My Favorite Family Tropes in Fiction/Media

Welcome back to Musings of an Arthritic Artist! Today I'm going to be talking about my favorite family tropes in fiction. These aren't going to be in any particular order. I'll be giving an example for each one of these.

Let's get into the post!

King, Alexandria. Musings of an Arthritic Artist. 2021.

1. Protective Siblings

My 

2. Villainous Family Members

I will be the first to admit that I am a master procrastinator. However, I will also be one of the first to admit that I love doing research. I love learning new things and I'm always curious about the world around me. I love reading about things and finding ways to incorporate that information into a story of some kind, no matter what it is. I find research to be incredibly fun, and it does cause me to lose track of time anytime I get invested in what I'm doing.

Book Review: The Perfect Date by R.L. Stine (mostly spoiler free)

Welcome back to Musings of an Arthritic Artist! Today I am going to be doing another book review, this one a review of The Perfect Date by R.L. Stine.

This is a book I read finished less than a week ago, so it's pretty fresh in my mind. This review will predominantly be spoiler-free, however, there will be a spoiler section toward the end of this post.

With that aside, let's get into the review!

The Perfect Date is a Fear Street novel. It's a YA paranormal horror book. It follows Brady Karlin, a senior at Shadyside High School. After the tragic death of his girlfriend in a sledding accident a year before the main events of the novel, he has a new girlfriend named Allie. However, he soon meets a girl named Rosha and proceeds to want to engage in a romantic relationship with her. Accidents keep happening though. Accidents that only happen when Rosha is around. Brady also keeps seeing a girl with a scarred face whom he is terrified of. 

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I found Brady to be extremely unlikable. There wasn't honestly anything redeemable about him, though I know that was R.L. Stine's intention. I didn't like how obsessive Brady was. It was annoying. I'm just glad this story was in third person from Brady's POV and not first person from Brady's POV as I likely would've struggled to get through it even more. I also didn't like how Brady cheated on Allie. He should've just broken up with her before he met up with Rosha. 

My favorite character was Jon, Brady's best friend. He was sensible. I liked the relationship he and Brady had. I also liked how Jon pointed out how wrong Brady was for not breaking up with Allie while seeing another girl. Jon was a nice voice of reason who honestly could've helped out Brady a lot if the guy had just listened to him.

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This book was surprisingly dark and gruesome. I've read one other Fear Street novel before, and it wasn't as gruesome as this one was. It wasn't overly graphic or anything, but the prologue talks about how mangled Sharon's--Brady's bereaved girlfriend--face and body were after her sledding accident. 

Once that happened, I knew the story was going to be dark. There were also mentions of limbs breaking off of characters during the climax, which wasn't the most pleasant thing to read if I'm being completely honest. It was dark, gruesome, and grim. It's the exact thing I would've expected in an R.L. Stine book written for teens.

💥🔥SPOILER ALERT🔥💥
Anything below this is a spoiler
You have been warned

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Initially the cover confused me, as Rosha was described as having blonde hair and green eyes. The girl on the cover looks nothing like that description. However, at the end, when Rosha is actually revealed to be Sharon, the cover makes a lot more sense. Sharon is described by Brady in the second to last chapter as having light brown hair and blue eyes. Coincidentally enough, that is the exact description of the girl on the cover.

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One thing about this book that I didn't really like was when Jon was killed off. I understand that it had a purpose because Brady couldn't find out before Rosha/Sharon revealed her secret, but I still didn't like it. Jon was one of the only characters I liked, and, like I mentioned previously, he was actually my favorite character. When he died, I was disappointed and kind of annoyed, solely because he was such a good, caring friend to Brady and was just overall a kind person.

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✔👍SPOILERS OVER👍✔

Overall, this was a really enjoyable book despite how unlikable Brady was. I didn't see the twist coming, which was interesting. I rate this book a 4 out of 5 stars. It would've been rated higher due to the twists, emotions, and shock I felt, but I hated how unlikable and obsessive Brady was. 

That's it for this review! I hope you enjoyed it! 

See you Thursday, 

Lexi K🖌

My Least Favorite Family Tropes in Fiction/Media

Welcome back to Musings of an Arthritic Artist! Today I'm going to be talking about my least favorite family tropes in fiction. These aren't going to be in any particular order. I'll be giving an example for each one of these.

Let's get into the post!

King, Alexandria. Musings of an Arthritic Artist. 2021.

