Unraveled, by Courtney Milan
Sep. 10th, 2014 09:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rowynThis is the third and last book in the Turner series I've been reading. It's also my favorite of the three. The characters are refreshingly forthright about what they want, and there's a lot of good banter. The characters are lovable and their motivations clear and intelligible.
One of the things I like best about Milan's work are its contra-trope facets. This one works against the idea of the "broken hero that only the heroine can fix through the power of LOVE". The male lead in Unraveled had a traumatic childhood, and he's quite plainly traumatized by it. But he's got established coping methods, functions fine in society despite the trauma, and doesn't regard himself as "broken". Neither does the female lead. It's cute.
Another thing: in each of Milan's books, there is at least one point where one of the leads has the opportunity to pick up the Stupid Ball. This is a chance to do something profoundly awful that the protagonist doesn't really want to do. The protagonist is given a handful of quasi-sound justifications for picking up the Stupid Ball. The reader, however, can tell that doing so will damage the relationship between the two protagonists, betray the trust of one of them, and benefit no one in the long term. This will happen around two-thirds of the way through the book, so the reader knows there's still time to patch over the damage from the Stupid Ball, and it's frankly exactly the sort of stupidity one expects in a romance novel. (Like "let's be irrationally jealous of this clearly platonic relationship!") The protagonist will then consider all of the reasons to pick up the Stupid Ball and run with it. And then, the protagonist will go "Nah, forget that, it's obviously a terrible idea." THIS IS SUCH A RELIEF. It's as if your favorite sitcom looked like it was about to use that plotline you hate and you're already cringing in anticipation of how bad it will be, and then it's all "HA FAKE OUT" and the episode is about something good instead.
Unraveled does have a poorly-developed sideplot with a resolution that's simplistic and naive, so I'll mark it down for that. But the central romance is delightful. I'll give this one an 8.5.
One of the things I like best about Milan's work are its contra-trope facets. This one works against the idea of the "broken hero that only the heroine can fix through the power of LOVE". The male lead in Unraveled had a traumatic childhood, and he's quite plainly traumatized by it. But he's got established coping methods, functions fine in society despite the trauma, and doesn't regard himself as "broken". Neither does the female lead. It's cute.
Another thing: in each of Milan's books, there is at least one point where one of the leads has the opportunity to pick up the Stupid Ball. This is a chance to do something profoundly awful that the protagonist doesn't really want to do. The protagonist is given a handful of quasi-sound justifications for picking up the Stupid Ball. The reader, however, can tell that doing so will damage the relationship between the two protagonists, betray the trust of one of them, and benefit no one in the long term. This will happen around two-thirds of the way through the book, so the reader knows there's still time to patch over the damage from the Stupid Ball, and it's frankly exactly the sort of stupidity one expects in a romance novel. (Like "let's be irrationally jealous of this clearly platonic relationship!") The protagonist will then consider all of the reasons to pick up the Stupid Ball and run with it. And then, the protagonist will go "Nah, forget that, it's obviously a terrible idea." THIS IS SUCH A RELIEF. It's as if your favorite sitcom looked like it was about to use that plotline you hate and you're already cringing in anticipation of how bad it will be, and then it's all "HA FAKE OUT" and the episode is about something good instead.
Unraveled does have a poorly-developed sideplot with a resolution that's simplistic and naive, so I'll mark it down for that. But the central romance is delightful. I'll give this one an 8.5.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2014-09-11 04:54 pm (UTC)(Must not rant about Methods of Rationality here. MUST NOT!)
Ahem. Yeah. Always right + smugness can be just as infuriating as an otherwise intelligent person picking up the idiot ball, and LESS realistic.
Although I get annoyed by the idiot ball in stories, I do not necessarily think that it is unrealistic in and of itself.
All too often, the idiot ball is mine, ALL MINE, especially when I'm angry. When I get angry over something, my IQ drops to something slightly above moldy cheese, and whatever it is that has my ire is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN THE WORLD, and so is my reaction, even if it means trampling all over the feelings of anyone else present.
If I'm lucky, I listen to the little voice that reminds me, "You are angry. Of course, you are right. But the problem is, in an hour or so, when you are not so angry, you will not be so sure. You might even think you were wrong. Even if you don't, you never win arguments anyway. Speaking more loudly and developing an ugly, growly voice and letting your face turn red does not persuade anyone. GET OUT OF THE ROOM NOW. SEE IF YOU STILL FEEL RIGHT IN 15 MINUTES."
If I'm lucky, that is. I am not often lucky. Even if, 15 minutes and a cool-down later, I still feel like I was "right," I almost always feel that the way I went about it was utterly WRONG, and I feel the weight of that idiot ball in my hands. (Or, more likely, in my aching temples. Ouch. Getting into heated political/religious/game-rule arguments gives me nasty headaches.)
So, I believe in the idiot ball whenever anger is involved. I just don't particularly like witnessing an otherwise intelligent protagonist succumb to it.