Hey all, I'm going to be discussing something that has been on my mind again. I really have no idea if this is controversial, but it definitely makes sense to be featuring this as a Fine Line post.
The Fine Line post is a feature I share with Holly @ The Fox's Hideaway, Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight, and Amber @ YA Indulgences. It touches upon topics that are either controversial or hard to talk about. For that reason, I will try to remain as neutral as possible. These posts are not aimed to cause offense or target anyone. And more importantly, the reason for these posts is to see what YOUR thoughts are on the topic at hand. Because I am interested in discussion.
Also, please don't be afraid to comment or discuss your thoughts. There's no right or wrong answer to anything I've discussed, and of course you do not have to agree with me on anything. The only thing I do ask is that you don't mention any names or the such. And if you do have a problem with anything I've said, feel free to DM me. Though just remember that I am allowed to state my own thoughts.
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I recently read two books, The Way I Used To Be (which isn't mental illness but we'll get to that) and When We Collided. Both featured extremely frustrating characters, which is what made them hard to read, and ultimately review.
And here is where this discussion comes in. (Before I get into it all, I would like to thank my wonderful support group in the gchat/Google Hangouts/whatever it's called nowadays, since we talked a lot about this topic. And of course, I would like to thank Amber, Holly, and Shannon for reading this and discussing it with me. Shannon rec'd me Asking For It, which now I want to read ASAP since it deals with this exact topic.)
So. It's hard to deny that there aren't a lot of books featuring characters with mental illnesses. And this is actually a good thing! It's great in that more readers can connect with the characters. More readers can become educated about mental illness, whether it's about schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder, depression, etc. Books such as Paperweight, Challenger Deep, and Made You Up are incredibly powerful narratives that opened my eyes to these topics.
So, here is where I am unsure of where I stand. It's no surprise that sometimes I get frustrated with these characters. And that's to be expected. With When We Collided, it was so hard to read through the character's decision. And same with The Way I Used To Be, which isn't necessarily about mental illness, but also deals with such a hard topic such as rape. And I get it, that's the plot. That's how a person is in that type of situation.
But because of this huge trend in mental illness, there's really a couple of questions I have to ask myself.
The first is something that always troubles me when I review a book featuring a character with mental illness. Can I criticize the actions of the characters? Am I allowed to do that, as someone who has not been raped, or doesn't have said mental illness? In The Way I Used To Be, our main character, Eden, spent her entire high school career struggling with the fact that she had been raped. It was horrible to read. I felt frustrated, and as someone who had not been raped, I was quick to think "Why doesn't she just SAY IT". But what could I say? I have never been in her shoes. And I'm sure other readers who, unfortunately have been, understand Eden perfectly.
For me, the same occurred with Vivi in When We Collided. I didn't agree with many of her thoughts, or her actions. But I couldn't tell apart her personality from her bipolar disorder. Were they the actions of Vivi, or the actions of an illness?
It's a struggle because I feel like as a reviewer, I don't know whether I should criticize the character. Would it make me an asshole if I did? But then I feel equally wrong if I don't express my true feelings about it.
And along those lines, could authors be using mental illness as a way to avoid criticism? I mean, I don't think I'm the only one that struggles with criticizing characters with mental illness. If it were a different situation, I would likely criticize without second thought. Well, anyways, what do you think? I don't know if I have an opinion on this matter yet.
So in the end, I try to just follow my feelings (I say try because I'm still struggling). For The Way I Used To Be, I ended up rating it a little higher than I should've, just because I wanted others to know it was informative. But I think the important thing is that I can still say it was an eye-opening read, while criticizing the character. I just feel wrong not saying my thoughts.
How do you feel about this? Do you also have a hard time reviewing books featuring mental illnesses?
Ely @ Tea & Titles 65p · 477 weeks ago
I don't even know if this comment makes sense anymore.
Grace @ RebelMommyBB 72p · 477 weeks ago
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Molly Mortensen 59p · 477 weeks ago
I can understand someone with a mental illness or PTSD being reserved, secretive, and overly afraid. I think that these characters need more leeway for their decisions. I imagine it's harder to write such characters because they don't always know why they act the way they do, so explanations which are usually necessary to make a character not seem stupid might not be there. I hope that makes sense.
Jordin 28p · 477 weeks ago
For me, Vivi felt super realistic because I had a friend just like her, someone who was so full of life and could just suck you in. I didn't find out until much later that she had bipolar disorder and a lot of other stuff going on too.
Doesn't really answer you question about critiquing characters like Vivi, but I think like any character you can say why you are frustrated with them even if it might be because of their disorder. But you probably shouldn't critique how realistic a character seems if you don't have experience with what they are going through, you know?
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books for a delicate eternity 69p · 477 weeks ago
So I guess I will just say that in my review. Because I don't necessarily feel okay with saying I didn't like Vivi's actions when they were a result of her bipolar disorder ...
What a great post, Val! <3
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Kate @Read and Dream · 477 weeks ago
Really talented authors and really good books should be able to look past a mental disorder and still introduce us to a character and a personality that is real, relatable, and genuine. I would criticize the way it was written, probably. I haven't read either of those novels, though, so I can't be 100% sure this will apply.
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Cait @ Paper Fury 124p · 477 weeks ago
YA Indulgences 55p · 477 weeks ago
You basically know my feelings, but I will bring up…Degrassi (act surprised). So in the first season of this character's appearance in the show, we see them do some reckless things, (Like playing chicken with a car). (Seasons) Later we see this character start acting out a bit, talking off to teachers, making more rash decisions, getting more emotional, acting out of character. This character is then found out to be bipolar. Episodes later, something occurs and he's asked if he's been taking his medication and he says "You always blame it on me being bipolar!".
Anyway, I just thought about how in the show, you see this character's actions and then you see them after they're discovered to have bipolar disorder. And then their behavior makes sense, but it's interesting to try to separate them from it.
P.S. You should totally watch Degrassi.
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Jackie 57p · 477 weeks ago
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shannonmiz 83p · 477 weeks ago
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Jeann 122p · 477 weeks ago
peach · 477 weeks ago
My recent post Review: The Way I Used To Be
bingeingonbooks 35p · 477 weeks ago
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Nicole 98p · 476 weeks ago
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acps927 52p · 476 weeks ago
With Vivi, I feel like the bipolar disorder amplified her personality traits. Her desire to live fully and flamboyantly seemed to increase from harmless, fun things like making Slip N Slides and eating breakfast with a police officer, to increasingly more risky things that were more harmful to her and others, like buying a Vespa without permission, then driving off on it to a different city to find her dad, and then eventually it spirals to the point where she is obviously beyond herself and logical rationale when she tries to "fly" with it. I, too, struggled with her character because I did like her at first, but then as things worsened I stopped liking her. In fact, I disdained her for every cruddy thing she did to Jonah, even though I understood what the problem was, and that was that her disorder was not being managed.
So the best I can explain my feelings towards her is that I like her when she is managed, but I don't like what she becomes and I don't condone any of the things she did in her worsening condition. It made a hard story to read though, and hard to enjoy. I was expecting a love story about two troubled people and felt I got something completely different, because Vivi didn't really love Jonah at all. Despite her disorder, if she had really loved him she wouldn't have treated him quite the way she did.
And while I don't understand her struggle of the struggle of many others, and I know it's easy to say this without ever having lived it... I feel just plain bad behavior can't be justified. I think there are different ways to handle the consequences of those actions, perhaps, through counseling and rehabilitation instead of outright punishment. But I also don't think we have to like or agree with every character in every book we read to appreciate the story, but again, it does make it less enjoyable to read, usually. Especially when you love a good character-driven story like I do. I think it would have been easier to swallow Vivi if we saw her more unlikable at the beginning and then she got better at the story went on.
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Vlora · 476 weeks ago
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missprint 47p · 475 weeks ago
I tend to believe that everything an author puts into a story is a deliberate and intentional choices. If I don't agree with or understand those choices as a person, that's fine. To each their own. If I don't understand them in the context of the narrative arc . . . well I either didn't put in enough time reading the story (which happens because not every book is right for every reader) or the author didn't convey their meaning in a way that made sense for me.
Reading is intensely subjective and I, for one, am always happy to see dissenting opinions as long as they are well informed and justified. That said, I also think it's important to explain the logic behind dislike. To go back to When We Collided and Vivi: being unsure of what Vivi's behavior looks like with treatment for her bipolar disorder vs without her meds is a really valid and relevant critique. And I think it's one that's important to share.
It's hard sometimes but I think any criticism (even of an issue book) can be valid as long as it's handled respectively and thoughtfully.
nereyda1003 59p · 475 weeks ago
Vivi was crazy! But that's okay because I guess that's the point.
Mystery Date with a Book 1p · 475 weeks ago
That should make it easier to pull apart what behaviour came from the character and what came from the mental illness itself. Then, I think criticizing what the CHARACTER said or did is fair game, but it would be wrong to judge an illness-based behaviour. If that makes any sense...