Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover

You know that old saying, "don't judge a book by its cover"? Well, it's true.

Yes, there are beautiful covers out there--and there are ugly ones. While you and I may be drawn to particular book because of its cover, that should not be the sole reason to read the book. I know, I hear you gasping. "But," you say, "some of my now-favorite books I only picked up because of the cover." Congratulations. Truly, we don't--or shouldn't--select friends solely on face value, so why do we choose books that way?

I'm going to rant for a minute, and, because this is my blog, I can. You are welcome to share your thoughts below, but please, as you read on, understand that it is not my intention to belittle anyone. I just want you to think a minute about why you select a book.

A few weeks ago, upon completing Before She Ignites by Jodi Meadows, I logged into GoodReads to upload my review. {I absolutely loved the first installment of the Forbidden Isles series, but I'll post about that later.} After selecting my rating and uploading a brief review, I scrolled through a few pages of reviews. Unlike many readers, I like to read the negative/low reviews. We all have our own reasons for down-voting a text: theme isn't my taste, don't connect with the characters, confused by the plot, no explanation for just not liking it. For me, these reviews show the beauty of literature and of life: we don't all like the same things. And that is completely okay.

One review stood out to me. No, I will not link to the review or give you the name. As I said, I mean to offend no one, but even a few weeks later, I can't get what I feel off my mind. So, I'm blogging.

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I must warn you, this blog will contain some spoilers to Before She Ignites. If you have not read the book yet (and you should), consider reading my thoughts after you complete the story.

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I loved this verse for this book. Mira really does
 "test everything" and "hold(s) fast to what is good".
She isn't blinded by the lies she has been taught.
She seeks Truth and defends the helpless, regardless of the cost.

Before I go further, take a look at the cover of Before She Ignites. Beautiful, isn't it? A strong, confident woman stands in the midst of a beautiful, dark forest subtly lit by silver and gold moons. The title, blazoned in gold, ends with a dragon-like tail circling the woman's legs. If I saw this book on the shelf, I would definitely be convinced that I want to read that!

After reading the novel, I found the cover even more fitting: the woman looked as I imagined Mira would and it showed her love and protection of dragons in a subtle way. What I loved about the cover, is also what drew the other reviewer to the text.

She too read it. And slaughtered the book for one reason: the woman on the front represented a confident, [Black] woman, yet the book told of great torture that Mira faced at the hands of a [Black] man. The review preceded to fault and tear apart Meadow's book because of the treatment of Black women in it.

I must politely challenge this review. There are several ways that I believe the reviewer's premise is faulty

First, the author never claims that Mira Minkoba the Hopebringer is Black. Not at first, not at all. In fact, Mira describes herself on the second page of the novel:

Mother had sent me upstairs to don a coral-colored dress, with thin straps that left my shoulders bare to the summer sun; already my skin prickled and warmed into a deeper shade of brown. My maid had unpinned my hair so that it fell in long, loose waves, then crowned me with a wreath of lala flowers that Mother said reminded everyone of my youth and innocence. The effort to straighten my hair was wasted, though; humidity was already bringing the curls back to life.

 Did you catch that? Mira described her skin as a deep[er] shade of brown. There many cultures that could claim this exact thing: Africans, African Americans, American Indians, those from the Middle East, Spain, Mexico, Italy--all have skin tones that could fit within the the description "shade of brown".

Second, all of the characters described in the book are variants of the description Mira gave herself. Throughout the book, she references the different skin tones, but they are all shades of brown. This made sense to me as all the characters came from the same geographic area: the Forbidden Isles. Truly, descriptions of the characters would not have changed much if Meadows had said Mira's skin was a deep shade of purple, blue, or green. And, for the record, Mira's nemesis, Altan is described as golden-brown while Aaru is a lighter brown.

Third, there is fault in the retelling of Mira's torture. The reviewer was passionate about her hatred for the book because "a Black man is beating a Black woman". But this description eliminates too many facts to be true. Mira is NOT the only prisoner, nor is she the only one who receives torturous treatment. It is well-known that those on the first block do not have the privileges of others and some of the other prisoners have been on the block a long time. This story is told only from Mira's perspective, so we do not have enough information to know that she is the only one who has ever been treated this way. Altan does single Mira out, but not because he is a man who wants to beat a woman. She has information about dragons that he is desperate to have. I believe Altan would have used the same tactics on anyone with the information Mira held, regardless of gender.

Finally, and this is the big one for me, there is fault in making too many correlations between reality and fiction. Books do take us to worlds we can't travel to, but we must remember to leave our world behind in the process. Before She Ignites is not set in our world; Meadows created a truly beautiful fantasy realm which includes Mira's home, the Forbidden Isles. The religion, lore, and racial bias of that book is unique to itself and we are doing a disservice to the novel by bringing the religion, lore, or biases of our world into it. Altan's treatment of Mira is not exalted, Mira's strength is the focus. Were we to write this novel to please that one reviewer, we would lose the crux of the story: Mira's tragedy is what reveals her greatest strength. 

The racial bias that is rampant in our country--and across the globe--is disgusting. Mistreating or disrespecting another individual simply because they don't look, believe, or live like you is irrational and inhumane. Please, don't consider this review as an advocation for prejudice. We are all human, therefore we ought to seek to help and benefit everyone around us. 

I truly enjoyed reading both Before She Ignites and the review. Yes, that review. Why? Because it made me think about how I perceive others and literature. I do believe all literature teaches us about life, but I think we must also be careful not to force a message into a text to fit personal assumptions. 

And let me tell you, that's hard. I'm a Christian and and English teacher: I see Jesus and symbolism everywhere. 

Next time you pick up a book, don't just judge it by its cover. Do me a favor and read the synopsis inside. That's where you really know if you will love the soul the book has to offer from cover to cover.