I love your dive into MG specifically! Last year I read the Aru Shah series and I think Chokshi also does this brilliantly. Aru's world is not watered down, and we get to see that the stories told by the victors can make monsters out of victims. We watch as a young girl has to navigate the incredibly gray world and have to make enormous decisions, much as you mention Applegate does. I have read a great many YA and adult books which do not hit nearly as many poignant notes as that series did.
I also agree with your take on genre being a springboard. Like any art, the medium is only PART of what makes the art. I have a lot of feelings about the literary vs commercial/genre arguments. I don't believe that the medium (genre, type of paint, material) makes anything inherently less "art". Nor do I think that it being easier to consume (i.e., not literary, which is meant to be more "work" to enjoy) makes anything less "art".
At the end of the day, the art is what we build on that foundation. It's how we mix the paints, the brushstrokes we use, the way we pour our feelings into the art. Or, as Sanderson recently said in his 2025 lectures - YOU are the art; the growth you experience during the creative process, the skills you develop, the person you are as you wend your way through creation.
Ultimately, art is, at its core, individual. That's the whole point. We can share in communal enrichment of the arts, but when it comes down to it, our own consumption of art is deeply personal. So, when dealing with things at an individual level, how could we ever believe that any one art is more "art" than another?
Thanks for sharing this-- and for bringing up that last point: the reader. I was just talking with a friend on Friday about how using the term "book reviews" almost feels short-sighted or disingenuous, because the role of reader and everything they bring to the experience is so intertwined in their reading of the book. And yeah, when people dismiss certain genres outright, I believe the negative expectation is often a bigger factor in their experience than the writing itself.
Oh, also, YES to Aru Shah! I've read certain books in that series three times already. Chokshi definitely made the list:)
I think reviews are valuable if they are done well - for example, a review that is self-aware in a way, and can give another reader an idea of why the book may or may not be for them. I think our society has a very communal view of entertainment - it’s not necessarily a BAD thing, but I think it doesn’t leave room for the individual. The wider public doesn’t like something, but I enjoyed it - but my experience is not wanted since it doesn’t conform to the societal norm. People get wildly defensive of their opinions, and I think we would benefit if more people were approaching the consumption of art/media with the individual experience in mind. What’s good for the goose is not always good for the gander.
Chokshi was my top author for 2024 - (I read the whole Aru Shah series and The Last Tale of the Flower Bride) definitely a master class
I love your dive into MG specifically! Last year I read the Aru Shah series and I think Chokshi also does this brilliantly. Aru's world is not watered down, and we get to see that the stories told by the victors can make monsters out of victims. We watch as a young girl has to navigate the incredibly gray world and have to make enormous decisions, much as you mention Applegate does. I have read a great many YA and adult books which do not hit nearly as many poignant notes as that series did.
I also agree with your take on genre being a springboard. Like any art, the medium is only PART of what makes the art. I have a lot of feelings about the literary vs commercial/genre arguments. I don't believe that the medium (genre, type of paint, material) makes anything inherently less "art". Nor do I think that it being easier to consume (i.e., not literary, which is meant to be more "work" to enjoy) makes anything less "art".
At the end of the day, the art is what we build on that foundation. It's how we mix the paints, the brushstrokes we use, the way we pour our feelings into the art. Or, as Sanderson recently said in his 2025 lectures - YOU are the art; the growth you experience during the creative process, the skills you develop, the person you are as you wend your way through creation.
Ultimately, art is, at its core, individual. That's the whole point. We can share in communal enrichment of the arts, but when it comes down to it, our own consumption of art is deeply personal. So, when dealing with things at an individual level, how could we ever believe that any one art is more "art" than another?
Thanks for sharing this-- and for bringing up that last point: the reader. I was just talking with a friend on Friday about how using the term "book reviews" almost feels short-sighted or disingenuous, because the role of reader and everything they bring to the experience is so intertwined in their reading of the book. And yeah, when people dismiss certain genres outright, I believe the negative expectation is often a bigger factor in their experience than the writing itself.
Oh, also, YES to Aru Shah! I've read certain books in that series three times already. Chokshi definitely made the list:)
I think reviews are valuable if they are done well - for example, a review that is self-aware in a way, and can give another reader an idea of why the book may or may not be for them. I think our society has a very communal view of entertainment - it’s not necessarily a BAD thing, but I think it doesn’t leave room for the individual. The wider public doesn’t like something, but I enjoyed it - but my experience is not wanted since it doesn’t conform to the societal norm. People get wildly defensive of their opinions, and I think we would benefit if more people were approaching the consumption of art/media with the individual experience in mind. What’s good for the goose is not always good for the gander.
Chokshi was my top author for 2024 - (I read the whole Aru Shah series and The Last Tale of the Flower Bride) definitely a master class