Let’s Talk About #BookTok (Specifically LightLark)
PHOTO COURTESY OF Adv. Photography: An open book in the library.
October 20, 2022
#BookTok, TikTok’s subcommunity of all reading-related content, has recently unveiled controversy regarding the young adult fantasy novel LightLark.
In early March of 2020, Alex Aster, the author of LightLark and Curse of the Witch, transformed into a #BookTok sensation by advertising a synopsis of LightLark. The viral TikTok enticed all eager readers and landed Aster a six-figure publishing deal with Amulet Books. Admirers of the genre were instantly fascinated by the premise of its promotion as A Court of Thorns and Roses meets The Hunger Games.
The story is set upon an island known as LightLark that appears every 100 years to host the Centennial, a high-stakes game that only the rulers of six mystical realms are allowed to play. Isla Crown, the main protagonist who is cursed to kill anyone she falls in love with, must partake in the game in order to free her realm from their shared burden.
Aster captivated the attention of many by uploading TikTok’s that promised her readers certain romantic tropes and quotes. She detailed her rocky journey with losing several literary agents before acquiring her viral fame. Her process to publication was promoted as a story of resilience and determination.
In July of 2022, Aster revealed on TikTok that she landed a movie contract with Universal Studios to adapt LightLark.
According to BuzzFeed News, Aster reported the outcome of the movie deal as “more zeros than I’ve seen in my life.”
As the publication date of LightLark began to steadily approach, those apart of the #BookTok community began to speculate the credibility behind Aster’s rags to riches story. Questions regarding whether or not she was dramatizing her supposed struggles while downplaying her privilege began to surface. In the midst of these assumptions, TikTok users found out that Aster’s family owns a car dealership and that her twin sister, Daniella Pierson, is one of the richest women in the U.S.
Havoc immediately unraveled as users of the app attacked Aster for falsely advertising herself and her privilege. The day LightLark officially published on August 23rd, angered followers took this conflict further by review bombing the book until it reached a 2.5 stars on GoodReads.
In response to all of this controversy, COMPASS senior, Sabrina Stahl, voiced her stance by stating, “Aster obviously had some connections. She should be called out but there are different ways to view it. The author could be terrible but the book could be amazing, while the author could be amazing but the book could be terrible.”
Ultimately, I do not stand for Aster falsely advertising herself and her book. I believe she should have been upfront about her privilege and connections. On the other hand, I believe that the review bombing culture of #BookTok is unethical. Only those who have read the book and gathered a concise opinion should hold the power to conduct such a low rating.
Liam Neubauer • Dec 1, 2023 at 6:44 pm
my attention span isnt long enough to read this so if you can condense it into a 30 second vertical video that would be great thanks
Melissa Mejia • Oct 21, 2022 at 11:57 am
On October 20, Kassie Sainz wrote an opinion piece titled “Let’s Talk About #BookTok (Specifically LightLark)”. I enjoy reading books and all things #BookTok, so this piece caught my attention. The opinion piece discusses the book LightLark, and the controversy surrounding the author of the book. Before reading the article, I had not heard of the drama surrounding LightLark, so it was interesting to read about. I found the piece to be extremely informative. I was shocked to read about how Alex Aster, the author, tried to lie about her privilege. I was also shocked by how GoodReads users caused the book’s ratings to fall down to 2.5 stars. I definitely agree with your opinion about review bombing culture being unethical. It makes it difficult for readers to know the quality of the book since the negative reviews are caused by the actions of the author. Unfortunately for Aster, a lot of people will steer away from her books because of her lies. I would like to see an opinion piece written about Colleen Hoover because I know she is a popular yet controversial author. Overall, I found the article to be well-written and interesting. Thank you for this amazing article!
Keira Ly • Oct 21, 2022 at 10:01 am
On October 20, 2022, Kassie Sainz wrote an article titled “Let’s Talk About #BookTok (Specifically Lightlark)” Before reading this article, I had never heard of Lightlark. I had heard of the term “BookTok” before and had been on that side of TikTok for a while, but I never got deep into reading. After I read the article, I started thinking about a couple questions. First, did Lightlark ever receive a movie adaptation or was the contract scrapped? Considering the amount of angry teens flooding GoodReads with bad reviews, I would assume it was terminated. Also, what ultimately happened to Aster after all of this ended? Did she go on to continue writing books? Is she still active on social media? Did she quit? I also really enjoyed how you talked about your perspective on the issue at the end of the article. I agree that both sides were in some way wrong. I don’t think Aster should have made up a rags to riches story, but I also think that TikTok users shouldn’t have bombed the reviews on the book. Despite the drama surrounding the author, the book could have been really good and it wouldn’t be fair to not give it a shot before reviewing it. Overall, I really enjoyed this article and reading about the story behind Lightlark.
Adora Vinhnee • Oct 20, 2022 at 11:55 am
On October 20th, Kassie Sainz wrote an article titled “Let’s Talk About #BookTok (Specifically LightLark).” The article regards the issues of a new release of a fantasy book and the decisions the author, Alex Aster made to promote her book. As a reader who is very aware of the events going on in “BookTok,” Sainz addressed a topic that I feel deserves more recognition than it was previously getting. As books are getting replaced by cellphones, it is nice to have an article dedicated to a hobby that is slowly losing its popularity. To mention the contents of her article, Sainz does a good job of providing persuasive facts to hold Aster accountable for falsely advertising her book, omitting the potential connections she had to get her book adapted into a future movie. Her writing was constantly intriguing, especially when revealing the news of Aster’s family who happen to be extremely wealthy as a result of owning a car dealership. Personally, I have not read the book LightLark, but after being informed about the angry fans and low ratings that resulted from its release, it definitely has encouraged me to go buy the book and create my own opinion on the situation. Sainz also proficiently developed her argument in the end, being sure to highlight the negative effect the online “BookTok” community can have on small authors. Overall, for students who enjoy reading in their free time, this article well understood how to cater its details to please its intended audience.
Metztli Lopez • Oct 20, 2022 at 11:54 am
On October 20, Kassie Sainz wrote an article titled “Let’s Talk About #BookTok (Specifically LightLark)”. I found this article to be engaging, well-written, and relevant to the interest of my fellow students. As someone who has been an avid reader since my elementary school days, It wasn’t long before I ended up on “#booktook”. Over the summer I was intrigued by what seemed to me like a ridiculous amount of controversy regarding the release of the book. However, the more I looked into the story the rags-to-riches persona wasn’t the only issue with the release. Many of the tropes and plotlines promised to readers were either diluted or not present in the book whatsoever. This could be an important addition to the story. Overall, I am in agreement that book- tok and the culture of mass hate-reviewing books is unethical and concerning. Unfortunately, as reading has become more of a trend I have found that book recommendations have come less rooted in the quality of a book and more focused on simply checking popular tropes off a list. I hope to see more articles like this in the future and maybe even some book suggestions that do live up to their promises.