Reviews & Readership

Won’t somebody think of the children!?

In a word: well, yes. But also, not really.

You will perceive that there is both YA, teen romance, and adult romance included in the genres in our survey; as well as many other, generally more ‘grown-up’ genres. There will be adult and nsfw works on the reading list, and each review will be preceded by a maturity rating (by European standards) as well as content and trigger warnings. I will not card teens who read this blog at the door — we all have been teens, those of us who are in our late twenties now, and we all know we use to stick our noses into stuff we shouldn’t have.

I have bumbled my way into a few adult spaces when I was a teen, and the adults I encountered were gracious enough not to kick me out on sight. They let me know when they thought stuff was too heavy for me, but in the end they let me make my own decision (and offered to talk about it once I’d read it). I encourage teens who read this blog to do the same; and I’d ask for the adults to show some grace.*

Teens are among those who need queer lit most — to see themselves, to know they’re not alone, to discover and to explore. So I can’t close off a space like this just because there’s also discussion of adult material here. No-one has to engage with this blog beyond what they’re comfortable with, or what they enjoy. Adults who don’t like horror? No worries, I scream real fast, too.

Squicks, Triggers, and Content Warnings

Literature is flawed, because we are. There’s a line between difficult, complex, even dark subject matter and harmful content. It’s not always easy to see, but it’s there; and for everyone it’s in a different place. There’s also a difference between heavy shit and harmful tropes — usually marked by imbalances of power. Punching down is never good. Punching in general, depends. Same goes for kink.

Of course I don’t want anyone to walk into a text unprepared. Content warnings are there so that everyone knows what to give a pass to. By the same token, maturity ratings are there to tell youngsters they’re probably too young. Kids, disregard the ratings at your own risk. We’re always here to talk about it, though.

* Fine print:
If you’re a teen and you’re coming here to loudly tell us all we’re disgusting for writing and reading about consenting adults bumping sticky parts in potentially questionable situations, I gotta tell ya, buddy: not today.