wasn’t really addressed at all

[@bookishmillennialbb]

CREEKED took me out😂 why are y’all so funnyyyyyyyy (this video was fantastic but I just kept cackling!)

[@Sad.Purple.unicorn]

I gave T& T& T 3 stars. I liked some parts but in general I really struggled with it and yes to the Sam part y’all talked about

[@sonjamuller9397]

Thank you so much for this video, your comment as always hits the points exactly. I am especially thankful for mentioning the 'slap the man' scenes. I am also always so irritated how these scenes are embedded in today's storytelling, be it as comedy or even for drama (not reflecting on the issue but woman seemingly righteously behaving like this drama). As a woman I agree this should not happen as a storytelling tool (neither in RL obviously).

[@Mellybeans0919]

Always well said and makes me think a lot. Sad to hear about You're Not Supposed To Die Tonight 😔

[@olivethunderbird]

THANK YOU! I also can’t stand the trope of women hitting men being ok. Makes my stomach turn

[@bookish.terror]

Crazy Rich Asians is also a book series I deeply, deeply love but cannot in good conscience recommend it to anyone! I have sooo many problems with it, but at the same time it was very fun and entertaining to me. I finished TomorrowX3 a little while ago and I don't personally mind when an author doesn't make it clear what their stance is on an issue. It just doesn't tend to bother me. The disability rep, I am conflicted about though. Would love to see y'all make a video all about this book.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

completely here for this comment.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

and for you, always

[@Clowreads]

The I press this video because I'm intrigued on the title 👀 but also love that you put the picture of Panic! At the Disco 😆 Ready to know more about the constructive criticism of Tomorrow3x Btw love the Daria T-shirt 💖

[@JesseOnYoutube]

thank you, Clow

[@NoOrdinaryScholar]

What gets me is when non lacks use aave wrong. One of my favorite reads of the year was Things I'll Never Say by Cassandra Newbould and it was a great book. But there were a few times where she would use AAVE and I had to stop and laugh because where did she even hear it from to be that incorrect. It was an arc so maybe there's hope that it was taken out 🤞🏿🤞🏿🤞🏿 I talk about this stuff a lot on my channel. But a thing I feel is missed out on is how bad and harmful parenting is never questioned in books. I just did a review of A Dark Place by Brittney s Lewis and am working on a video that'll touch on that one and more. But there are so many books were parents casually cause severe harm to their kids and the text still comes at it like "your parents know best". But really, kids deserve so much better and they'll never get it if we don't point out what was wrong in the first place.

[@bookwormdystopian]

Olivia Stories for Coffee recommends books that i hsve never heard of before too. Very underrated KZbinr.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

she is *amazing*

[@Shinia_Lambert]

Thank you for bringing my attention to the issues in You’re Not Supposed To Die Tonight-at the time I read it I thought “that’s harsh” but didn’t think of the deeper implications.

[@glitchmon97]

i feel so seen as someone who didn't like both tomorrowx3 and ocean vuong's on earth we are briefly gorgeous

[@MommaWR]

Thank you for calling out the whole violence against men is OK thing. I watched a video this morning where a girl walked up to her male significant other (that was reading) and hit him in the face with food she was preparing for him. Apparently that was supposed to be funny? But I spent half the morning thinking the things you just voiced. Why is it OK in media for men to be victims of violence when we would never approve of women being treated that way?

[@JesseOnYoutube]

thats.... really gross. like especially thinking about if the roles were reversed or adding racial politics. imagine if a Black man slapped his white girlfriend. or even a white girlfriend slapping her Black male partner. like everyone's reaction woulda been diff.

[@Nashaytrowerauthor]

⁠@@JesseOnKZbinwhile I agree that the casual violence for humor can be done away with, I wouldn’t agree with the “if roles were reversed” statement. There are a lot of different power dynamics that come into play that makes the situations very different. Especially if you add in race. That’s like saying a white person calling a Black person the N word has the same impact of a Black person calling a white person a cracker. Both aren’t great, but one of those situations has a much heavier impact because of historical events, social hierarchy, and power.

