John Green and the Non Apology

I've been pondering what to write about this whole ordeal with the John Green misattributing a quote to himself - for years, mind you - that was actually written by a 14 year old fan.

I wanted to talk about how much plagiarism hurts, how big of a violation it feels like, but when I tried to write that post I was just ranting for about three pages. Hardly conductive to a good exercise in writing. So instead I decided to put my scientific training to use and focus on the facts.

And after reading the multiple accounts and varied opinions on the subject (I recommend reading Bibliodaze's and Cuddlebugery's posts about it), well... there are three things that don't ring quite true. 

Found at reactiongifs.com

1. John Green didn't know he hadn't written the line until recently. 

I don't buy this. How can an author not know what he has written or not? See, I might not be a big, published author but I am a writer and you can bet your ass I remember the stuff I have written.

Particularly the really good stuff that just seems to fit perfectly? yup, those kind of linger with you. I can remember my favorite line or scene of all the stories I've written - about 40 between fanfiction and original stuff - so yeah, I just can't buy that he didn't know.

2. No one noticed before now.

Found at reactiongifs.org

See I'm a fangirl of many fandoms and if fandoms are good at something that is NOTICING STUFF, I can't remember how many times Sarah Dessen has published a book and within hours of publications we had Master Lists of all the easter eggs she dropped for long time fans. 

Libba Bay has commented that continuity errors that escaped her, her copy writer and her editor, have been discovered by fans in a similar fashion. 

So, I don't buy that no one noticed before, I just don't... which ties in with my third point:

3. No one spoke up before, save for the real author and her friend. 

reactiongifs.com

This is really fishy, as I said, fans speak out. In the age of Internet, I can't believe that this went on for close to six years without someone other than the original author of the quote and her close friend speaking out or just looking into it.

Reports said that the author got negative emails about her claiming the quote, so WTF? why no one commented it on a large venue before? Also, she tried to contact DFTBA and John Green several times to no avail!

It seems like John Green's fans were just sweeping it under the rug. 

And, to top it all off, there was never a concrete apology, not a public one which is the type this kind of thing deserves. His video amounts to an Oopsie! like this was something that just happened, not like something that he was actively doing for years. It's not an error of omission, it's negligent. 

And so, my disenchantment with the Nerdfighter community and John Green (of whom I can't say I ever liked 100%) continues.

But that's just me, let me know what you guys think.


Also, thanks to Sandy @ Pirate Penguin Reads for helping me find gifs. All gifs were found with google /bing image search and do not belong to me.

Note: Yup, I'm not liking to John Green's video because I don't think he deserves to get more views out of it, but Cuddlebuggery posted it on their entry, if anyone is interested. 

An Open Letter to the March Family Letters...

Dear March Family Letters,

I wanted to like you. I really did but I'm afraid we are going to have to part ways sooner rather than later - you feel free to lord it over Frankenstein M.D. that you made me drop you faster than Victoria did - because, to put it succinctly, you kind of suck. 

Now, let me to throw my bonafides on the table: I love Little Women, I love the movie, I have read the book over fifteen times, I even watched the animes (all 3 versions of it) and I have seen pretty much all the movie, riffs and other adaptations made of it (the March Sisters at Christmas, anyone?). 

I know MY Little Women.

But I'm starting to believe that maybe you don't, March Family Letters. 

See, the story of the March sisters is a simple one: a slice of life melodrama about four sisters who are very different from each other but love one another. That's it. Yet all characters have a spine, an inner motor that dictates their lives and their personalities. 

You don't seem to be grasping that. 

Meg isn't serious, she is lady like and put together (she would never ever be caught looking like the frightful mess she looks like in some of your 'letters'), she actually enjoys going to parties and being with her friends, the snobbier the affair the better because she does crave social status. 

Amy is gorgeous in a traditional sort of way (and she is blond, dammit!), she can be capricious, and she sure annoys Jo. But she's also mostly described as someone who is charming and polite who is both sensitive and practical in equal measures. 

Beth is shy with strangers, but actually has a lot of friends, she's not an island nor is she dependent on her sisters for everything, she in fact spends most of her time alone fending for herself. She's strong and thinks of others first, she would never refuse to be on a video for her mom, nor would she be snarky about it. 

And Jo, darling Jo whom I hate and love sometimes in equal measure- Jo is a tomboy, she is impulsive and has a bit of a mean streak, she is also smart and very creative and fiercely loyal even if she's pretty much a brick when it comes to other people's feelings. 

She wouldn't make a whole video raging because someone addressed a letter to her wrong. She would probably have enjoyed being called a dude. She calls herself "The man of the house" a few times in the book, you know? 

Now I am all for twists and turns and for turning stories on their head, as long as you acknowledge and respect the story you are telling. But you seem to be very badly miscast, March Family Letters. I could argue until I was blue in the face that Jo March needs to have a gorgeous head of hair to be Jo March, but I could have easily let that go if you had captured the spirt of her.

But nope, you seem to have casted these girls as if you were aiming for a parody or a satire, not for a retelling. They are over the top, and stiff and Jo's mouth seriously freaks me out (it's like it has a life of its own). 

There has to be certain chemistry and dynamic to the March family and I'm just not seeing it. You are going through the beats but not showing the true love and annoyances behind a family.

