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A review by inkyinsanity
Teen Titans: Beast Boy by Kami Garcia
adventurous
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
(This review is complete)
I was excited to read "Teen Titans: Beast Boy,” expecting a fun and straightforward story like what Garcia delivered in “Teen Titans: Raven.” And in some ways, the book delivered exactly that. The lighthearted tone and characterization were very similar to that of “TT: Raven,” and Gabriel Picolo’s vibrant artwork took my breath away. (I want it engraved on my walls, it’s amazing)
At the beginning, this story seemed to promise what I wanted. The adventurous tone, the quirky best friends, the breadcrumb trail of whatever things Garfield’s parents were hiding from him all kept me entertained. (Even knowing the answers going in, as most people probably will, the secretive parents trope worked without being aggravating.)
However, I have a huge problem with this book that completely ruined it for me: the portrayal of animal rights issues.
The story clearly wanted to talk about relevant Beast Boy themes, but it did so in the worst possible way. Instead of exploring nuanced and often-debated ethical topics, or having Gar stumble over not knowing how to do the right thing and then having to deal with the consequences, the story glossed over every issue it brought up.
And it brought up many, despite the short page count.
The representation of ethical animal welfare felt superficial and, in several notable instances, was blatantly incorrect. Instead of offering an intro to the topic for a teen audience, this was just painful to read. The sheer ignorance of animal rights, humane and ethical treatment of animals, and basic animal behavior was everywhere.
For starters: the endorsement of PETA from the mouth of a character we are supposed to respect disregarded the group's criminal history.
Do not say you care about animals, and then tell people to donate to PETA.
PETA is one of the most obvious examples of an organization not behaving in accordance with what they call themselves. Anyone who works with animals is usually screened to avoid letting in PETA activists, who have repeatedly gained access to legitimately humane and ethical places in order to make their attention-getting stunts at the expense of the very animals PETA claims to care about.
Sources: (warnings for discussion of animal abuse and death)
I was excited to read "Teen Titans: Beast Boy,” expecting a fun and straightforward story like what Garcia delivered in “Teen Titans: Raven.” And in some ways, the book delivered exactly that. The lighthearted tone and characterization were very similar to that of “TT: Raven,” and Gabriel Picolo’s vibrant artwork took my breath away. (I want it engraved on my walls, it’s amazing)
At the beginning, this story seemed to promise what I wanted. The adventurous tone, the quirky best friends, the breadcrumb trail of whatever things Garfield’s parents were hiding from him all kept me entertained. (Even knowing the answers going in, as most people probably will, the secretive parents trope worked without being aggravating.)
However, I have a huge problem with this book that completely ruined it for me: the portrayal of animal rights issues.
The story clearly wanted to talk about relevant Beast Boy themes, but it did so in the worst possible way. Instead of exploring nuanced and often-debated ethical topics, or having Gar stumble over not knowing how to do the right thing and then having to deal with the consequences, the story glossed over every issue it brought up.
And it brought up many, despite the short page count.
The representation of ethical animal welfare felt superficial and, in several notable instances, was blatantly incorrect. Instead of offering an intro to the topic for a teen audience, this was just painful to read. The sheer ignorance of animal rights, humane and ethical treatment of animals, and basic animal behavior was everywhere.
For starters: the endorsement of PETA from the mouth of a character we are supposed to respect disregarded the group's criminal history.
Do not say you care about animals, and then tell people to donate to PETA.
PETA is one of the most obvious examples of an organization not behaving in accordance with what they call themselves. Anyone who works with animals is usually screened to avoid letting in PETA activists, who have repeatedly gained access to legitimately humane and ethical places in order to make their attention-getting stunts at the expense of the very animals PETA claims to care about.
Sources: (warnings for discussion of animal abuse and death)
- Newsweek: Is PETA Responsible for the Deaths of Thousands of Animals? - https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-peta-responsible-deaths-thousands-animals-1565532
- American Council on Science & Health: PETA's Tactics Hurt Animal Rights ... and People, Too - https://www.acsh.org/news/2018/12/05/petas-tactics-hurt-animal-rights-and-people-too-13650
- Influence Watch on PETA - https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/people-for-the-ethical-treatment-of-animals-peta/
- The Atlantic: PETA's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad History of Killing Animals - https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/03/petas-terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad-history-of-killing-animals/254130/
- The Guardian: Peta says sorry for taking girl's pet chihuahua and putting it down - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/17/peta-sorry-for-taking-girls-dog-putting-it-down
- PETA's new formula: deception, manipulation, and fake animal abuse - https://mashable.com/article/peta-fake-animal-abuse-video
- Police say footage PETA claimed was from Indiana pig farm may have been staged - https://www.indystar.com/story/news/crime/2019/11/14/peta-footage-indiana-farm-may-have-been-faked-police-say/4192340002/
“TT: Beast Boy’s” problems didn’t end with PETA, unfortunately. The story's depictions of animal testing and research failed to mention any gray areas in ethical practices and the necessity of certain studies. It also ignored the educational needs of zoological and veterinary training, like learning responsible animal care—usually followed by adoption at the end of the school year.
Additionally, the difficulties that animal shelters face were completely overlooked, particularly the challenges faced by publicly-funded kill shelters in managing overwhelming numbers of animals. It’s a fraught and emotional topic, but the story didn’t even try to discuss it as anything more than kill shelters = bad.
On top of everything else, Gar's ignorance on how to act around animals resulted in unrealistic behaviors and took me right out of the story. This issue extended far beyond Gar's meta abilities. You expect me to believe that his monkey pal, at the bare minimum, didn’t totally trash his room when left alone all day? The story did address this briefly, but only in one unsatisfying scenario with no visible consequences to explore.
Any veterinary or other animal professional should have easily been able to tell Garcia what behavior could reasonably be expected in any number of scenes: releasing exotic animals into a suburban area, letting an aggressive dog run loose, coyotes attacking a large group of people…
Gar stuffed a monkey in a backpack, for crying out loud. I still can’t decide if that’s funny rather than obnoxious.
The way this book skips around serious and complicated ethical issues while preaching about its self importance is disappointing. And that’s my problem with the writing itself—as soon as the animals showed up, the fun stopped and the preaching started. Please, please do not let this book “educate” you.
Despite its shortcomings, "Teen Titans: Beast Boy" still offers a fun experience for fans with its blend of humor, friendship, and adventure. Unfortunately, due to the repeated errors of one of its most prominent themes, I cannot recommend this book.
I will read book 3 because I really liked “Teen Titans: Raven” and I love the Robins, but if the preaching or factual errors continue, I’ll probably quit the series. I love the TT. don’t do this to them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty