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A review by yoursisterscanary
Beholder by Ryan La Sala
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I didn’t love this book but did appreciate that the horror concepts were very original. I read this for a queer book club so obviously I enjoyed that the main characters were lgbtq+. Unfortunately, the romance felt shoveled in. The interactions felt very authentic which was refreshing in a genre where queer characters tend to be written by white cishet women. It was a little hard to believe the interactions were of teenagers and not older men though. Such confidence!
The author seemed to be making some veiled points about internalized homophobia and shame. He touches on what amounted to Authenticity Theory, exploring if we are who we think we are or does the self lie in the eyes of others. Can an authentic self exist without acknowledgement of others. As a gender queer person this concept cuts me deep. There is no true physical expression of something society does not acknowledge other than a few forms of expressions that box you in. The main character seemed to be playing with this concept with fem expression with makeup. I wish this had been developed more but maybe that’s a lot to ask from a YA book.
I hope this author writes more horror with deeper developed magical systems featuring queer characters.
The author seemed to be making some veiled points about internalized homophobia and shame. He touches on what amounted to Authenticity Theory, exploring if we are who we think we are or does the self lie in the eyes of others. Can an authentic self exist without acknowledgement of others. As a gender queer person this concept cuts me deep. There is no true physical expression of something society does not acknowledge other than a few forms of expressions that box you in. The main character seemed to be playing with this concept with fem expression with makeup. I wish this had been developed more but maybe that’s a lot to ask from a YA book.
I hope this author writes more horror with deeper developed magical systems featuring queer characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Child death