Whitewashing:  A term that now has also come to refer to the entertainment industry's attempt at making ethnic characters more appealing to the white, money-spending masses by making exotic characters less ethnic and more "white." (from Urban Dictionary)


Before we begin, have you seen my glowing review of "The Immortal Rules"? Yes? Okay. So let me start by saying that I really, really, REALLY LOVED this book! And I simply adore Julie Kagawa, she is a badass! No question about it. But despite all that...

I am NOT HAPPY.


Man, this issue with the cover just makes my blood boil. So let me make something clear:


I'm pretty sure Sekemoto is an Asian surname, specifically Japanese. Even one of the hoodlums in the story described Allie as an ASIAN DOLL.

Allie wearing heavy eye-liner, smudge lipstick and a flashy necklace. Huh?

Julie Kagawa and Harlequin Teen just launched the Blood of Eden website. But the pictures of Allison... gosh, are you kidding me?

The model (although very beautiful) doesn't look Asian to me, not even half Japanese. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against a Caucasian model on the cover, but ONLY if the MC is actually Caucasian him/herself.

This inaccurate representation of Allison Sekemoto ticked me off very much. My dog is not happy about it as well...

Sorry, he is quite old. He is not capable of violent reactions.

I know. I know.

Authors have no say on what their book covers will look like, only publishers can make these kind of decisions. Although I disagree, I know that they have valid reasons for that rule. But when this and this happened, it's time I put my foot down and draw the line.

Here's the thing, most readers think that authors have absolute control over their own book: covers, trailers, movies, etc. That kind of belief can lead to a lot of problems for the author. So it's the publisher's job to make sure that everything goes well from the very beginning. Sometimes, an author can get lucky and have, if not smashing, a decent book cover. Sometimes, the cover doesn't make any sense at all. But hey! That's all part of the publishing game. Now, I'm not sure about self-pub authors, but my guess is that they can decide on what image they want to put on the cover.


Back to the issue...

I am sad to say that I won't be buying the physical copy of this book unless Harlequin Teen get their shit together. It's not like I'm banning this book or anything (because I loved it) but I have to make a stand. I feel that this whitewashing issue has gone far too long. It needs to stop NOW. Allie is Japanese, she needs to LOOK LIKE ONE.