#kidlit villain

[itsawritblr]

Gabriel Agreste in another life?

Vice Principal Balderdash (yes, that's his name) in the middle-grade graphic novel Blue Stars: The Vice Principal Problem, sure makes me think of Gabriel!

.

He's the only interesting character in the whole book.

[ksfoxwald]

Animorphs #52: The Sacrifice

In which Ax feels conflicted about his loyalties to the humans and the Andalites.

(It's not repetitive, it's thematic)

(It's a little repetitive)

But we've been in escalation mode, so this time Ax actually has to choose between Destroy All Humans and Never Go Home Again.

Because at this point the Andalites want to sacrifice Earth so they can destroy the Yeerks when they concentrate their forces there, and if the humans blow up the Yeerk pool that could take significantly longer.

Yeah, they're going to blow up the Yeerk pool.

The one thing they've decided is too far, that they've deliberately refrained from multiple times.

Highlights:

Getting the parents involved in the explosives heist.

Rachel's mom getting a badass moment of "oh yeah, I know this guy, I lawyered for him, and he owes me."

Moments after she watches her daughter attempt to run the guy over with a truck.

One of the Guard seeing Ax and instead of going "Aah! Monster!" going "what an adorable creature! pspsps"

the "new" Animorphs are consistently involved, they weren't just a one off and I love it.

Marco: "This is our biggest victory, and I've never been more depressed."

Just... one of the defining features of kidlit (and even most of teen lit) is that the protagonists never compromise their morals. Because adults see kids as more "pure," or because kidlit is supposed to provide moral guidance, or whatever. The Dark Lord will tempt them, but they never do anything actually "bad" that puts innocent blood in their hands unless they've been tricked or made a mistake. But I guess the only rules in 90s kidlit are 1) don't describe violence in detail (which Applegate skirts the edge of) and 2) don't kill named characters unless it's a Heroic Sacrifice or a Villain. Which Applegate technically follows.

Two more books. I'm not sure I'm ready.

[jadelapis]

Listening to a review of the first season of Netflix's Shadow & Bone (to remember what went on) and in the middle of the podcast an angry Ship Shaming rant started (about DarkAlina or w/e the ship name is). I finished the review, it was a good review (I want to be very clear, aside from the rant that generated this post, it was not a hate listen or anything), but the Ship Shaming irked me.

Like, I don't actually ship Darkling / Alina (because I didn't ship anyone in that trilogy. It is extremely easy to guess what I shipped in Six of Crows though, but if you need a hint, think gay thoughts; And I haven't read the latest trilogy so I have zero opinions regarding that).

But looking at my choices in life (the things I am writing for original fiction) it's honestly a surprise I didn't ship it.

Look there are certain things I love:

Fucked up relationships and fucked up people

Hero / Villain Relationships (particularly in the sense of showing how easily the hero could become a villain).

Like I do ship some uh "healthier" relationships (you will never convince me (Meg)ThanZag is a bad idea lol.) But you, podcaster that isn't reading this, had just pointed out how much Mal fucking sucks in the books (He is much more mature and less of an asshole without reason in the show). Like, if your main choices in BookWorld are: "Fucking Asshole I grew up with who doesn't seem to appreciate me and pouts all the time"

Or....

"Possibly (definitely) evil General who is at least paying attention to me" I don't blame ANYONE who finds the latter more compelling, you know? The Podcaster suggested it was Grooming (correct). That was the point. I'm pretty sure Leigh Bardugo wrote it that way deliberately. Like, you could certainly argue you have to be careful with these things in Kidlit because you have an impressionable audience (though yes there are many adults reading). But I felt like Bardugo did it well, you know? Like. Leigh Bardugo never showed the interactions between Kirigan/Darkling and Alina to be a good idea.

While I cannot read minds, I suspect Bardugo wanted you to see why Alina was drawn to the Darkling (aside from elemental powers you know?).

I am not like, a professional or expert, but I think part of grooming (not in all cases) is making the target feel good (about the predator). Like, I've seen it argued that part of the reason predators are so effective is they tend to treat the (young) victims more in a way that feels like the child's / target's concerns are being taken seriously, compared to say, dealing with their parents, you know? I can't cite that, it was a random tumblr post on my dash weeks ago, so don't cite me.

Like, part of the subplot of that trilogy is about Powerful Men taking advantage of vulnerable girls. So once again, I argue the point is made that Darkling/Alina is unhealthy.

but I'm not here to Ship Shame.

I suspect the people that Ship DarkAlina do so knowing it's fucked up. I can't like, take a census, and I'm unwilling to read a mountain of fanfiction / scrutinize profiles for this rant.

But let me put it another way. Let's talk about author V.C. Andrews. Best known for the Flowers in the Attic Series (which I am familiar with, but have not read). She wrote a lot of fucked up shit. That was the point. You may not have known the plot of whatever V.C. Andrews book you picked up, but you probably knew (definitely knew if it wasn't your first V.C. Andrews book) that it was about fucked up shit. Fucked Up Shit was basically the V. C. Andrews brand.

People are allowed to like fucked up ships or fucked up fiction for whatever reason, whether it's a therapy thing or they just find it fascinating, I know there are a myriad of reasons to do so, this is just off the top of my head.

Now, I know this is a longer post and more open to malicious interpretation, so I'm going to just leave a few key points here at the bottom:

As many people have stated in other posts, Ao3 offers exquisite filtering tools, and you have to click to consent to read anything explicit. So if you think fucked up pairings are fucked up and not your cup of tea: filter them out at a minimum. Do NOT click on fics tagged "Dead Dove: Do Not Eat", etc. I'm not willing to debate the ethics of AO3, or ethics of fucked up ships, or any other weird bullshit about shipping and fandom. Complain elsewhere.

I try not to spend my time hate watching / listening / reading things, since this rant was halfway through the podcast and only lasted like 3 minutes, I figured I'd continue. And I was right to.

Just to be safe I'm casting a spell of "Fuck Off, TERFS"

If you do like reading fucked up shit and / or fucked up ships, I'm more than willing to talk to you, especially if you want to analyze yourself. That's why (at least for the time being) I'm allowing reblogs and such. While this was prompted by a particular media, it doesn't have to be about the Grishaverse.

[shamelesslymkp]

I am very picky about my audiobooks and try to only buy ones I am sure I will listen to multiple times, but also audiobooks have been my main source of original fiction over the last decade so I own quite a lot and Have Opinions! These are not just stories I love; they are also narrators and narrations I love, ones which add so much to the story! Not comprehensive, by any means.

First - Audible exclusives:

Second Hand Curses, Drew Hayes

Incryptid series, Seanan McGuire (other series also excellent but not exclusive)

Frontier Magic trilogy, Patricia C. Wrede (YA/KidLit)

How to Defeat a Demon King in 10 Easy Steps, Andrew Rowe (KidLit)

Redshirts, John Scalzi

The Martian, Andy Weir

Non-Exclusives

The Murderbot Diaries, Martha Wells

The Locked Tomb series, Tamsyn Muir

The Newsflesh series, Mira Grant

The Villain's Code series, Drew Hayes

The Scholomance series, Naomi Novik (not YA, but like... YA-adjacent?)

The Temeraire series, Naomi Novik

The Girls I've Been / The Girl in Question, Tess Sharpe (not sci-fi/fantasy, hilarious queer heist action type stuff but with a ton of trigger warnings; YA)

new Discworld editions, Terry Pratchett; new narrators

My taste tends to skew younger and I have more YA / KidLit recommendations, if anyone wants them - and I also highly recommend like, anything by most of the above authors!

apparently Audible credits expire after a year?

so I have 21 to spend this month (and I'm considering reducing next year's subscription)

Please recommend me books to buy on Audible!

preferably: scifi/fantasy or like interesting histories (nonfiction), "audible original" aka not available elsewhere

(feel free to reblog)

[lookslikethatsallthetimewehave]

I was browsing through the wiki for photos of the villains and I was reminded that Cthulhu technically exists in Poptropica. Well it has a design!

Only appearances were in a Pop Quiz and an April Fool’s joke

You fight Cthulhu… and win OH GOD WHY IS THE LORE FOR THIS SILLY CARTOON RPG BY KIDLIT AUTHORS SO INCIDENTALLY MASSIVE

Oh yeah... I remember, this image was for a Pop Quiz!

I think I picked Cthulhu. Because that thing is scary.

Hey, BTW, how is it possible for a child to defeat Cthulhu?! And all these other villains for that matter. What's so special about these kids that they're able to do all this stuff without any adult help?

And also, how come their parents let them travel around the world, constantly endangering themselves? And how come...

[edwardiantaylor]

Since its the first time in years I'm not working on any freelance or children's book work, I finally had time to wrapped up the missing two characters from Animal Alphabets Movie/Book Monsters. Y for Yzma from "The Emperor's New Groove" and Z for Monster Zero from "Godzilla Vs. Monster Zero."

[hollisketch]

Day 13 of #31daysofharry Severus Snape!

“My word, Severus, that I shall never reveal the best of you?’ Dumbledore sighed, looking down into Snape’s ferocious, anguished face. ‘If you insist …”

-Dumbledore

 All these years after the books conclusion, and I still feel conflicted about Snape. He fought for the right cause, but every time I re-read the books I get so frustrated at how hard he is on Neville!

[books]

Writer Spotlight: Amanda Foody & Christine Lynn Herman

Well, well, well. What's this? A treat? For you? In Halloween week, its very self? You betcha. This week, we're exploring the world of new @torteen release ALL OF US VILLAINS by asking its creators, Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman, all about the novel's characters and themes. Click through to the end for writing advice, thoughts on the YA fantasy genre, and a linked sneak peek 👀

First off, can you describe the plot of ALL OF US VILLAINS?

All of Us Villains takes place in Ilvernath, a small, remote city that—up until the publication of a salacious tell-all book one year ago—was quite forgotten and overlooked. But now, its dark secret has been revealed. Every generation, seven of the city's oldest families send a teenage champion to compete in a tournament to the death. The winner's family gets to claim the most powerful type of magic in the world. Our four POV characters, each one of this generation's seven champions, have to grapple with the dangers of the tournament in addition to their newfound but unwanted fame. The book has lots of plot twists, morally gray characters, and—as you'd probably guessed—blood.

Can you talk a bit about your inspiration for exploring themes of inherited family responsibility and community-sanctioned violence?

Both of these themes came about organically as we developed the initial concept of a death tournament novel. By linking the tournament to seven families, each required to put forth a champion, we created an inherited trauma that each of our main characters grapples with differently. It was important to us that we explore the nuances of how they were raised, their coping mechanisms within such an extreme situation, and the tournament's impact on the wider community. Because for all that these teenagers are fighting for power, there is also a question of responsibility. Is the blood they've shed on their own hands, the hands of the people who sent them off to die, or something else entirely? In a world of spells and curses, how do these people allocate blame? All of this is tied up in the stories our characters tell themselves and in those the world tells about them; their roles as heroes or villains develop from that.

What made you want to write a story about the villain instead of the hero? And do you believe in that binary, or is it more complicated than that?

We both firmly believe that all people—and thus all interesting characters—are composed of good and bad traits. We chose to write about characters whose bad traits are especially villainous because it felt appropriate for the story. These are teenagers who have been raised for this death tournament, who have been taught that the reward of power is more important than the lives taken to achieve it. That takes a certain type of person…and not necessarily a straightforwardly good one.

Can you give us any hints as to what to expect from the next book in the series?

You can expect a lot of romance and a lot of betrayal. Perhaps they even go hand in hand?

What made you first want to write stories, and how did you come to tell the stories you tell?

Christine: I've wanted to be an author from the moment I fell in love with books—so, most of my life. Since the books I connected with deeply were always speculative fiction, it was inevitable that I'd want to write books that included magic. And since I loved kidlit so much, even after a lot of my friends "aged out" of reading it, it was inevitable that I'd want to write YA books, too.

Amanda: If I loved something as a child, I had a very "my turn" attitude. I loved drawing, so I drew all the time. I loved crafts, so I knitted and beaded and made pottery all the time. I loved board games, so I designed at least half a dozen. Books were just another thing I loved, and writing was the hobby that endured the most. And because fantasy was always my favorite, it never felt like a question that fantasy would be what I would write.

If you could pick one character from AOUV that you identify most with or root for most, who would it be, and why?

Amanda: I'd choose Isobel. Not only do we often think alike, but Isobel's family looks a little bit like mine since her parents are divorced. I grew up with a lot of divorce within my immediate family but never saw it in fantasy novels, so it has become a running theme in my stories. But I have no one specific character I've rooted for more than the others. They're all our characters, and I love them all equally!

Christine: I identify a great deal with Briony's stubbornness and determination, as well as her struggle to break out of the stories she tells herself vs. reality. Although she definitely takes all these traits to extremes in ways that I personally do not. As far as rooting for any of them...well, as one of their authors, I'm responsible for all of their misfortunes. But I am also rooting for all of them to get the chance to take a relaxing nap one day.

Do you have any hopes and dreams for the future of the YA Fantasy genre? What would you like to see more of?

We are both thrilled with the ways that the YA fantasy genre has become more inclusive to marginalized voices. But we also believe that there is a continued need for authentic and diverse representation. In the future, we hope to see more books by authors of color, fellow members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and other voices that deserve to share their stories and that will bring so much to the genre.

