Today's guest blogger is Malinda Lo, whose debut novel, ASH, puts a unique twist on the classic Cinderella fable. Below, she shares her thoughts on keeping an open mind when it comes to reading outside of our comfort zones. Recently, an author friend of mine was discouraged to find out that a book blogger had refused to review her book because it included LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender) characters. At first, I advised her to forget about it and move on --- you can't please everyone.
But her experience stuck with me. I found myself thinking about it several times, and I realized that what disturbed me wasn't the idea that some people might be homophobic (this is just basic reality), but the idea that someone would attempt to avoid an entire group of people in their reading material. I mean, would it be OK if I said that I never liked to read books about Christians? Or would it be, I don't know ... a little bit close-minded?
Obviously, I have a personal interest in this issue. ASH, my novel, is a retelling of Cinderella in which the Cinderella character falls in love with a girl --- not a male Prince Charming. I'm certainly hoping that readers who aren't LGBT themselves can still find something to enjoy in my book.
But I know that some folks probably will choose not to read ASH because of the LGBT story line. And yes, every reader has a right to make his or her own decisions based on his or her particular interests. Some people prefer to read romantic stories; others would never touch the stuff and only read mysteries. Even I admit that some genres appeal to me more than others.
Nevertheless, I would stop short of eliminating an entire group of people from my reading material. For example, I am not an evangelical Christian, but I really enjoyed Lara Zielin's funny and thoughtful DONUT DAYS, about the daughter of evangelical Christian parents. The people were not caricatures or stereotypes, and I appreciated that.
I am not a straight white girl, but I was totally hooked by Diana Peterfreund's RAMPANT, about a straight white girl who happens to be a unicorn hunter (killer unicorns, of course) and also falls for a cute Italian guy. The hunting was awesome, and I totally got why she liked the guy --- I didn't have to be straight to understand it.
I am not a boy, but let me tell you, I have devoured every one of the Harry Potter novels more than once.
The point is, we don't have to be the same gender, race or sexual orientation as a book's main character to get wrapped up in their story --- or even to identify with them. We, as humans, all face common experiences: dealing with our parents, facing up to our own personal fears, falling in love for the first time.
So I do hope that readers who are not lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender will still give books with those characters a chance. It's important for us to read about people who are different from us because it helps us to see how we are similar. It's important for us to make space in our worlds --- both real and fictional --- for diversity of all kinds.
-- Malinda Lo