[@ermreading]

I did enjoy You're Not Supposed To Die Tonight but the underlying antisemitism of the twist made me kinda uncomfy with it

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Eewww no 😭😭😭

[@taleforquill]

Using a Panic! At The Disco reference during a video about problematic people 🤭🤭🤭

[@kyeoptawerk93ah]

Very appropriate because Brendon is 🤮

[@inkypunk]

I don't have a strong prescriptive opinion on using AAE (I personally wouldn't write it because I'm so removed from the culture I couldn't) but it reminded me of an author (no connections to Mexico) who had a Mexican character in their novel that spoke in a stereotypical way and referred to themselves as a slur. When people criticised it, she was very defensive because her best friend is Mexican-American and that's how they talk about themselves. The character was based on a real person and therefore the dialogue was "authentic". I'm not sure if that justifies the character but I think that's a cautionary tale worth remembering as a white author. Your readers aren't going to have a detailed biography of you, and they shouldn't need to comb through your social media to understand the context of the racism in your story. There are definitely white people who grow up speaking AAE but that's up to the black American readers in the audience if they can write it authentically. Ngl though haven't heard of a successful attempt yet.

[@AyceMcGee]

Hi besties! I love the Donna Tart hate. Hope y'all have a good day. 💜

[@JesseOnYoutube]

We hope you do too!!!

[@giigiireadss]

When other races use AAVE a part of my brain turns off so I don’t go off. It just sounds so forced and exactly as what y’all friend said in the review. My side eye and sigh be HEAVY! They think it’s so cool and cute like no you just stop, you’re giving me hives🤦🏽‍♀️

[@canaburton9872]

People using AAVE when they have no business doing it…its weird. Alsoooo heavy on the not asking questions as a black person.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

HEAVY ON IT lmao it’s NUN of my business

[@mondaysshelf]

I've also rarely seen the notion of females hitting their male partners challenged. But it has always bothered me! I think a small part of the reason we idolize this as a society is mostly because to a lot of people this "dominating" scene is being brought against a power that is typically seen doing the dominating. So rather than challenge it we say "good for her, she's flipping that power dynamic" but I agree with you, it's disgusting to me. Abuse should not be happening between anyone.

[@glitchmon97]

the daria shirt ahhh i love it

[@moustik31]

Me too! 😁

[@JesseOnYoutube]

hehe thank u, friend

[@nonbinaryreading]

"Now, this book got heavily criticized by... myself" Jesse, I love y'all. Seriously.Y'alls delivery of this comment almost made me spit out my drink 😂 I'm pretty sure I've said it before, but I'm constantly in awe of how y'all can be so smart, nuanced, diplomatic but also hilarious at the same time. Definitely one of the main reasons y'all have been my favourite social media creator for many, many years now.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Lmao we really know we’ve found our ppl when y’all laugh at the weird little things we say bc #dork haha We shouldn’t feel such a rush of joy and honor when someone discloses we’re their fav/one of their fav creators Thank you for letting us have that 💓🥺

[@Nixx0912]

Got distracted by Daria t-shirt, love it ❤

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Thank u!

[@BooksToAshes]

I’m a recent subscriber and really love the content. I have a lot of catching up on but I’m here for it 😂 I hope your doing okay, wishing you all well ♥️

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Thank you so so much!

[@chexmixbaby44]

the picture of Akasha in the bath 😭😭

[@JesseOnYoutube]

She was pissed

[@stargazererin3824]

Wow, I’ve always felt alone with not seeing/reading characters in books, TV shows and movies hitting one another as an acceptable response to a situation, especially for comic relief! Whenever it happens I’m immediately taken out of the story 😬

[@JesseOnYoutube]

yess like u said, ESPECIALLY for comic relief like ????? its not funny????

[@renee_3364]

Thank you for pointing out the domestic-violence-for-comedy point: that drives me up the wall when I see it. Also thank you for mentioning Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow; YES I WOULD LOVE THAT DEDICATED VIDEO. Personally, I was one of those disabled folks who hated the representation. I always feel doubly hurt when I feel that way about a book with disability rep, since it's still so rare to begin with: for me to give it a low rating feels like a double insult...

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Thank you for sharing all of this!!! Appreciate it more than I can say :)

[@giigiireadss]

I wanna see more critiques on The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winters cuz I feel like people don’t talk enough about the way women are treated in that book and The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi because of the amount of fatphobia. These are really good books in my opinion and I’m glad they got the hype they deserve but the lack of what seems to be awareness within reviews is baffling and unacceptable especially for The Rage of Dragons because all I kept hearing was “it’s a matriarchal society” but then I read the book and thought “maybe they was talking about a different book” AGAIN great books but a lil problematic in those aspects like we gotta be real here.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

We have gone off about rage a few times. It’s so annoying. We didn’t notice the fat phobia in final strife (love that book) so will keep an eye out for that in the sequel

[@giigiireadss]

@@JesseOnKZbin y’all’s is the only review I’ve seen about it and that’s what made me keep notice of it while listening to the audiobook! So thank y’all for that cuz I lowkey might’ve liked it a lot less if I didn’t expect it.

[@kalisbookishpodcast1815]

I would love to see you dissect Other Side of the Tracks by Charity Alyse. She’s a black author who wrote essentially a modernized Romeo and Juliet story where the black female MC basically sides with her white boyfriend/ other MC over her brother where the Black male (her brother) MC has the absolute worst ending ever. Also worth noting that the book is dedicated to young black boys 👀

[@miquesbookvlogs372]

Whenever I watch one of y'all's videos I honestly feel like i get smarter 🤩

[@JesseOnYoutube]

LMAO!!!

[@Michelle-qg7kn]

I'm so disappointed about five midnights. It was on my TBR list because it sounded interesting and obviously centers Latinxs, but demonizing drug addicts like that is one of my big nos. Thanks for including it!

[@runa_7022]

hello very off topic but this is the first video im seeing of urs and my eyes immediately went to the tv in the back 😭😭😭😭😭 gave me so much anxiety until i realised it wasnt facing directly on the wall

[@JesseOnYoutube]

LOL omg sorry 😭😭😭

[@hyemiyah]

you're absolutely right, being a POC doesn't mean that we're not flawed and YES, the word problematic has turned problematic in itself. not everyone needs to be cancelled, most just need to be educated. if you're okay with it. i'd love to hear your thoughts on yellowface because. for me, that book started out strong and then turned into a cringe fest, sadly. the more i learned about the author and the more similarities i found with her and athena liu, the more i cringed. much love to y'all. i absolutely love y'all's videos. they always keep me company as i work

[@JesseOnYoutube]

cannot wait to analyze yellowface because omg you know we love RF Kuang so much haha

[@ellethinks]

I'm glad to see y'all back with so much lovely content. For me it's How Much of These Hills is Gold by C Pam Zhang. I DNFd within the first 20 pages because of all the anti-Indigenous language. It was a big no for me and at the time I didn't see any reviews that critiqued that aspect.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

we're trying, Elle!!!

[@margaretkwon]

Great video! I love your Daria shirt!

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Thank you!! daria was my CHILDHOOD

[@margaretkwon]

@@JesseOnKZbin SAME

[@AbiofPellinor]

Hanya Yanigahara has given me the ick for a long time now

[@woofytron]

i never read To Paradise and don’t plan to, but i made the mistake of reading A Little Life in one sitting, on a 5 hour bus ride to DC. horrible horrible horrible experience. that book was just brutal. after i read it, i read a synopsis of her first book and was immediately sus. while it is certainly important to draw attention to CSA, given the negative stereotype of gay men, and LGBTQ+ people as a whole, being p*dophiles, it rubbed me the wrong way that both of her books depicted this so heavily (at the time, To Paradise wasn’t published yet.) more recently, i’ve seen people speculating about Yanagihara’s sexuality, as if her depictions of gay men would be better if she also identified as LGBT. i have a problem with that logic tho because, whether she identifies as queer or not, she’s not a gay man. so for her to CONSISTENTLY write about gay men being p*dos, gay men being brutalized and traumatized, etc, that is so so so sketchy to me. re: awkwafina. the thing that frustrates me about her is that when she was first getting famous, she justified her cultural appropriation by being like “i’m from NY, this is how we all talk and act!” here’s the thing tho. i’m a black person from the exact SAME neighborhood of Queens that she is from, and not even i use AAVE on that level. Our neighborhood is a predominantly Jewish/Asian neighborhood, there were not a lot of Black people there when i was growing up and Awkwafina is nearly 10 yrs older than me, so there were probably even less back then. a lot of non-Black NYers attempt to use a fictionalized proximity to blackness to justify their antiBlack cultural appropriation, and they can do this because a lot of people who don’t live in NY do not realize how segregated the city actually is. being from NYC does not automatically mean that you are surrounded by Black people and entrenched in Black culture - i actually went to the same HS as Awkwafina too, and that’s when i started code-switching because the school was full of rich white kids. to add to all of this, i noticed that around the time the Farewell was coming out, Awkwafina decided to move away from that persona she created and got famous off. this is also a common thing with people who appropriate Blackness-once they get to a level of fame where they’re more mainstream, they take off the costume. smh i love love loved this video!! y’all are so funny and insightful and also so varied. one of my fave things about y’all is that y’all don’t just talk about the same ole books that everybody and their momma be reading on BookTube, y’all mention a lot of books and authors that i’ve never heard of and i really appreciate that!

