So, I love Goodreads. I am on here all the time looking for new books and digging around. I try to avoid looking at reviews of my own books because they can be soul crushing but sometimes I just can't help it. It's like that sore tooth that you keep pushing because it still hurts when you apply pressure but it also feels kind of good?
Anyhow, my last blog post was about how I found it frustrating that my book was being labeled dystopian. It's not dystopian. It's a type of genre called Crypto-Historical but that's a blog post for another day.
This time I feel compelled to point out that there is not insta love in this book. There is insta curious. There is insta connection but she is not in love with him the moment she meets him.
Yes, Ryn's curiosity about Ezra and the feelings she has for him (which she WOULD NEVER CALL LOVE IN THE BEGINNING) are the catalyst that starts her asking questions she probably should have asked earlier. But, so what? I've been a teenager and I have a teenager and I've done a lot of stupid shit for a boy. Like a lot. I ran off with a boy to go on a ski trip after three hours of knowing him when I was 17. EPICALLY stupid shit. I know I'm not the only one. Insta love isn't just a trope or a device. It happens when we're young and naive and hopeful and haven't yet been punched in the proverbial gut by love yet.
I needed an outsider. I needed someone to get in Ryn's face early on in this story and be like "don't you see how totally ridiculous it is that you have this job?!" And there are things going on with Ryn..Spoilery things that actually are happening with her that sets this up in a way that makes sense.
I just don't get why some readers are so offended that Ryn's connection to this boy is what sets her off on her journey. I'm a feminist. I'm also a realist, a romantic and like I said, a mother. You can be all these things at once. Now maybe some of these people who are calling me out on this have never experienced this kind of connection and if that's the case then okay, cool, your interpretation makes sense. BUT if you've ever done something crazy and impulsive because you had intense feelings for someone you didn't know all that well....All I'm asking is that you forgive poor Ryn who is a moron when it comes to feelings and boys and is under enormous pressure and okay, isn't always making smart choices because her life is really effing hard. Give Ryn a break and let her fall for a boy even if it feels kinda quick.
Okay, yeah, much better, rant over, thank you...