If you’ve ever been around the book-ternet, or if you are a die-hard fan of anything, chances are you’ve heard the word ‘fandom’. And in a fandom, there is likely to be fan-made content. Today we will be tackling a rather controversial subject: fanfiction.
Fanfiction can get a bad reputation sometimes. People can write some really nasty stuff, or some really graphic stuff, or some explicit stuff, and it’s 100% understandable if that’s why you choose to stay away from it.
But there is definitely an appeal to writing and/or reading it.
So, why is there such an appeal? There are three main topics I’m going to be discussing. First, the lack of fear of being ‘unoriginal’, secondly, the intrigue in continuing or adding to a story or a series of stories in your own words, and thirdly, the creative liberties associated with fanfic.
A lot of authors struggle with wanting to be ‘original’ and wanting to put their own unique twist on their stories that they choose to tell.
The good thing about fanfiction is that it allows you to let go of that fear.
On one hand, it does that because most of the base characters, base setting, base plot is already there. So writing fanfiction about these characters and places that people have already invented by default makes it unoriginal. And by writing and labelling it as fanfiction, everyone understands that while you may have written the words, the inspiration and names of things, and everything along those lines is from somewhere else.
On the other hand, people love to talk about specific tropes, or specific stylistic devices and preferences that are used, both in fanfic and in other forms of media. Some examples of this can be hurt-comfort, in which one character is hurt either physically or emotionally, and another character is comforting them in one way or another. Another example could be an AU or Alternate Universe, in which two or more characters are in a setting that isn’t from the original story, such as fantasy characters in a high school.
People like tropes because of many reasons, but one of the main reasons is because of the emotion it can make you feel. People who read fanfiction have already been attached to these characters and stories, and they want to see them in other situations, and read more stories with them.
These tropes have come into being and are recognizable because these people are writing more and more stories with these different events and things happening, and people enjoy them. So if you want to use a lot of tropes and are worrying if it’s ‘unoriginal’ … well, they’re tropes for a reason. People read things with these tropes in them for a reason.
Now onto my second point, which I touched on a little bit above, but it’s the fact that people who are attached to characters, where their stories may have ended, or maybe there’s a lot of time between books/movies, etc, people want to follow more stories with these characters. Live in the world that their favourite author has created. They want to go on emotional journeys with them for the first time again. They want the feeling that they had the first time they read the book and met the characters and their struggles.
But this time, fanfiction goes more in-depth and allows you to experience that which the authors have not yet written about.
My final point is that fanfiction isn’t limited to canon. Canon refers to things that the author/creator has explicitly stated are true in a fictional reality. For example, in the Star Wars universe, it is canon that Luke Skywalker comes from the desert planet of Tatooine.
But with fanfiction, you have the privilege to change, or add to, the story in any way you want. You can make Luke a regular high school student in California, or you can make Darth Vader turn good before the end. You can make anyone fall in love in any way you want. Add new planets, new aliens. And these are just some of the many, many possibilities that you can write about.
People who are unsatisfied with certain events, or didn’t like how the book/movie/show ended, or who wanted to see specific characters together, they have the freedom to change it (maybe not the original version but through the fanfiction they write, there’s the possibility of for a brief moment having the story turn out the way you want it to.
So there we have it! My thoughts of why fanfiction is so appealing and what makes it so interesting as a concept or as a form of media.
Do you read or write fanfiction? Do you agree or disagree with my points? Are there reasons that I may have missed? Let me know in the comments below, and subscribe (if you feel so inclined!)
November was a very busy month, but I still managed to read a grand total of four books this month! Here are my thoughts and honest reviews on each one. Enjoy!
To Kill A Kingdom – Alexandra Christo
If you’ve known me long enough, you’ll hear me say that I’ve decided to read a certain book to ‘make my own opinion on it’. When books get popular and hyped up on the internet, sometimes it’s worth it just to pick up the book and see if it’s really worth reading. To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo was popular on Tiktok and across the book-ternet for about a year or so now and has been on my TBR for almost that long. I’m not one to hop on trends, so yes it took me this long to end up reading it! I chose to read it for my English class but that doesn’t ruin it for me at all considering how long it’s been since I wanted to read it.
