Title: Redemption Bay Series: Haven Point #2
Author: RaeAnne Thayne
Published: June 30, 2015
Genre(s): Romance: Contemporary
Page Count: 378
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads:McKenzie Shaw would do anything for her beloved hometown of Haven Point. It may be small and struggling, but it's never let her down…unlike gorgeous, infuriating Ben Kilpatrick. He was her childhood hero until he closed his family's factory, leaving the town's economy in shambles. Now he's back—his tech firm is considering opening a local facility. For Haven Point's sake, McKenzie has to grit her teeth and play nice.
What could a town filled with painful memories ever offer Ben? He left Haven Point behind years ago, for good reason. Yet seeing the town through the eyes of McKenzie—its fiery young mayor—he suddenly has his answer. If only he can resolve the animosity crackling between them, Ben may have found the place where he can build ties and find healing…a place where love arrives when it's least expected.
This is a prime example of why white authors shouldn’t write characters of color.
For the most part, Redemption Bay is your typical small town contemporary romance. Everything is cutesy and heartwarming and cheerful. Except for the absolutely terrible portrayal of the female protagonist, I probably wouldn’t have had too much to say about this book. In fact, if McKenzie Shaw had been white, I wouldn’t even be writing this review.
Except McKenzie shaw isn’t white, so here we are.
McKenzie Shaw, the heroine / female protagonist of this romance, was born with the name Xochitl Vargas. Her parents were a married lawyer and a paralegal he met on business. Young Xochitl was raised by her single mother and never met her father until several years later, when her mother died(?) and she had to leave California and go live with her biological father (and his wife) in Idaho.
Once in Idaho, young Xochitl’s step-mother is rightfully upset by this evidence of her husband’s affair, but she wrongfully takes this upset out on an innocent child. At some point, it is decided that Xochitl’s last name needs to be changed to Shaw so she “fits in better” with the family. Also at this point, it is decided to change Xochitl’s first name because it’s too foreign/exotic/[insert your racist adjective of choice].
Enter McKenzie Shaw.
The adult version of McKenzie that readers are introduced to in Redemption Bay is remarkably well-adjusted. She seems to harbor no ill-will toward her racist father and step-mother. She references her absolutely horrific (by real-world standards) upbringing only vaguely and briefly and without any sadness, resentment, or indignation. For all intents and purposes, this woman is your average vanilla white lady, just with some “unique” facial features.
Nowhere does the author address the trauma of having your identity stripped from you and then being forced to conform to the colonizers’ expectations. Clearly, RaeAnne Thayne wanted the “benefit” of a Latino character but wasn’t willing to do the work of careful and respectful representation. So how exactly do you get an “exotic” or “diverse” character without doing any real leg-work? Easy: (1) kill off the non-white parent, (2) forcibly assimilate your character into white culture, (3) ignore any kind of fallout from that kind of oppression, and (4) proceed with your bland, derivative storyline as if that character truly is white.
Honestly: how dare you strip away a little brown girl’s identity and heritage from her and then pretend that it was anything than what it was: oppression. Redemption Bay is a piece of racist horseshit. Fuck this book, and fuck everyone who put this out on shelves.
