Seanan McGuire (seanan_mcguire) wrote,
Seanan McGuire
seanan_mcguire
  • Mood: geeky
  • Music: Glee, "Here's to Us."

When the music stops, the rest is silence.

I've spoken before about how much I read, and about how much I seek for representation in fiction, both for myself, and for the sake of the people that I care about. How much it hurts when you're the token, or invisible, or the person that doesn't exist. How hard it is to accept that somehow, often through no fault of your own, you're the sort of person who doesn't get to be the star of stories, or even a major supporting character. And about how wonderful it is when that somehow, against all odds, you open a book and see yourself, or your friends.

Yesterday, I read Silence, by Michelle Sagara. She's a fellow DAW author, a sweet, smart lady, and an all-around neat person whom I adore both personally and professionally. But before yesterday, I have never wanted to hug her for an hour and thank her forever.

Silence is a solid, interestingly-told YA novel that seems, superficially, to be just another wave in the current flood of YA supernatural. Being a wave isn't bad; I write urban fantasy, I am basically sponsoring a surfing competition. But there's something wonderful about diving into a wave and discovering infinitely more.

Emma, our protagonist, talks to dead people. She has several close female friends, including Allison, who would be a stereotypical geek in some stories, and Amy, who would be just as stereotypically a mean girl. Yet they work, and they make sense, because they are genuinely written as people. It's not presented as criminal to be smart, or to be pretty: it's just who you are. Emma's greatest asset is her niceness, a genuine generosity of spirit that is so very rare in heroines today. She reminded me of Vixy, and that's about the highest praise I have.

But really, where this book won me, and why I recommend it so readily, was when we met Michael. Michael, who is a high-functioning autistic who has been going to school with Emma and the others since kindergarten. Michael, who is in advanced math and science classes and doing just fine, thank you. Michael, whose friends care about him and look out for him, and who value his friendship and his place in their lives. He is presented with limitations, but so is every other character in the book. He's presented as a person, and for that alone, I will love Michelle forever.

Read Silence. Read it because it's awesome, and read it because any author who includes a complex, well-written, believable, believably autistic central character deserves our applause, and book sales are the best form of clapped hands, for an author.

My hat is off to her.
Tags: from mars, good things, gratitude, reading things
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  • 45 comments
...go 1 level up... Expand

seanan_mcguire

May 18 2012, 15:19:53 UTC 5 years ago

It sort of depends on what you're looking for.

kyra_neko_rei

May 20 2012, 03:15:58 UTC 5 years ago

Good point. I hadn't thought beyond "tell me what you like and I'll check it out," assuming that what people around here like is at least well-written.

As for personal preferences: heroine has her own life and talents and doesn't drop everything to revolve around the boy; no violence to animals; as few consent issues as possible (especially from the love interest(s); happy ending, or at least treading water in the punchbowl of life/afterlife/undeath. Bonus points for funny.

seanan_mcguire

May 22 2012, 15:03:49 UTC 5 years ago

Hmm.

Check out anything by Stacy Jaye or Teri Lynn Childs. I'm a big fan of Rachel Vincent's YA, and Lili Saint-Crow's YA, too. Oh, and you should check out Jeri Smith-Ready's YA.