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It& #39;s never that you aren& #39;t allowed to dislike books from non-white authors, but that as reviewers-- especially ones who, you know, care-- it& #39;s your responsibility to unpack the language you use to review and the biases you bring to a work.
Yes, you are allowed to not like work by non-white authors, but if everything you didn& #39;t like about it is everything that doesn& #39;t center you, like maybe sit with that for a moment.
I haven& #39;t even read The Poppy War, but this isn& #39;t just a case of one person (who apologized!) calling one book boring; It& #39;s the feedback POC get about their work all the damn time: no one is interested, there is no market, consumers won& #39;t see themselves here, it& #39;s boring.
If you are invested in diversifying your reading, I also think it& #39;s important to ask yourself some questions while reading: Is there anything I didn& #39;t understand here? How has white/Western centered media taught me how to read this? What parts of this story weren& #39;t "for me?"
If you are a reviewer, ask yourself if there is any language in your review that ties back to microgressions or stereotypes. Consider if anything you& #39;ve said about this one work is something POC hear about their work large scale and again, unpack that.
It probably seems like a lot of work but your reward is *checks notes* the like 95% of media that centers you and your experience so idk, I think you& #39;ll be fine.
