Hi there, dear reader! I know, it’s been a while. Exam period is the biggest enemy of reading for me, because, like, who wants to do more reading after studying most of their time? Not me, that’s for sure.
But then I have my readathons and challenges and books just pile up and start to intimidate me and male it even harder to read and… What I’m trying to say is it takes a very special book to get me out of this slump spiral. And Imogen, obviously, obviously was it for me (see what I did there?).
Written by Becky Albertalli, with its pink cover and promises of a very straight, super ally girlie questioning her straightness in the face of a tomboy lesbian sunshine, I didn’t know what to expect besides an easy read. But it delivered so much more.
First super positive point for me was the absence of “third act break up”. There is tension and drama, don’t get me wrong, but it’s more of the everyday, normal stuff, not over the top contrived drama for the sake of drama. It’s questioning oneself, not the others. It’s internalised biphobia that you get the front seat view for, not misunderstandings and poor communication. And it’s everything.
I laughed, I teared up (but I am a softie, you should know), and I was on the edge of my seat rooting for Imogen. Against her biggest enemy, her low self esteem. But it didn’t feel cheap. It felt like it _could_ be me, or my friend, or you in her position, going through the same doubts and insecurities. Because she made herself feel that way based on what others said and thought about her and the queer experience.
The only outside “threats” were biphobia, societal expectations, and other queers. Yes, you read that right. Because even queer people can be wrong, even about other queers. Hot take, right? Except it’s not. Queer people are just people, too, after all. They can fuck up just as bad as any other person, and it doesn’t make them villains or less of anything. Just human. However, I believe it takes an extra dose of careful consider to write this right, and Becky Albertalli managed just fine.
Last but not least, inclusion. As you might glean from the “queer this, bi that” of all the other paragraphs, Imogen, obviously is pretty inclusive. There are pronouns, labels, skin colours and religions galore, but it is, once more, done so, SO well. I am not the brightest bulb in the shed when it comes to noticing subtle representation. I can admit that much. I managed to somehow miss it in Fourth Wing, where the chronic illness of the main character is kind of a big deal (I just assumed, like a complete uneducated bimbo, that she had “some made up trouble to make it convenient”. I know better know and I feel extra dumb for this one). But I Also don’t like books where I feel like labels or anything not “standard, normal, cookie cutter white cishet” and what not is pointed out for us readers to ogle. It feels weird, in better cases, sometimes straight up wrong. But here, the labels and pronouns are not a statement, not a big reveal and a huge deal. They are just… there. Religion does come up in conversations, so does sexuality and nationality, but never race. Because, let’s be honest here - have you ever, in the real world, heard a person go “so you know I’m Asian right? And this happened…” It just never happens like this. We see the person is Asian, we understand what situations they talk about have been influenced by this, and sure, if we are (and here I mean I am) super obtuse about it, _then_ they might point it out. And in this book, you will find a lot of diverse characters, but no stale and staged dialogue around their unique traits, where they explain how being Jewish is this core thing they reflect on before picking their morning cereal. They live their lives, exist as who they are, and just… don’t spotlight in unless it’s crucial to do so. And I loved it.
That being said, I respect if you think differently on these matters. Maybe you think the world need more spotlighted representation. Maybe you don’t understand why I find normal, casual “living” diverse characters so amazing (enough to write about it on the internets). That’s fine. Of you have something constructive to add to the conversation or think I missed something important, please let me know. I will only ask for a civilised discussion, no namecalling and as much explanation as possible - after all, as I mentioned above, I do sometimes seriously, non-maliciously miss the most obvious thing.
As always, stay kind, dear reader
Cyan