1. Incest

Why is this even a thing? This one needs a decent amount of explanation. I don't have a problem with books including incest. What I have a problem with is when books romanticize incest. Some cases of incest don't bother me. For example, the myth of Oedipus. That myth serves to ask and answer the question, 'can someone outrun a prophecy/their fate' which is a prevalent recurring theme in Greek mythology. 

However, when it's used as a plot device wherein it's romanticized and both the characters know what they're doing, it's problematic. It also bothers me when other characters aren't weirded out by any of it. All states in the U.S. have laws regarding incest. To romanticize something that is, in most states, completely illegal is wrong, especially when it comes to YA fiction. I have covered this in a book review here on my blog before. 

Literary Example: The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

Movie Example: High School Musical 

2. Dysfunctional Families

I know that families like this exist in real life. My problem is when it's perceived as normal. Siblings constantly arguing and hitting each other, leaning more toward abuse than sibling rivalry? Not normal and not healthy. Constant hatred and disdain between siblings? Not healthy. Parents constantly berating their children in the name of 'tough love' that borders on abuse? Not healthy. I hate when behavior like this is normalized. 

Siblings won't get along all the time, but they won't argue all the time either. I should know. I have an older sister. I have also observed other siblings. My father has an older sister, and I've never seen them argue. My mom and her 5 siblings don't argue all the time either (being an adult doesn't matter, they're still siblings). My youngest cousins don't even argue 24/7, and they're young boys. 

When an entire family is dysfunctional and it's seen as normal, I despise it. It gets on my nerves. Families like that aren't great families to be in. They aren't healthy environments. However, some dysfunctional families just get on my nerves as a whole. You're going to tell me that all of the protagonist's/side character's nuclear family members are toxic people?

Literary Example: Switched by Amanda Hocking

Book Review: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore

Welcome back to Musings of an Arthritic Artist! Today I am going to be doing another book review, this one for The Killing Joke by Alan Moore. 

This is a graphic novel I read pretty recently, so let's discuss it. There will be spoilers for this book. If you haven't read it and wish to, I'd recommend not reading this review. 

With that aside, let's get into it!

This was the first book I read in 2022. I read this in preparation for a future post I want to do later this year. I was very curious about how Batgirl/Barbara Gordon became Oracle, so I read The Killing Joke, the book where Barbara is paralyzed by the Joker in order to attempt to make Commissioner Jim Gordon go insane.

This graphic novel is dark. It's a mature rated graphic novel for a reason. It's very dark and gritty. It's very grim.

Everything with Commissioner Gordon seemed very short and wrapped up in a neat little bow. I didn't like that, if I'm being fully honest. The small plot device with Barbara also left me with many questions.

How long did it take for someone to find her? Shouldn't she have theoretically died from loss of blood as Joker shot her through her abdomen and back?

The backstory used for Joker in this graphic novel also doesn't fully make sense to me. I have so many questions regarding this. He wants to provide for his pregnant wife because he's a family man. Good and fine. He quits his job as a lab assistant to become a stand-up comedian. What? It's no wonder he failed. There's no hint that Joker had previously been a comedian. It just makes no sense. 

Why do the criminals he agrees to work with want to rob a playing card company? What are they going to fully gain from that? There were many things in this story that just didn't make sense to me. Maybe I read it so fast that I didn't grasp some of the motivations behind this, but I don't think so.

I rated The Killing Joke 3 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. My main complaint is how short it is. It's only about 40 pages long. Because of the length it was a bit underwhelming if I'm going to be honest. I felt like there was something missing, and it's not just because there's a cliffhanger at the end of this story.

That's it for this review! I hope you enjoyed it! 

See you Thursday, 

Lexi K🖌

Is Disability an 'Adult Issue?'

Welcome back to Musings of an Arthritic Artist! Today I am going to be answering the question, 'is disability an adult issue?'

Let's get into my thoughts!

King, Alexandria. Musings of an Arthritic Artist. 2021.

I can't remember where I saw this, but I was on Goodreads one day and I had come across a book that had a disabled character. I can't remember the book now and likely couldn't find it if I tried. There was a review by someone that mentioned that the book dove into a couple 'adult topics,' one of which was disability, and it caused me to pause. 

Do people think of disability as an adult issue? It seems so. Most people believe children are carefree individuals who have no worries in the world. At least three million children in the United States live with a disability. That's about 4.3% of the under-18 population. 

The harm with thinking that disability is an adult issue is that it ignores the struggles that many children face every day. Struggles that I faced and struggles that I didn't face for whatever reason. I'm going to tell a story. A story from my childhood. A story I only remember because my mom has told it a few times.

