Sarah J. Maas and the Issues with Her Writing

As mentioned in a previous post, I wanted to address the main issue I have with Sarah J. Maas's writing: her use of the Mary-Sue trope and lack of POC.

Sarah J. Maas (SJM) is probably one of the most well-known modern, Young Adult Fantasy authors. Known for her two main series, "Throne of Glass" (TOG) and "A Court of Thorns and Roses" (ACOTAR), SJM has made a name for herself as being the one to start the Fairy-Fantasy movement. However, with success comes criticism, and there is A LOT of criticism.

Before going into my opinion, I feel the need to address this early on because of the controversy on BookTok (Book TikTok) and how there are people out there that are threatening people who buy and read SJM's novels. I want to start by saying that I do enjoy SJM's books (especially her ACOTAR series). Her books got me back into reading after a very large reading slump after college, as well as after I left teaching. Yet, I do notice the issues (lack of POC characters and her usage of them) within her writing and I do acknowledge them. These issues are the reason I am writing this post, as I want to address them, as I did a little bit in my review of "Throne of Glass". However, with the recent upheaval in social media with the release of "A Court of Silver Flames" (ACOSF), I think a longer post is due.

My issues with SJM's writing fall into two parts: Mary-Sue Trope and POC Characters. For those who don't know, a Mary-Sue Trope, according to the Oxford Dictionary" is " a type of female character who is depicted as unrealistically lacking in flaws or weaknesses". Originally, the Mary-Sue Trope was found in fan fiction, but in recent years the trope has wormed its way into mainstream literature. Part of this is due to self-publishing becoming easier with Amazon, along with the fact that the entire industry is just saturated with similar stories. Some people blame "Twilight", which, if we're honest, they're kinda right. Although Twilight was the early version of the modern Mary-Sue. Bella Swan was basically written as a blank canvas so the reader (a nerdy, bookworm teenage girl) can put themselves into the story.

The modern Mary-Sue, especially in YA Fantasy, typically has multiple love interests (mainly to form a love triangle) and is born with or gains a fantastical array of powers. This character trope is every single main character in any of SJM's original books. (SPOILERS!!) In "Throne of Glass", Aelin is the world's best assassin, who is also the lost heir to a magical kingdom. She has these great and powerful fire magic that a fire goddess blessed her ancestor with. She also has two love interests, but it luckily doesn't end up as a love triangle. In "A Court of Thorns and Roses", Feyre gains every single magical power of each of the Fae Courts at the end of the first novel, while also having two heavenly attractive men pursuing her (to the point that one of them is still pining over her in the fourth and most recent novel). In her newest series, "Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood", Bryce seems to be normal for the most part, as normal as a half-fae can be. And yet, it is revealed that she is Starborn (chosen one of the Fae that can control starlight). She also has various male characters in the book attempt to date her, while also dealing with the fact that some look down on her because she is half-fae.

As evidenced in all three of her series, SJM obviously sticks to the Mary-Sue trope a lot for her main characters. However, I do think she is getting a little better as her writing has progressed. I personally like Bryce a lot more than Aelin and possibly even Feyre. However, "A Court of Silver Flames" really showcases her drift away from the Mary-Sue character by focusing on probably one of the most disliked characters in any of her series, Nesta Archeron. While Nesta does have some badass powers that rival (and possible overpower) Feyre's own, ACOSF focuses on mental health more than anything and self-love as the main plot point. There is only one true love interest (although other men try) for Nesta, and there is also a great focus on found family and friendships. I think there is hope yet that SJM moves away from this character trope.

SJM's second issue, treatment of POC Characters, is the biggest issue that I've seen people having with SJM. The issue started in SJM's book, "Crown of Midnight" (the second novel I the "Throne of Glass" series), when SJM killed off Nehemia, the only black character (who is a freaking princess), in order to motivate Aelin, the white female protagonist, to fight. The death of Nehemia felt off and too rushed, as this happens in the second novel of the series. SJM didn't fully explore Nehemia and Aelin's friendship to its potential, which cheapens Nehemia's death. Not to mention the fact that Nehemia was the only black character in the novel, who was also vital to the plot due to her status as a princess in a hostage situation. And yet, that part of Nehemia's backstory is only mentioned a few times. Having finished the series, I didn't even remember Nehemia and what happened to her home country, which seemed to be the only country fighting against Adarlan at the beginning of the series (we also never hear about them again after Nehemia's death).

After Nehemia's death, SJM doesn't really introduce any other POCs until the fourth book, "Queen of Shadows", when Aelin meets Nesryn Faliq, who is half-Southern Continent (SJM's fantasy world version of the Mongol Empire). More POCs are introduced in "Tower of Dawn", however the leading character of that book is Chaol, who is not the most beloved character in the series (Side note: I literally skipped this book because of him. I am trying to go back and read it for Nesryn and the new characters introduced, but boy is it hard.). ACOTAR is better but the main cast is mainly tan white people. "Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood" focuses more on species than race, which could be SJM's own commentary of prejudice and racism through fantasy terms. The prejudice and hate towards difference species throughout the book, which is reminiscent of modern day racism just with a fictional twist. "Crescent City" is a step up, at least in my opinion, but I can understand if POCs have their own opinions against it and SJM, which is completely valid.

As I come to the end of this post, I don't know the answer to SJM's second issue. I think she is trying to not make the same mistakes that she did early on in her writing. However there's also the struggle of trying to write diverse characters in a way that makes them dynamic enough to be real without accidentally crossing into stereotypes. Not to mention it is hard to touch upon issues that POCs go through when you don't live those experiences. Talking with POCs can help give a (white) writer perspective, but we will never fully understand the hardships that POCs go through. I also think there is a fear that people will get angry if you write a POC character that has flaws. But on the other side, if you write a POC character as a flat character, people will still get angry. "Damned if you do, damned if you don't”, so to speak. The nuance of race is very difficult deal with across all media platforms and is something that needs to be handled with great care.

Overall, I do enjoy SJM's books, as they are a fun and interesting read when you turn your brain off. I think she is trying to improve as she continues to write, which is good and shows progress. However, as I stated in the beginning, it is good to take note of what is wrong with her writing and acknowledge it because these conversations need to happen. In response to the peopleI don't fault anyone for not reading or liking SJM and her work. That is your opinion and I respect it. Just have the same respect for others and don't threaten them like people have been on TikTok. Talk about your issues with the book in a respectful way and have an open conversation, as it will lead to a better understand of your point of view.