The Benefits of Being an Octopus: A Novel

The Benefits of Being an Octopus by Ann Braden

Zoey is smart, but she has trouble putting much focus in school. Her family life is less than optimal. She has to take care of her younger siblings while her mom works. They have what seems to be a fairly nice lower-class life. They live in their step-dad's trailer home. However, her step dad appears to be abusive and controlling. Meanwhile her friend is also in a home with domestic violence issues. In the process, a gun is fired. It was by the friend's abusive step dad, but people like to blame it on a family that likes to hunt. The kids in school feel that it is almost unfair to debate gun control. Guns are so obviously bad. Zoey has more nuanced view. She also views the debate tactics her step dad is using to control her mom. Eventually she helps to get everyone out of the abusive relationships and tries to be a middle school kid again. The story helps bring alive the many challenges that are faced behind the scenes in lives of poverty and challenging relationships.

Ship It

Ship It starts out as R-rated gay fan fiction, then switches into a teenage coming of age book. It feels like something that was written from personal experience. It centers around a girl who is obsessed with a cult television series. She writes fan fiction where the two leads end up hooking up. The book also follows one of the lead actors in the series. This show was his first big break, and he is hoping to get on another video game adaption. There is tension with the characters discovering their sexuality and the relationship between artists and their fans.
One message the book asks is for media to have more characters that "look like me". Alas, this is a double edged sword. If the entire US population is targeted, then the characters should all be white to appeal to the majority. If the world is targeted, perhaps one white and one Chinese. Only with large ensembles would other racial groups start to appear. However, even these get tricky. How would somebody identify themselves to "see themselves" in the show? If the identify as human, then great, anybody can represent them. If they identify as 5% Cherokee, 20% Kenyan, 40% Portuguese and 35% Northern European, then it will be much harder to achieve the exact representation. And that only touches external race. What about religion or home country? Sexuality also opens up a whole new can of worms. The focus on this book is "queer" vs. "straight". But what about attraction to other physical characteristics? As audiences attempt to divide themselves into greater numbers of subgroups, it becomes more and more impossible to find the perfect subgroup that matches them.
That also brings up the "demonizing" of other subgroups. In the book, the "queer" subgroup is attempting to show their mark on the show. However, to do that, the group of masculine gamers is demonized. They are portrayed as homophobic thugs who don't want to have anything to do with the actor after he shows a sympathy to queer passion. Once a formerly oppressed subgroup gets their is a natural tendency to take it out on the others. Our societal harmony depends on not doing that and respecting the views of others even if they don't agree with ours. The does a good job in showing the fluidity of "queerness". A straight character can engage in a same-sex kiss, while one can be queer and engage in a positive heterosexual relationship. However, the focus is on giving in to passions. This sets up conflict with the "me too" movement and a legal code. There still needs to be restraint in place, even if chemistry appears to be present.