We had been traveling one day to a medical appointment out of town, and we ended up coming across this older man. He seemed to be in a sad mood. My parents started talking to him. Being a child, I didn't follow the conversation that well, so the majority of what I know is from my mother's recollections.

He saw me and told my parents how it must have been so nice to be a child because children have no care in the world; no worries; no stresses. My parents then told him that we were heading to a medical appointment for me because I had certain issues. After that, the man's mood changed. He seemed.....more hopeful.

Children aren't always carefree. Children still have struggles. They could be as large as disability or as small as a math problem on a test. Children have struggles. If children were always carefree, they wouldn't cry. They wouldn't get upset. They'd just be happy all the time. 

I didn't have a carefree childhood. However, just because I didn't have a carefree childhood, doesn't mean that my childhood was bad. On the contrary, I loved my childhood and wouldn't change much about it. It taught me many important lessons. 

When we treat disability like it's an 'adult issue', we ignore the fact that children have disabilities as well. This can lead to a mentality of 'you're too young for [insert medical condition here]'. 

Disability knows no age. Disability doesn't discriminate. It doesn't matter your age, your race, your sex, your gender, or your personality. It can affect everyone the same, and children are no different.

That's it for this post! I hope you enjoyed it! 

Until next time, 

Lexi K🖌

Is 'Disabled' a Bad Word? A Disabled Person's Thoughts

Welcome back to Musings of an Arthritic Artist! Today I am going to be voicing my opinion on 'is disabled a bad word?'. I'm not going to spend too much time on this introduction as there is no point. 

Let's get into my thoughts!

King, Alexandria. Musings of an Arthritic Artist. 2021.

Many people believe that 'disabled' is a dirty, negative word. It isn't. But the question is, why do people think that? The thought that 'disabled' and 'disability' are 'bad' words doesn't make sense to me. I've been randomly thinking about this, and I may have come to a conclusion on why it's seen as a bad word. 

First, let's breakdown and examine the word 'disabled.' 'Dis' is a prefix meaning 'not.' So, when 'disabled' is broken down, it translates to 'not able.' I mentioned this in my post where I discussed the different terms non-disabled people will use to refer to disabled people.

Like I said there, the words 'not able' are vague. They don't give any clue as to why someone is disabled. It's an inclusive term. What does that mean, not able? Not able to do what exactly? Not able to hear? That's a deaf person. Not able to see? That's a blind person. Not able to walk? That's a wheelchair user of some kind, ambulatory or otherwise. 

So why do people think disabled is a bad word? Here's my theory.

It isn't until you see the antonym of disabled that it becomes problematic. What is the antonym? Able-bodied. With this connotation, it can be understood why many people believe disabled to be a bad word. This word implies that disabled people don't have 'able-bodies.' That they don't have capable bodies--that their bodies are inherently flawed and, perhaps, even unusable. This just isn't true. 

Disability and being disabled is just a reality for some people. There are some things we can do, but there are other things we can't. That's not me being pessimistic. That's just fact. I can't open cans with pull tabs. That's not me being negative or me 'not trying hard enough.' That's just my reality.

So, do I believe that 'disabled' is a bad word? No. Not at all. It's a reality I have lived for the past twelve years, and it's a word that best describes some aspects of my life. Substitute words like 'differently-abled' and 'handicapable' don't describe my life, solely because they don't describe how difficult my life has been or how many struggles I've gone though, despite me having a happy life.

Those words are patronizing. They were created by non-disabled people to describe disabled people. They were created to replace the 'offensive' disabled. Stating that disabled is a bad and negative word is offensive to me. It conveys that there's something wrong with being disabled--that there is something wrong with my life. There isn't. I love my life, disabled aspects and all.

Disabled is not a dirty word, and the sooner people realize that, the better off we'll be.

That's it for this post! I hope you enjoyed it! 

See you Thursday, 

Lexi K🖌

Why Frozen and Frozen II Are Fantastic

Welcome back to Musings of an Arthritic Artist!

Today I'm going to be talking about Disney's Frozen and Frozen II, and I'm going to be going into the reasons why I love this movie.

There will be spoilers for both movies, so if you haven't seen it I wouldn't recommend reading this unless you don't care watching the movie.

Let's get into the post!

The Frozen franchise is my favorite Disney princess franchise, for multiple reasons.

When it first came out, Frozen got a lot of hate, mostly because Let It Go was played everywhere by children. 

Many people were also claiming that it was the first Disney movie to be about sisters. It isn't. Lilo and Stitch's plot centered around Nani and Lilo, two sisters. Many were also claiming that it was the first Disney princess movie to not have the plot revolve around a romantic love between two characters, which is also false. Mulan is technically a Disney princess, despite never being born a princess nor marrying into royalty. While she has a love interest, it's not the focus of the film. 

Also, Brave came out one year before Frozen did and that movie didn't have a love interest at all as Merida was adamantly against being won. 

Others were also saying that Frozen was the first movie to have a queen, which isn't true either as Kida from Atlantis: The Lost Empire is a queen. That movie came out in 2001, twelve years before Frozen.

However, Frozen is the first Disney princess movie released in theaters that shows the undying love between sisters, and it shows that the love between sisters can be just as strong as romantic love, if not more. While Cinderella III: A Twist in Time had a good ending where Anastasia and Cinderella grew a sisterly bond, that movie often flies under the radar as it was a direct-to-video movie. 

Ariel has sisters, but she doesn't seem remotely close to any of them. Their relationship to Ariel is really only shown in The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning. 

I relate greatly to Anna and Elsa's relationship. 

That's it for this post! I hope you enjoyed it! 

Until next time, 

Lexi K🖌

Best and Worst Books I Read in 2021 (Spoiler Free)

Welcome back to Musings of an Arthritic Artist! 

Today I'm going to be talking about the best and worst books I read in 2021. I have independent reviews for the majority of these books, which I will link to in case anyone is interested in my more in-depth thoughts.

Without further ado, let's get into the post, beginning with the best books I read. 

Best

These books aren't in any particular order, as I find it difficult to rank books I enjoy. All I include here are synopses and my spoiler-free thoughts.

Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia 

Eliza and Her Monsters is a YA contemporary romance novel. This story follows Eliza Mirk, an eighteen-year-old girl. She's the anonymous webcomic creator of Monstrous Sea. In real life, Eliza is shy, friendless, and has anxiety, but online she is LadyConstellation and has millions of followers and fans. 

Her world is changed when a boy named Wallace Warland transfers to her school. Wallace writes fanfiction for Monstrous Sea. The two become friends, but Eliza doesn't tell him that she is LadyConstellation, the creator of the exact web comic he is a fan of. 

I really liked this book. It was cute. I also liked the artistic elements that were weaved into the story. They were seamless and made the story more enjoyable. The characters were fantastic and I instantly fell in love with them.

I wrote a review for this a few months ago, if you want to read my complete, spoiler filled thoughts on this book (linked here: Book Review: Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia (opens in new window)).

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a children's/middle grade novel told in words and drawings. This was technically a re-read for me as I read this book many years ago.

This book is about 12-year-old Hugo Cabret, an orphan who lives in a train station in Paris in the 1930s. This is a historical fiction novel. It has a lot of historical elements sprinkled in (as it should), and gives a good introductory insight into the history of film and cinema.

This is a novel told in words and pictures. It's very unique and is the first children's novel/chapter book to receive the Caldecott Medal, an award given annually to the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children." The Caldecott and Newbery medals are considered the most prestigious awards for American children's books. 

I love this book. I loved it as a child, and I love it now. It's a fantastic book that mixes two of my favorite things: reading and drawing. Plus, the cover is absolutely stunning for a children's book.

Much like the last one, I wrote an independent review for this book (linked here: Book Review: The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (opens in new window)).

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Six of Crows is a YA fantasy novel with romance aspects sprinkled in, though it isn't the focal point of the novel. This series is technically the second series in the Grishaverse, the first being the Grisha/Shadow and Bone trilogy (depends on who in the fandom you ask; both are valid search queries, though if you read the Six of Crows cover at the top, it clearly states Grisha Trilogy).

This story is written in third-person point-of-view following six characters (five have a POV in this novel). These six characters are members of a gang in a world inspired by Amsterdam, Antwerp, Las Vegas, and Old New York (New Amsterdam), with one member being a leader. 

The leader of this gang (the Dregs) is Kaz Brekker, a 17-year-old boy. Kaz is very well known in Ketterdam, particularly in the place called 'the Barrel,' where he is known by 'Dirtyhands.' 

There are numerous other protagonists, such as Inej Ghafa (the Wraith), Jesper Fahey (the Sharpshooter), Nina Zenik (the Heartrender), and two others who are introduced a few chapters in. This book is very similar to the general idea of Ocean's Eleven, but as if it was a YA fantasy novel. 