[@JesseOnYoutube]

god we are so sorry you had to be exposed to that book :( we LOVE the way she tries to justify her use of AAVE being from NY bc...we never spoke like that either. in fact it was something we were always teased about when in the bronx soooo.???

[@averymello437]

I'm so happy to see y'all take such a strong stance on women hitting their male partners. It's something I find so upsetting and its wild how often it's used in fiction. It's depicted as so normal or as funny. It's disgusting. I'm sad to hear about the issues with Five Midnights. I haven't read it yet but was super excited by the idea of it. I probably won't be picking it up because addiction and the depiction of the people who suffer from it matters so much to me. Do y'all know any other fantasy or horror books set in PR or by Puerto Rican authors? I obviously don't have anything to add to y'alls critiques of how Yanagihara writes black people (both from not being black but also her work never interested me) but I am interested in y'alls point on her writing male queer characters to suffer so greatly. Its something that has been bothering me for a while, female authors writing queer men as just vessels of trauma. I would love to here more on y'alls opinion on the topic.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

love this comment, thank you, Avery! also that icon is ICONIC!!!! here's a list of books by PR authors, we looked one up because we didn't immediately have an answer to your question so we will be going through this list ourselves and adding more PR books to our TBR! thank you :) www.goodreads.com/list/show/37993.Puerto_Rican_Authors

[@netraeng8676]

Dear Jesse, While I agree with you very much on the other authors and understand what you mean about how happy and joyous you are at that Kevin Kwan book, the depiction and celebration of Asian, specifically, South-East Asian and Diasporic Chinese people and their cultures and traditions and cuisines and all of that, I have two notes that I want to tell you about Kevin Kwan. 1, I read he is essentially stuck in the US or some other western country due to the fact that he is literally wanted by the Singapore gov. for dodging the military draft. 2, I just really wanted to tell you that because I, a Chinese Diaspora person, do not understand why non-Asian people and Asian/Asian Diaspora people enjoy all of those crazy rich Asian people so much, but mostly because I read that Kevin Kwan draft dodger fact on Wikipedia one time and thought that it was just really fūçking funny and I had to share it with someone.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

hi hi! thank you for commenting. that's great to know and I appreciate you sharing. It of course doesn't excuse the themes of anti Blackness in his work in any way, but really love u adding this fact and nuance. Thank you again :)

[@caitlinrodriguez8098]

I absolutely agree about the domestic violence against men, especially when it's played for laughs. It really bothers me

[@OliviasCatastrophe]

Lol I had to stop watching because literally hearing hanya y's name just makes me uncontrobally upset and angry BUT this video has so many points about problematic and the meaning for the word.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

completely understandable, friend

[@sabrinaford9]

I completely agree with y'all in You're not supposed to die tonight. That scene didn't need to be there. It took me out of the story.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

we're so glad it wasn't just us. we were like.. how is no one talking about this.....

[@JesseOnYoutube]

yes yes on authors being less defensive. we completely get how hard it is to have ur work critiqued but that ego when ur putting art out into the world that can deeply affect others is not helpful to the artist or the audience

[@arianab.8364]

Something I rarely see talked about with To Paradise is the pretty gross way the narration talks about a heavily autistic-coded character. Her (neurodivergent) traits emerged after she was administered a vaccine or some other medical treatment, and her grandfather seems pretty convinced that she can’t experience a fulfilling life. Fucking yiiiikes Also, I am convinced that HY has never met, let alone spoken to, a gay man in her entire life. Or a disabled person. Which is wild considering how she KEEPS WRITING ABOUT THEM

[@mirandaburberry5744]

👏🫶🙏 thankyou for discussing the issue with representation of domestic abuse against men, it's so overlooked! There's a really interesting video by pop culture detective about SA against men being played for laughs in media which is definitely worth a watch if you haven't seen it already. I'm reading Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow atm and something else that really bothered me is its portrayal of BDSM and its part in a toxic relationship like is this seriously still a trend?? Like why can't their be one healthy depiction of it in a best selling book (Normal People comes to mind as well). Anyways another great video from y'all looking forward to the next one 😁

[@JesseOnYoutube]

great points. oooo can u link the video if you have time?

[@mirandaburberry5744]

@@JesseOnKZbin kzbin.info/www/bejne/q5SZgqt6Z8Ssh9k