Jodi Picoult‘s books are beautifully written, fast-paced stories about love, family, friendship, and resilience. And now the beloved author is adding her (wise) opinion to the frustrating “keep politics off BookTok” conversation that has occurred after the 2024 U.S. election.
In a brilliant TikTok, Picoult said people have said she should “stick to my books and not be so political in my videos. So today I’m just gonna stick to my books.” She picked up Mad Honey and said, “This is my book about trans rights.” She then said of Nineteen Minutes, “This is my book about a school shooting.” She explained that her other books are about eugenics, racism and white supremacy, the Holocaust, abortion and reproductive rights, the death penalty, and “discrimination against women in the arts.” She ended her video by asking, “What was that you were saying?” Mic drop!
A good example of this frustrating debate? One TikTok said “we are here to share books that we all enjoy.” They continued, “We don’t need hate in this community and we don’t need politics ruining a good thing we have going.” As Picoult explained, most author’s books deal with important subjects relevant to their readers. Isn’t complaining about “political” novels (aka “woke novels”) spreading hate? And how is reading books about things that matter “ruining” the experience? Can’t you still enjoy a great story, get caught up in the characters’ lives, want a happy ending, and learn something along the way? Or think about something differently?
Others have shared sentiments such as “reading will always be political.” Another said “reading is fun” and added “but it should also be making you a better person.” Yes!
TikTok s loved Picoult’s response. One wrote, “Oh, clearly I need to start reading Jodi Picoult, then.” Another called her “The GOAT.” It’s impossible to watch the author’s video and not want to buy every single book she has written (28!). This debate is just like when people said YA books aren’t “real literature.” Just like a variety of genres count as “real reading,” it’s impossible to say that politics and books should or even could be separated.
Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan’s Oct. 2022 release Mad Honey is a perfect example. The story follows the romance between Asher and Lily, a tragedy that occurs, and how their mothers deal with the aftermath. As the incredibly important need for trans rights. Picoult and Boylan merged a fast-paced tale that reads like a thriller and also explores all the painful stereotypes and hate that still occur today. I will never forget Mad Honey, and isn’t that the whole point?
As a Picoult fan since I was a teenager, I’d argue her books deal with what’s relevant today, and that’s always going to include political topics. The first book of hers I read was The Pact about Chris, who has been accused of murdering his girlfriend Emily. But did they make a suicide pact? That’s so much weightier than your typical teen drama and, like Nineteen Minutes about a brutal school shooting and My Sister’s Keeper about a sibling coming of age while her sister has cancer, stuck with me. I’m going to keep reading Picoult’s, yes, political books, and I’m not the only one.
Published: Nov 28, 2024 03:32 pm