My full review linked here: Six of Crows: Ocean's Eleven Meets YA Fantasy (opens in new window).

War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi

War Girls is a YA Speculative Fiction novel. It takes place in 2172, but is meant to tell a partial history of the Nigerian Civil War/Biafran War/Nigerian-Biafran War that began in 1967 and ended in 1970. 

I say partial because it is still fiction, and Tochi Onyebuchi took inspiration from other aspects of African history, as mentioned in the Author's Note.

War Girls is told from the perspectives of two characters. Two "adopted" sisters named Onyii and Ify. This story is told in third-person present tense, so the writing tense is definitely not for everyone. 

I checked this book out in 2020 to read during quarantine. Despite checking it out in March 2020, I actually read and finished this book in March 2021, due to my local library being closed.

I really enjoyed this book. It was different as well as intriguing. I also really enjoyed the writing style.

Review here: Speculative Fiction Set in Africa: War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi (opens in new window).

Sick Kids In Love by Hannah Moskowitz 

Sick Kids in Love is a YA contemporary romance that was released in 2019. The story is about Isabel Garfinkel and Sasha Sverdlov-Deckler, two Jewish teens who meet at the NYC hospital Isabel's father works at. 

Both of these characters have chronic illnesses and fall in love, hence the title. I was excited to read this. I read this one in December, so this read was pretty recent. I was excited for two reasons. 

I was excited to read a book with a romance between characters who have medical issues where both live. To clarify, this isn't a spoiler. The tagline at the top of the cover reads, "They don't die in this one." 

Isabel has rheumatoid arthritis and Sasha has Gaucher's disease. I really like this book, but there were a few things I didn't like about it. I will be posting a spoiler review for this book next month, so look out for that. That's where I will discuss the spoilers, but I'll explain the biggest problem I have with this book: Isabel's diagnosis. 

She's 16 (17 at the end of the book), and she explains that she was diagnosed with RA at the age of 9. This is impossible. Children cannot be diagnosed with straight up RA. Isabel has JIA, and the fact that she is described as having RA is medically inaccurate. I will explain this point further in my review.

This is one of only two books that I have not reviewed on my blog, but the review will be coming soon, so keep an eye out for that if you are interested. 

Worst

These books were the worst books I read in 2021, ordered from "best" to worst. Again, these "mini-reviews" are spoiler-free.

My Little Pony: Applejack and the Honest-to-Goodness Switcheroo by G.M. Berrow

I'm going to preface this by saying that this book was fine. I had no problem with this book, plot, writing, or characters. 

The problem I had was that the blurb on the back of the book gives a detail that doesn't happen until the last couple chapters of the book.

That was my main complaint. Other than that, this book is fun and enjoyable. I just didn't like that the title and blurb give away something that happens toward the end. 

What this book really is about is Applejack trying to win an award for Sweet Apple Acres, her family's farm, not whatever the blurb advertises.

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

Everything, Everything is a YA contemporary romance novel. I read this book in November. This review is spoiler free, but let me just say this: I hated the ending of this book. 

This was a 2.5 star read for me. I wrote a spoiler filled rant review for this book (linked here: Rant Review: Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon (opens in new window)).

This story is about Madeline Whittier, an 18-year-old biracial (half-African American, half-Japanese) girl who lives inside a sterilized home because she has a rare disease called Severe Combined Immunodeficiency, or SCID for short. 

It is also known as 'bubble boy disease' after the media used it to refer to David Vetter, a young boy who was diagnosed with the condition in the 1970s.

Maddy has lived a pretty happy life. She spends a lot of time with her mother and her nurse, Carla. Then, Maddy's life changes drastically once Olly, a new boy next door moves in. They begin to talk through emails and get to know each other. 

This book is a romance story about a girl falling in love with the boy next door. 

If you are interested in this plot and think it'll be a great book with disability rep, I'd highly recommend reading my review, despite the numerous spoilers included. 

If you're interested in this for the romance aspect then I'd recommend it, but if you're interested because you want to read about this illness/disability that Maddie has, then you'll likely be disappointed, as the ending is an offensive letdown.

The romance was cute, but this book was hands down the worst book I read in 2021. The amount of times the second half frustrated me was uncanny as I don't get that frustrated that often. 

To a certain extent, I'd say that I hated the second half of this book more than I hate Twilight, which is saying a lot, as Twilight was my book to rank on in 2020.

So there you go! 

Those are best and worst books I read in 2021. I intend to do another for 2022, as long as I have at least two books I disliked.

See you Thursday,

Lexi K🖌