Because that's the thing that has endured about Amy, Beth, Jo and Meg through out the years: they feel like a real family, the make each other mad and they cheer each other on. And from the moment the book opens on that cold week before a Christmas without presents, you feel it: all the tension and the petty grievances of teenage girls and all the love of a family who has struggled together but that is better off for it. 

Until you find that core, you won't find who these girls are, and until you do, you won't work as a retelling of this beloved story. 

And you will be one audience member short, because I'm seriously done with you,

Alex.

-----
So, that's me and the March Family Letters, what about you? Is anyone else watching it? Have strong feelings about it? Let me know.

Why does NA even exist? But I ask again, why? - A Book Rant

Hello my lovelies!!

So, I finally put together all my thoughts on why I don't believe in New Adult as a thing that should be happening... and I did it on vlog format!!

So, yeah, I did this all in one take, sorry if I rant a little too long. And if I say "A lot of these books..." quite a few times. And please let me know what you think down in comments.

Also, yeah... that's the pretty bad haircut I'm rocking right now... can't wait for my hair to grow out of it :P

And, as always, this is just my opinion on a book classification I don't like, it says nothing of the authors or readers who do like to write it or read it.

Okay, so here we go:

Feel free to leave comments!

Book Review: Big Fat Disaster by Beth Fehlbaum

At First Sight: Colby is the odd girl out in her family, she's overweight and, unlike her sisters, she takes after her father (a former football player) rather than her mother (a former Miss Texas). Yet, Colby is often pushed into the spotlight as part of her father's senatorial camping - which is running on a family values platform. 

Until the day Colby finds out a big secret about her father -that he's having an affair with another woman - and the Feds come knocking around, inquiring about where the money for the campaign is actually coming from. 

In one day, Colby's life is turned upside down with her father leaving and her mother deciding to move them to a small town, where they are taken in by Colby's Aunt and her son Ryan - who really doesn't want them there. 

There, Colby's size swells even more, along with her mother's contempt for her. She gets blamed for everything: the changes in their situation, going from a mansion to a trailer, the lack of money and her father's indifference. And even when Ryan makes a cruel video of Colby struggling to get dressed and said video ends up online, she gets blamed for that too. 

Second Glance: Big Fat Disaster is a mess. 

The tone of the book is all over the place, at first I thought it was going to be about a fat chick getting her groove back and finding her self respect (It wasn't), then I thought it was about Colby finally being accepted by her mother and sisters (Not It), then I thought it was going to be about Colby finding her self and her inner strength in Pine Creek with the help of her cool Bakery owner aunt, and her cousin Ryan -This calls for a Hell to the No! - then it turned dark - bullying, suicides and death, oh my! - and then it was just meh. 

Not a single person in this book was likable or even two dimensional, everyone came off as cruel, annoying, bitter or just stupid. Colby didn't fare any better even though this story was from her perspective. We were supposed to care she had an eating disorder (Binge Eating) and feel for her because her mom was a psycho, but really... she was just as annoying as the rest of them. 

Yet, the worse thing about this book is that EVERYONE FREAKING GETS AWAY WITH IT!

After all the stuff that goes down, things pretty much end where they started, Colby is supposed to be getting some help by then but that was TOO LITTLE TOO LATE, everyone is still sticking to the status quo, and the main relationship dynamics haven't changed one bit - Colby's mom still hates her, her sisters still think she's a waste of space and Colby still cares that they think that. 

Bottom Line: There was one way for this book to work out: For Colby to come out of it triumphantly, or at least with a bit of strength or hope, but this just doesn't happen - I'm not convinced she's going to be OK by the end, either. I don't mean question or demean the author's intent or her experiences -from the author's note I gather some of the stuff (or at least the inspiration for the book) came from real-life events - but her execution does more harm than good. 

No Stars for this one. 

Disney Disappointments a.k.a. The Latina Princess Fail

I think some of my most popular posts ever (at least that generate non-book-related traffic) at A Girl, Books and Other things have been about Disney, their movies and how I feel about their Princesses. Without pussyfooting about it: I love the Disney Princesses (and I have explained why in the past). 

So imagine my surprise this morning, when I was having breakfast, enjoying the pre-Día de los Muertos/Halloween vibe all over the city, and reading the paper when I came across the news that Disney was launching it's latest Princess: Sofia The First, as a series aimed toward younger kids, to air on Disney Junior. And guess, what? Sofia is Latina! Imagine now my moment of great happiness - as I'm, you know, from Mexico and all. 

Then imagine my crushing disappointment when Sofia turned out to look like this: 

Adorable, right? And in the world according to Disney, Latina. 

I don't know about you, but to me that's not Latin@ at all! 

And I don't mean that all Latins have black hair and a dark complexion, I know this because I don't have either, and I dont doubt there are red(ish) headed, blue eyed Latin people out there, and I know that Latin comes in all kind of shades. Latin looks are so elastic because we are such an eclectic mix, so I understand not wanting to go into stereotypes about what Latin is an isn't - I get that.

But when your best shot at 'latina' looks basically caucasian then I'm sorry, but I'm calling shenanigans.  

And Half-assed  explanations  about  how "what's important to know is that Sofia is a fairytale girl who lives in a fairytale world" rather than if she's latina or not, don't really cut it.

- Alex

Ps: Tomorrow I'll go back to book reviewing, I promise.

PS2 - In case any one wants to see the trailer: