Among Us Book Tag

I’m not very good at Among Us, but I still love it.

I like to switch up my character a lot, but my favorite iteration is brown with wolf ears.

I saw Breakeven Books do this tag on BookTube and I have never wanted to do a tag more.

Here’s to murder beans and broken friendships.

Lobby: name the next book on your TBR

A coworker bought me Non-binary Lives: An Anthology of Intersecting Identities for our team gift exchange.

I’m holding off starting it until I get my Currently Reading stack down to three books.

I can pull it off, I know it.

Crewmate: name an author you trust

I’m pretty well obsessed with Kristin Cashore and cannot wait for Winterkeep (which I’ve already preordered.)

Malinda Lo recently said that fans of Bitterblue (my favorite Graceling Realm novel) will especially love Winterkeep.

Malinda Lo has great taste in fantasy, so I trust her opinion.

I’ve got high, high hopes.

Impostor: name a book that betrayed you

(CW: transphobia, misgendering, rape)

Strap in, this is a triple betrayal.

I’ve been side-eyeing Books That Matter for a few months, as their idea of “intersectionality” (One Black author a year! Zero trans inclusion!) has been limited, to say the least.

I did, however, buy their October “Season of the Witch” box, expecting some sort of female-led fantasy like The Year of the Witching.

Instead, I received Frankissstein by Jeanette Winterson, a book that isn’t about magic or witches and has transmasculine protagonist. (A note: transmasc and non-binary people aren’t Women Lite. Quit treating them as such.)

THANKS FOR NOTHING, BOOKS THAT MATTER.

Though I loved Jeanette Winterson’s Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, I was nervous about her inclusion of a trans character. I guess I’ve been burned one too many times by middle-aged British women.

I expected, at the very least, to enjoy the book. Surely Winterson’s handling of Ry’s identity wouldn’t be TOO offensive.

Surprise! Frankissstein is wildly transphobic!

Winterson claims to believe in gender fluidity yet doesn’t seem to understand transness at all.

Frankissstein employs common tropes that trans readers have begged authors not to use: the narrative obsesses over Ry’s genitals, gives them a transphobic love interest, has other characters constantly misgender and deadname Ry, and throws in a gratuitous rape scene.

What’s weirdest to me is how many of these events are played for laughs. (Don’t get me started on the book’s blurbs.) Winterson includes a very tongue-in-cheek author’s note at the end of the book, stating that she hopes she hasn’t offended anyone while also reminding readers that this is a story.

Sure, it’s a story with harmful trans rep that was somehow nominated for the Booker Prize.

Cis people will read this book, written by a well-known author, and think this is what being trans means.

That’s fucking irresponsible.

I’m so disappointed.

Tasks: name a book that took you a while to finish

I started The Poppy War as soon as I bought it because I have no impulse control.

I got through 200 pages before my focus dwindled.

I finally picked the book back up and wow.

I’ve been thinking about it for a few days now.

A lot happened and I’m not okay.

Sabotage: name a book that surprised you

I wasn’t sure Ring Shout could pull off “scary” or “imaginative” in less than 200 pages.

It did both and even made me feel things.

It was also funny, which I wasn’t expecting.

This book plays with so many genres. I love it so much.

As it happens, I haven’t played Among Us in a few weeks.

I should set something up.

If you’d like to play OR do this tag, be my guest!

Also, if you feel like it, tell me about your Among Us character!