Revealing Eden Cover: Off To a Questionable Start

Okay, let's get right to it, shall we? Our first subject for this blog is Save The Pearls Book I: Revealing Eden by Victoria Foyt, published in 2012 by Sand Dollar Press.

This book apparently caused a lot of controversy when it was first released -- Victoria claimed that it was meant to help people of Caucasian descent understand what it was like to suffer the cruelties of racism, by creating a world where white people were the oppressed minority.  Readers disagreed, claiming that Victoria, as a Caucasian, has no idea what actual minorities go through and that her book reads as a racist rant itself.  Yikes... sounds like she missed her mark by a mile.

There's also a few choice tidbits online about her insane articles in the Huffington Post, her marketing campaign using women in blackface and even encouraging fans of the book to wear blackface in public (because that can NEVER go wrong, can it?), and her claims that "an African-American community of readers" may not even exist.  (Is your blood boiling yet?)  The book currently has a 1.8-star rating on Amazon and a 2.04 rating on Goodreads, with plenty of evidence that the few 4 and 5 star ratings are either sock puppets or friends of the author.

All controversy and reviews aside, let's dive into this thing, shall we?  Call it train-wreck curiosity, but I want to see how bad this thing really is for myself.  And you do too, otherwise you wouldn't be here, right?

For the record -- yes, I did purchase this book.  Our library doesn't carry it, and I wanted to be able to make notes in the margins if I had to.  Rest assured that I got it used, however, so I didn't give the author or publisher a dime of my money.

We'll start by looking over the cover of the book.  Nothing particularly inspiring -- except for the half-and-half look of the girl on the cover, like she's one of those aliens from the "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" Star Trek episode, it looks like your bog-standard paranormal fantasy novel.  My copy of the book also bears a gold sticker declaring this book has won the "Eric Hoffer Award," which as far as I can tell isn't an actual award and can be acquired by any self-published author who pays a fee.  At least they're up-front about bribing your way to victory, unlike some awards...

Summary from the dust jacket:

WOULD YOU BETRAY YOUR LOVED ONES -- AND MAYBE YOUR ENTIRE RACE -- TO AVOID A HORRIBLE DEATH? 

 In a post-apocalyptic world where resistance to an overheated environment defines class and beauty, Eden Newman's white skin brands her as a member of the lowest class, a weak and ugly Pearl. The clock is ticking: if Eden doesn't mate before her eighteenth birthday, she'll be left outside to die. 

If only a dark-skinned Coal from the ruling class will pick up her mate option, she'll be safe.  But no matter how much Eden darkens her skin and hair, she's still a Pearl, still ugly -- cursed with a tragically low mate-rate of 15%.

Just maybe one Coal sees the real Eden and will save her -- she has begun secretly dating her handsome co-worker Jamal.  But when Eden unwittingly compromises her father's secret biological experiment, she is thrown into the eye of the storm -- and the remaining patch of rainforest, a strange and dangerous land.

Eden must fight to save her father, who may be humanity's last hope, while standing up to a powerful beast-man she believes is her enemy, despite her overwhelming attraction.  To survive, Eden must change -- but only if she can redefine her ideas of beauty -- and of true love.

Acclaimed writer VICTORIA FOYT blends equal parts suspense and philosophy, adventure and romance, in this captivating novel set in a terrifying future, which is all too easy to imagine

I already have a LOT of questions -- why is the "weak and ugly" race called Pearls while the ones with power are called Coals, what's a mate-rate and why is hers so low, how is this author "acclaimed" when no one had heard of her before this book came out, why does this thing read like a bad crossover of Twilight and Divergent -- but I'm going to hold off on those until I've actually started reading.  Presumably the author will (attempt to) answer some of these questions in the book itself.

I do find the "terrifying future" and "all too easy to imagine" remarks a bit disconcerting, however.  Protip, Victoria: using these remarks when your book is about a future/alternate universe where Caucasians are the oppressed minority makes you look less like the "colorblind" individual you claim to be and more like a paranoid white supremecist.

The back cover has another mini-blurb about the book that's essentially an abbreviated re-hash of the dust jacket commentary, as well as three glowing reviews from three people I've never heard of, including the CEO of a major comic book convention.  Because when you think of book reviews, you think of comic book convention CEOs, I'm sure...

They do say not to judge a book by its cover... but I must say I'm not terribly reassured by what I've seen on THIS book's cover.  And if Internet hearsay is accurate, the cover is probably the LEAST offensive and repellent aspect of the book.  But I paid for this thing and started this blog to rip it apart, so I'm dedicated to reading every last page and sharing my commentary of it on the Internet.

...Primus help me.

Yes, this sporking will include some reaction pics and GIFs.  Because sometimes the only way to convey your emotions accurately is with a giant robot facepalm...