To Kill A Kingdom is about a siren named Lira, known among the humans as the Prince’s Bane since she is known for killing princes and stealing their hearts. It is a tradition among sirens to get human hearts on their birthdays, but since Lira is the daughter of the Sea Queen, all her hearts have come from princes. So when Lira breaks this tradition and gets a heart two weeks early, her mother punishes her severely. Angry at the humiliation Lira knows she will now face, she decides to get the heart of Elian Midas, a pirate prince who has a drive to kill sirens, especially her. When that fails, the Sea Queen decides to turn Lira into a human. If she can’t get Elian’s heart by her birthday, she will be human forever, and will never get the chance to be queen of the sea.
I will give this read four and a half stars. I really enjoyed reading it. All the characters were intriguing in their own ways, from the secrets they keep to the witty sarcastic asides to the cold, ruthless threats. Lira is a cutthroat killer with a twinge of kindness, loyalty, and devotion in her, so she is a relatable character even with the crimes she has committed. Elian says he is not a good man, but he has softer traits that make him likeable, and he is a natural leader aboard his ship, the Saad.
However I do feel that the romance was a bit rushed. They hated each other so much and then it seemed that one event flipped a switch and suddenly they liked each other and the mutual admiration and pining began.
However, all in all, this was a great read, and I really recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy, romance, adventure, and fierce action scenes!
Obie Is Man Enough – Schuyler Bailar
I don’t remember where I learned about this book. I think I found it randomly in the library and wanted to read it. I absolutely loved it.
Obie is a Korean-American trans boy who, after getting kicked off his school swim team by his transphobic coach, joins a new team. The book follows his journey as he works towards the qualifications for the Junior Olympics. However, there’s a few setbacks: all his friends were on his old swim team, and now that he’s kicked off, there is a tension and a distancing that there hasn’t been before. The worst is that his transphobic coach’s son Clyde, who used to be his friend, is now being hateful towards Obie, deadnaming and using slurs against him. The book shows Obie’s struggles with transphobia as well as the struggles of growing up as a teen, an athlete, and an Asian-American boy.
Another thing about this book that was interesting to learn was that the author, Schuyler Bailar, is a trans-masc athlete, just like Obie. The NCAA is essentially the league that collegiate athletes in America compete in. Some famous NCAA schools/teams include the University of California at Los Angeles, or UCLA, Bruins, or the University of Florida Gators. Schuyler chose to transition which could have lost him the opportunity to be an NCAA champion, but it didn’t, and he is the first trans athlete to compete in NCAA history. He also has appeared on talk shows and has gotten numerous awards. You can visit his website here.
I will give this a five-star read. However, it does contain sensitive topics and can be explicit (I can’t believe that it’s rated as a 9-13 year old read!). I highly advise you to look up content warnings if you think anything here might be upsetting or triggering, especially for people who are part of the LGBTQ+ community and/or have had past experiences with homo/transphobia.
Marilla Before Anne – Louise Michalos
I bought this book at a small bookstore in downtown Halifax (thanks, Bookmark!) and even though it was not written by Lucy Maud Montgomery herself, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Marilla Before Anne is about Marilla Cuthbert and her life before she and her brother Matthew adopted feisty, red-headed Anne Shirley. There is a lot of foreshadowing and hinting at events in the Anne series, and a lot of details that are mentioned once in the series make their appearance in this book. It’s a mix of coming-of-age as well as an Anne of Green Gables fanfiction.
What I like about this book is that you don’t have to have read Anne of Green Gables. It does help, of course, considering the characters are the same (most of them) and the significance of certain events would make more sense if you’ve read the original Anne book beforehand. But if you haven’t, you can read it just like any old book, and not have any difficulties understanding.
