Great rant. Thanks for the insights. I was wondering about the book - it being praised so much - but the things you mention would ensure I'd regret reading it.
Nice rant. This all bugged me too, plus the incredibly stereotyped Japanese characters, plus the fact that every other female character is described as a slut, etc, etc.
And the part where Aech says that the internet is the best thing that could happen to minorities because apparently the author believes conforming and erasure are the same as diversity? Ye gods.
Oh, yes, the Japanese characters and the three words of Japanese that got deployed at every opportunity so the author could show off his "knowledge" (despite the fact that it's mentioned at least twice that both are FLUENT IN ENGLISH).
And, I agree, the whole of Aech's storyline is really, really problematic and tokenistic and rage-inducing: "Look, my story full of nerdy white kids is actually secretly diverse! One of them was only pretending to be white!"
I don't actually remember the slut-shaming, but I may have been too blinded by rage at that point...
I actually can't remember ever being so angry about a book. And no-one I see on a day-to-day basis is particularly bookish, so I really needed to vent!
And the part where Aech says that the internet is the best thing that could happen to minorities because apparently the author believes conforming and erasure are the same as diversity? Ye gods.
And, I agree, the whole of Aech's storyline is really, really problematic and tokenistic and rage-inducing: "Look, my story full of nerdy white kids is actually secretly diverse! One of them was only pretending to be white!"
I don't actually remember the slut-shaming, but I may have been too blinded by rage at that point...