Aside from working on AOUV, are there any other exciting projects you're working on that you can share with us?

Amanda: I'm currently publishing a middle-grade fantasy series, Wilderlore. It's been my lifelong dream to write this kind of story—the kind where the characters age up with each new installment, with a sprawling cast and world and so much adventure. I'm completely smitten. The first book, The Accidental Apprentice, is already out, and Book 2, The Weeping Tide, hits shelves on February 1, 2022.

Christine: I have a solo YA contemporary fantasy novel coming on April 19, 2022, called The Drowning Summer, that's about queer first love, climate change, ghosts, and a very spooky ocean. I'm very proud of it and excited to see what readers think!

Do you have any advice for writers who are just starting out and trying to get a foot in the door?

Christine: It's so easy to get discouraged when tackling a project as long and laborious as a novel, especially if the words aren't coming out the way you envisioned them. For me, writing is mostly re-writing. Learning to embrace that messy first draft as the first step in a long but rewarding process is a great way to be proud of putting words on the page. It also helps you let go of the need for those words to be perfect.

Amanda: I always recommend that aspiring writers read as many books about the craft of writing as they can. Once you understand the nitty-gritty mechanics of storytelling, every new book you read for pleasure will teach you twice as much. Plus, though they might sound textbook-adjacent (and thus rather dull), I've always found them really fun to read!

Thank you to Amanda and Christine for taking the time to answer our questions! If you want more of ALL OF US VILLAINS, click through here for an exclusive reading/audio sample, or pick it up from your local bookshop or library on November 9, and let us know what you think!

This interview has been condensed for clarity.

[killerduckbuddy]

Day: 1344 Cinematember: Lion King. of the 1,363 times I’ve watched the Lion King the stand out performance(s) belong to the Hyenas. VERY busy day prepping for another busy day. . . . . . . #kidlit #kidslit #kidlitart #watercolor #art #kidslitart #illustration #sketchdaily #childrenillustration #kidslitart #dailydraw #drawing #doodle #ink #kidsbook #scbwi #portfolio #lionking #disney #badguy #villain #hyena #dog #movie #characterdesign #illustragram (at Downingtown, Pennsylvania) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2YufEWj0Vx/?igshid=z17dgznwl99f

[arrrggghhhink]

#throwbackthursdays Here's Ulric, the evil unicorn, a character that is driven mad simply because of the fly that is fixated on his golden Horn. #unicorn #evil #bad #argh #fly #throwback #characterdesign #character #kidlit #horse #mythical #creature #villain #arrrggghhhink #arrrggghhh https://www.instagram.com/p/B2UeRreHxiH/?igshid=wr778wlnfgta

[drawnbyshawn]

Mad scientist . . . #drawing #illustration #cartoon #character #drawnbyshawn #artistsoninstagram #characterdesign #kidlit #childrenwritersguild #scientist #madscientist #evil #villain #badguy https://www.instagram.com/p/BtRPOj8lAPo/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1qk99trp7egk6

[booksiseeloveandread]

Podkin One-Ear by Kieran Larwood 🐇 . #QOTD: When’s the last time you read a middle grade book? It’s been so long for me! I got this as a gift from my sister a while ago, and I’m determined to read it before the year ends. It’s marketed as ‘Middle-earth for middle graders’, which I’m totally here for! 🍂 . Synopsis: In a classic fantasy world of anthropomorphic rabbits, three young siblings are on the run from the villainous Gorm tribe who have killed and enslaved their clan. Podkin, once destined to be clan leader, has always been spoiled, but now he must act bravely as he, his older sister, and baby brother flee for their lives. Facing pursuit and treachery, the three collect allies in their search for refuge, until at last they are ready to fight back against the Gorm and attempt to rid the land of an evil scourge.✨ . . . #podkinoneear #kieranlarwood #davidwyatt #thefiverealms #autumnvibes #autumnaesthetic #bookstagram #bookcover #bookphoto #bibliophile #readersofig #igbooks #booksofig #middlegrade #middlegradebooks #middlegradefantasy #middlegradefiction #fantasylit #fantasybook #fantasybooks #kidlit #childrensbooks #momsofinstagram #librariansofinstagram #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #kidsbookstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/CGuA1iTgtL-/?igshid=1ko0mehwj8k2x

