This is a list of authors whose books have been criticized for problematic content.
There are authors on the Code Orange and Code Red lists who have also written books with problematic content, but in those cases, they have done or said something more.
This page exists in large to recognize authors who, as people, have not spoken out or behaved in such a a way that hurts communities so much as they have had books which have been heavily criticized for their content. If other information comes to light, these authors may migrate to different lists.
On my reviews, look out for this banner:
Clicking the banner will link back to this page and allow the reader to look into the author in question and further understand what their book(s) have featured and decide how to proceed.
K
Kristoff, Jay
- Kristoff’s Stormdancer has been criticized for being poorly researched and culturally appropriative.
- Nevernight has received criticism from an Own Voices reviewer for appropriating Māori culture in the portrayal of the Dweymeri. While the original post no longer exists, there is a thread outlining a conversation between Kristoff and the reviewer. Booklattes also analyses this conversation in her review of the book.
L
Lim, Elizabeth
- I recently came across a series of posts discussing problematic content in Spin the Dawn, including ableism in that the MC impersonates her disabled brother and transphobia (crossdressing – again, impersonating her brother). Lim listened to early reviewers and some elements were edited out, but many readers felt this wasn’t enough.
Lu, Marie
- Marie Lu has received criticism of Warcross for using ableist language (see this review and this review), as well as some ableist representation in The Rose Society (this review, this review, and this review) where “hearing voices” is equated to “being evil”.
- There is some criticism of her short story “The Journey” included in A Tyranny of Petticoats where she is writing about Alaskan native culture, and it was not received well (see also this overall anthology review which notes some other concerning elements).
M
Meyer, Marissa
- The Lunar Chronicles have come under scrutiny for a couple different things. For one, Winter is heavily criticized for the treatment of mental health and both Winter and Fairest are called out for ableist content. There is a lot of heated discussion about race in Cinder and The Lunar Chronicles in general, both criticizing the author for being appropriative or not doing her research, and others who say there’s racism in the books, but the fandom is worse. Either way, something to look into.
Last Updated: 1/15/2021