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A review by smallredboy
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
VERY mixed opinions on this one. Starts off with this is just like fanfiction (affectionate) and this is just like fanfiction (derogatory), before finding out that it did, indeed, start off as fanfiction---The Social Network fanfic, of all things! Curious, especially after my friend joked that it read like Hamilton fanfiction because of Alex literally being named textually after Hamilton.
But anyway, this is a sweet book. I understand why white YA gays are all over it. It made me laugh and made me tender and made me curious but it's just... so very fanfiction-esque, and I can't stand that with published fiction. I deserve monetary compensation for having to see a keysmash in a published book. Not to mention the pop culture references and the mentioning Alexander Hamilton might have been bisexual. I'm an ex-Hamilton fan. I'm not strong enough for that shit.
But anyway. My biggest problem with this book and which truly made the rating go down, was the desperate attempt the very white author did at making their brown main character be, well, brown. The jokes taken out of Gen Z POC's mouths and badly refurbished made me uncomfortable ("khakis are for white people"... please). And then there's like, the whole one-liners about American imperialism and war crimes and British colonialism and theft. Which like, I get it, it's a politics-laden book, it has to come up eventually, but when you don't really do... anything to challenge it? And it's just as little quips on what the countries were founded on? It's a problem for me. To the point where I was truly waiting for a throwaway line about Alex's mother ending the Afghan War or something. Like, it was that bad.
Anyway. Sweet book. I get why white gays go bat for it. Not too big a fan, personally.
But anyway, this is a sweet book. I understand why white YA gays are all over it. It made me laugh and made me tender and made me curious but it's just... so very fanfiction-esque, and I can't stand that with published fiction. I deserve monetary compensation for having to see a keysmash in a published book. Not to mention the pop culture references and the mentioning Alexander Hamilton might have been bisexual. I'm an ex-Hamilton fan. I'm not strong enough for that shit.
But anyway. My biggest problem with this book and which truly made the rating go down, was the desperate attempt the very white author did at making their brown main character be, well, brown. The jokes taken out of Gen Z POC's mouths and badly refurbished made me uncomfortable ("khakis are for white people"... please). And then there's like, the whole one-liners about American imperialism and war crimes and British colonialism and theft. Which like, I get it, it's a politics-laden book, it has to come up eventually, but when you don't really do... anything to challenge it? And it's just as little quips on what the countries were founded on? It's a problem for me. To the point where I was truly waiting for a throwaway line about Alex's mother ending the Afghan War or something. Like, it was that bad.
Anyway. Sweet book. I get why white gays go bat for it. Not too big a fan, personally.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Homophobia and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Racism and Sexual assault