[swordatsunset]

i’ve taken quite a few classes focused on children’s lit and it’s so incredibly fascinating! the evolution of how children have historically been viewed (in england and america bc eurocentric education unfortunately) is so interesting. i’m especially interested in early 19th century conceptions of children as pure/divine, because it creates this through-line of fear throughout the era of the very passage of time, as children growing up must mean them learning to sin and thus falling from their pedestal (especially true, of course, for girls becoming women). i have a lot of thoughts about how this carries over into modern views of children- parents so often joke and groan about their kids growing too fast, and that often stems from the reluctance of adults to be confronted with their own aging as directly as children force them to, but i’m curious about how those conservative christian views on sin and purity carry over into the collective subconscious on childhood

Oh this is soooo interesting thank you for the ask!! I’ve been nibbling on it all day but yeah, I find the ‘purity’ of children in these books so fascinating, always have (see here: the dick and jane books, which I had a copy of one (?) in my house and read, fascinated, at how otherworldly and strange it seemed as a grubby handed somewhat genderless arab kid who wore velvet pants.)

I think there’s this really interesting idea about like, the timelessness of children in children’s books? At least for early readers and in picture books... which is I suppose a necessary ‘evil’ of writing kidlit for that age. Discussing aging is difficult enough when you’re a little older and also most of the time lots of these picture books, at least in the modern day are more focused on teaching children to read, so there’s a focus on phonics, or action words, or how a person will construct a sentence (a book that focuses on different “I” statements, for ex). These are all more modern examples, I suppose, but I actually don’t think they differ too much from classical kidlit in that y’know, aside from a few more on-the-margins picture books, we tend to stay with much more sanitized topics, and sanitize children in that same way.

Also obviously the idea of the pure child is almost directly correlated to the idea of the obedient child, whatever that may have represented at any time. This is partly why I’m so fascinated with the changeling child, and the idea of the changeling as a whole-- though villainized, here is a prime example of the ‘desanitized’ child, disobedient in an unacceptable way.

Regardless, I also wanted to send an example of a book that kind of contradicts some of our ideas about purity of the child slash their agelessness!: Johann Amos Comenius’s Orbis Sensualium Pictus which is really fascinating in its very accepting vision of death as well as Comenius’ general outlook on education. Thank you for the fascinating ask, I’ll be nibbling on it for a while!!!

[diverse-reads]

Hello Lauren! I am writing to you to ask you if you could, (only if you want, of course, or are interested) help me get attention to a YA book series I find completely enthralling: S.T.A.G.S by author M. A Bennett, which grapples with class and privilege in an exclusive English boarding school and has a very original plot: three students are invited to the handsome wealthiest boy's estate and there things start to become dangerous. Thank you very much for your help!

and btw there is diversity in STAGS because a very prominent character is British-Indian and another is a British girl of colour! ty

Hello anon! Sorry for the delayed reply but thanks so much for the book recommendation! Unfortunately, while I’m super into dark academia (going to a college in southern California will do that to a person) and I’m glad the book features POC secondary characters, I only promote books that have diverse main characters. I’d like to think that we’ve moved past the point in kidlit (and publishing/books in general) where we can call a book with diverse side characters diverse. Minorities are more than sidekicks to me.

But! On the topic of dark academia, I recently read M.L. Rio’s If We Were Villains, which features a bisexual narrator! If you were into S.T.A.G.S, I would definitely give this one a try. Robin Talley’s As I Descended, which is also thrilling lesbian retelling of Macbeth, takes place at a boarding school. 

Readers, does anyone else know any good diverse dark academia reads?

[personarider]

What Makes a Dark Hero Shine? – 2022-10-21 |SOE 4

What Makes a Dark Hero Shine? – 2022-10-21 |SOE 4 No progress on #Grobog series :/ Shelved: #breastfeeding + #dragon book #LiveWriting about #antihero who is a #redeemed #villain #writer #author #StoryOverEverything #amwriting #kidlit #tokusastsu

WIP What is the status of my current projects: progress made, length of time on the backburner? Active Grobug Series – 5 Books Planned Manuscript Completed: Books 1 and 2 Drafts Completed: 0 Drafts to Start: Books 3-5 Outlines Started: Book 3, sort of. I have one outline paragraph written for the book. Outlines to Start: Books 4 and 5. Next Action from 10-14-22: make thumbnail sketched…

[hollisketch]

 Day 15 of #31daysofharry Voldemort!

“I was ripped from my body, I was less than spirit, less than the meanest ghost . . . but still, I was alive.”

Hang in there with me guys! This week is all villains.... but after that we can all have fun with some magical creatures.