But one thing that kind of irked me about this book is how much it strayed from canon and the original plot/worldbuilding of Anne of Green Gables. I’ve read another similar book, Before Green Gables, which follows Anne’s story before getting adopted by the Cuthbert siblings. However, while Before Green Gables expanded on what was canon and turned it into a longer novel, Marilla Before Anne puts a completely new twist on how Anne and Marilla end up meeting, and their relationship, which doesn’t match the original plot. Most of the twists were fun and I enjoyed the way that the author here changed certain aspects of the original to make a different story out of what Lucy Maud Montgomery had written in 1908. But there were some that I didn’t quite like because I didn’t like how much of a stretch it was from Montgomery’s Anne book
I give this book a three-and-a-half star rating. It was enjoyable and I liked the many twists and new perspectives on the original novel, but there were some parts that made me look at the book like I look at some of my maths homework: I understand the concepts, and I get why it works, but it still makes my brain do a double take.
Everyone has different preferences when it comes to books and book genres, and fanfiction is no different. If you’re someone who likes books that put a spin on classics, or if you like when authors ask ‘what if’ and make a new novel out of that, this twist on the incredible Anne of Green Gables is for you.
The Ivies – Alexa Donne
Before reading:
I normally don’t read horror or mystery or thriller novels, but I decided to give this one a try. All I had heard about it was that it gave dark academia vibes, which is something I’m interested in. But there is blood as part of the cover image. There is murder and dark secrets involved. I don’t quite know what I’m getting into, but I’m excited nonetheless…
After reading:
Whoa.
That was an adventure.
I loved it, but it was definitely more of an involved read than I thought it would be.
The Ivies is about a group of girls at a very exclusive private high school called Claflin. These girls work together to sabotage and expose people in order to get into their dream Ivy League Schools. Each of the girls is ‘assigned’ a university to go to so that they don’t compete against each other in the end.
The main character Olivia Winters is ‘assigned’ to Penn State by the rest of the Ivies, however she wants to go to Harvard. As a student who is on scholarship instead of having her rich family pay (as do most of the other students at Claflin), she is doing her best to fit in, even if that means joining the ruthless Ivies.
Avery Montfort is an heiress of a large fortune and is the ‘leader’ of the Ivies. She assigned herself to go to Harvard (duh) but not only is it a great school, her family’s past few generations have been to and graduated from Harvard.
Sierra Watson is a coding and rowing star, and her ‘assigned’ school is Yale. Margot Kim is a budding actress and her ‘assigned’ school is Princeton. Emma Russo is a modern Renaissance girl, having a very varied skill set. Her ‘assigned’ school is Brown.
When Olivia decides to apply to Harvard behind the rest of the Ivies’ back, she never expects to get in… or Avery to get rejected. A few days later, Emma (who also made it into Harvard) is found dead, and now fingers are pointed towards Avery. Could she kill her friend over a college admission? And is Olivia next?
I loved this book. It was dramatic and exciting, and you never knew who to trust. Everyone seems to have their own motives and their own versions of what happened. What is on the outside is not what’s on the inside in the majority of cases, and when new secrets and new clues are brought up, it could turn the whole case upside down. Sometimes people are likeable, sometimes those same people are bitter and closed off. There’s a sprinkling of romance as well, which I like.
I will give this book a 4 out of 5. It was my first taste of mystery and I have to say I really enjoyed it! I would recommend it to people who enjoy mystery and who like trying to solve the story’s mystery themselves. Maybe those of you who read a lot of mystery could find this underwhelming, but who knows? I think it’s definitely worth a read!
So here is my final rating and ranking:
Obie is Man Enough – Schuyler Bailar (5/5 stars!)
To Kill A Kingdom – Alexandra Christo (4.5/5 stars!)
The Ivies – Alexa Donne (4/5 stars!)
Marilla Before Anne – Louise Michalos (3.5/5 stars!)
Alright, that sums up my book reviews for November? Do you agree with my ratings? Would you be interested in reading any of these? Do let me know!
Thanks for reading! Subscribe so you can see future posts as they come out, and leave a comment and tell me if you plan to do NaNo or not (if you feel so inclined).
Catherine Khaperska 