{"id":3274,"date":"2016-03-18T09:00:04","date_gmt":"2016-03-18T13:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/?p=3274"},"modified":"2020-12-08T10:06:37","modified_gmt":"2020-12-08T10:06:37","slug":"review-young-knights-of-the-round-table-by-julia-golding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/2016\/03\/18\/review-young-knights-of-the-round-table-by-julia-golding\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Young Knights of the Round Table<\/i> by Julia Golding"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a compelling argument to be made for incidentally disabled characters, where disability isn\u2019t the main thrust of the character\u2019s arc. In these cases, disability is a part of the character\u2019s life, but it isn\u2019t the source of conflict that drives the narrative forward. These stories are important. They show that disabled characters (and disabled readers) can have adventures that don\u2019t revolve solely around their disabilities. It\u2019s an excellent goal, but can be tricky to pull off.<\/p>\n

Young Knights of the Round Table<\/a> <\/em>is a prime example of incidental disability done wrong.<\/p>\n

When a trio of changelings \u2014 humans stolen by Fey as infants \u2014 come to Earth on a mission to root out human conspirators against the Fey king of Avalon, Linette Kwan, a human girl and a wheelchair user, becomes an unlikely friend to the group.<\/p>\n

Linette is one of two point-of-view characters, which tends to indicate that the character will be integral to the story. I expected Linette to discover the changelings\u2019 magical world early on, join in their adventure, and help save the day. Unfortunately, that didn\u2019t happen. For the majority of the book, Linette appears to be there merely to remark upon how strange the trio is and to provide answers to their questions. However, her acknowledgment of their odd inquiries and behavior doesn\u2019t amount to anything. She doesn\u2019t seem much concerned by it, nor does she get even an inkling to investigate as I thought she might.<\/p>\n

\"Cover<\/a>\t\n\t
\n\t\t\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tBUY ON BOOKSHOP<\/span>\n\t\t\t\tBOOKSHOP<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t& support independent bookstores\n\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/article> \n\n\t<\/center><\/div>In fact, she only learns the truth about magic in the last quarter of the book after she stumbles upon the villain kidnapping her changeling friend\u2019s dog. She is subsequently also kidnapped and told all about the magical world of Avalon. The villain \u2014 a former Fey king out for revenge on his usurper via conquering Earth and cutting off the Fey\u2019s access to the planet\u2019s magic \u2014 thinks little of humans and tells her his whole villainous plan, even remarking that there\u2019s nothing she can do about it now that she\u2019s been taken to the Fey world with him. Given his clear underestimation of her and the fact that Linette explicitly wonders how she might stop him, I figured now <\/em>would be when Linette\u2019s importance as one of our protagonists would appear. She would use his hubris against him and help her friends take down their enemy.<\/p>\n

Instead, she\u2019s dismissed and sent into Avalon proper to wait while the villainy occurs. Linette does nothing but observe for the rest of the book. She watches as various magical races gather in preparation for the planned invasion of Earth. She listens as they discuss what they\u2019ll do with the humans once they\u2019ve won. Later, she watches as one group is revealed to have sabotaged the operation. She hides during the ensuing battle.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the changelings are off dealing with the actual saving-the-world and defeating-the-bad-guy business.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll notice I haven\u2019t mentioned Linette\u2019s disability so far. That\u2019s because it\u2019s so insignificant \u2014 not only to the story but also to the character <\/em>\u2014 as to be meaningless. And the few times it does come up ring exceptionally hollow.<\/p>\n

Early on, Linette is visiting the changelings\u2019 multiple-story home, and is invited to her new friend Roxy\u2019s room on the second floor. Roxy casually tells her foster dad to give Linette a piggyback ride up the stairs. No one asks Linette\u2019s permission or consults her on the best way to transport her. It\u2019s simply assumed and done. The actual trip up happens off-screen between chapters. When we return to Linette\u2019s point of view, she mentions \u201cthe embarrassment of being carried upstairs\u201d but we never hear how she felt about the experience beyond that. Being carried, especially by strangers, is often frightening, nerve-wracking, painful, and\/or embarrassing even when you\u2019ve given consent. Without consent? It\u2019s a pure violation. If we assume Linette gave (reluctant) consent, we still ought to have heard more about how she felt.<\/p>\n

A later scene is even worse about ignoring how her disability would affect her experience. When a magical earthquake hits Oxford, Linette is thrown out of her bed and buried beneath the falling furniture and debris. She calls for help, but no one hears her. After a short while, the changelings come to her rescue. Apart from a brief mention that she never has much feeling in her legs and therefore can\u2019t tell if she\u2019s been hurt, this scene could have been written about a nondisabled character and remained essentially unchanged.<\/p>\n

This is not an example of incidental disability; this essentially erases <\/em>disability.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been stuck in my bed before, screaming at the top of my lungs for help. I screamed myself hoarse. I cried when I couldn\u2019t scream anymore, and had nowhere to wipe my nose but on my bedsheets. I was stuck there for an hour, afraid I\u2019d wet the bed soon if no one showed up. It was one of the most terrifying, helpless experiences of my life. Even after someone arrived, I was shaking the whole day. And that was without <\/em>the fear and danger of an earthquake. Yes, Linette was trapped for only fifteen minutes or so, not the hour that I was. And yes, not everyone will react the same way to that situation. But to write that scene without any mention of how her disability impacted her is neglectful at best<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The book erases the physical effects of her disability, too. When the villain kidnaps Linette, he attaches a magical device to each of her wheels. These allow her chair to move with only a thought and to traverse otherwise impossible terrain: stairs, sand, even cliffs. She spends the last quarter of the book effectively nondisabled because of this magical technology. This reads as a way for the author to avoid dealing with Linette\u2019s disability as soon as it would realistically play a role.<\/p>\n

One of the only positives to Linette\u2019s depiction was that while she can<\/em> use crutches, she chooses to use only a wheelchair because it\u2019s less fatiguing. Often, wheelchair-using characters are either fully paralyzed (and thus unable to use other mobility devices) or urged to walk as much as possible. This only reinforces the widespread (and wholly incorrect) belief that wheelchair users must necessarily use them full-time and aren\u2019t ever able to stand or walk. So it was refreshing that Linette makes the conscious choice to use a wheelchair because that\u2019s what is best for her, and that no one in the story questioned her decision.<\/p>\n

It’s important to note that for wheelchair-using readers Linette\u2019s very presence would likely be thrilling. And I don\u2019t want to take away from the joy those readers very well might find in seeing themselves in a story like this. There\u2019s also a difference between passively and actively harmful narratives, and Young Knights<\/em> falls pretty firmly in the former category.<\/p>\n

However, that doesn\u2019t change the fact that Linette\u2019s disability throughout is ignored or erased, and Linette herself doesn\u2019t have much of a purpose beyond offering the (nondisabled) characters information and access to plot-relevant settings, and offering readers a pair of eyes and ears through which to learn about the villain\u2019s plans. She has no agency, no arc, and no significant impact on the story.<\/p>\n

Linette might be a point-of-view character, but she is more a convenient plot device than a protagonist, and disabled readers deserve more from their representation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Linette is more a convenient plot device than a protagonist, and disabled readers deserve more. Young Knights of the Round Table<\/em> is a prime example of incidental disability done wrong.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":2998,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_generate-full-width-content":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[221,74,288,289],"genre":[9],"age_category":[6],"disability":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3274"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3274"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3274\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7003,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3274\/revisions\/7003"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3274"},{"taxonomy":"genre","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/genre?post=3274"},{"taxonomy":"age_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/age_category?post=3274"},{"taxonomy":"disability","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/disability?post=3274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}