The first was the fight for same-sex marriage in Vermont. The dentist started writing fiction eight years ago, when, in a flurry of ink, she penned the first two installments of The Black Witch series in response to two significant events. As for Forest herself, in an interview, she describes the novel as pro-diversity and suggests she aimed for her characters to work through their differences - to explore their own uniqueness and become closer in the process.įorest has been committed to that vision since day one. Some Goodreads reviewers have come to the defense of The Black Witch, as well, saying that the racist rhetoric is a narrative tool used to illustrate the evolution of the characters. "How are we as a society to come to grips with our own repugnance if we do not confront it?" "The simple fact that a book contains repugnant ideas is not in itself, in my opinion, a reason to condemn it," she wrote. In a follow-up article titled " On Disagreement," editor Vicky Smith defended her publication's praise of Forest's novel. Kirkus Reviews, one of three trade reviewing giants that gave The Black Witch a starred review, addressed the controversy after a deluge of reader comments railed against its judgment. The Black Witch by Laurie Forest, Harlequin Teen, 608 pages.Many cite passages regarding the purity of one race or another, or quotes denigrating those of "mixed race." Most of the negative Goodreads reviews proclaim that the book is racist, ableist and homophobic. While the bookstore launches will likely be congenial affairs, The Black Witch has sparked heated debate in the online community. For the first time, she is forced to confront her own bigotry and her society's revisionist history, while becoming politically engaged in a rapidly evolving world.Īfter a May 2 launch at Phoenix Books Burlington, Forest's publisher, Harlequin Teen, will send her on a five-city tour. The plot follows a teenager named Elloren, heir to a weighty political legacy, as she embarks on her first year at a desegregated university. A cast of varied ethnic and religious backgrounds populates the tome's 608 pages. What caused the controversy? Forest's young-adult novel, set in a fantasy world, addresses issues of discrimination in a fascist-trending, highly segregated society. Many of the reviewers openly acknowledge they haven't read the book - they assigned it a low rating, they write, as a matter of principle. Currently, Montpelier author Laurie Forest's debut novel, The Black Witch, has a rating of 1.9 out of five stars on the site, averaged from 1,036 ratings and more than 400 reviews. Anyone anywhere can review a book, no degree or byline necessary. Goodreads is a website that democratizes literature.
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