Excellent review! I'm gearing up to write something similar about the ways in which (a subset of) contemporary YA dystopian fiction seems to be obsessed with teen pregnancy, teenage girls' 'purity' and controlling girls' bodies, but I haven't quite worked out exactly where this trend is coming from and what it all means.
Foz Meadows wrote an interesting post on some of the things you discuss here (in particular, how these writers seem to set up worlds where abuse and sexual assault would be normalised, but then shy away from actually depicting that), which might be worth a read.
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it. The purity thing is something that just bugs me on every level. I'm not sure where the trend comes from either. I think it's connected to the market, the people writing the books and the really contradictory bullshit we're teaching women about sex. The virgin/whore complex needs to GTFO. I think it was more obvious in the paranormal YAs I read (yeah yeah, we all know about Twilight but that wasn't the only culprit) but when you establish a world like the one in "Eve" or "Wither" that seeks to explore these issues then fall back on this tired trope, there are bigger issues that need to be discussed.
I love Foz, she's got such a keen eye and brain for this stuff. Hadn't read that post before so thanks for linking it.
I'm not sure what would have made me throw the book across the room harder: that Eve's fellow runaway was named Arden, or that the safe-haven is named Califia. That you were able to ignore both of these and complete the read is a testament to your scholarship.
Heh, I was reading it on my Kindle so wall banging was not an option. I'm mainly disappointed by the wasted potential of the genre since I love dystopian fiction.
I don't get it -- what's the issue with Arden and Califia? I Googled them both and Califia is apparently the spirit of California, but Arden gets me so much like some lady who created a cosmetics line, and the meaning of the name doesn't seem to be particularly symbolic...
Dale Arden from Flash Gordon comes to mind, too, but besides both being characters in science-fiction novels (well, not really but it's the only comparison between the two media that could make any sense), I don't see a connection their either.
I'm very curious as to why those two terms would be upsetting, because I am completely blanking.
So on the one hand, we have a reference to someone best known for a portrayal of one of the archetypical (some might say stereotypical) female vocations; on the other, a reference to an icon in LGBTQ and BDSM circles.
What I found to be the icing on the cake was that in the end she actually leaves him behind when the women at Califia won't let him in even though she got other people killed just to be with him again. By this alone you already know the sequel is going to be a load of nonsense.
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Foz Meadows wrote an interesting post on some of the things you discuss here (in particular, how these writers seem to set up worlds where abuse and sexual assault would be normalised, but then shy away from actually depicting that), which might be worth a read.
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I love Foz, she's got such a keen eye and brain for this stuff. Hadn't read that post before so thanks for linking it.
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Dale Arden from Flash Gordon comes to mind, too, but besides both being characters in science-fiction novels (well, not really but it's the only comparison between the two media that could make any sense), I don't see a connection their either.
I'm very curious as to why those two terms would be upsetting, because I am completely blanking.
Reply
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eve_Arden
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Califia
So on the one hand, we have a reference to someone best known for a portrayal of one of the archetypical (some might say stereotypical) female vocations; on the other, a reference to an icon in LGBTQ and BDSM circles.
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