The Expert Book Smuggler

Edited by: Emilie Rose

Victoria Aveyard is a New York Times Bestselling author with 10 books under her belt, including the Realm Breaker and Red Queen series. Known for regularly engaging with her fans through social media, Aveyard has amassed a large following of fans devoted to her works. However, she is not without controversy.

Critics have condemned Aveyard for her support of the apartheid state of Israel, her invasion of reader spaces, plagiarism, and other offenses. While some criticism of the author is warranted, some accusations lack merit.

“Israel has a right to exist.”

In 2023, Aveyard posted a series of stories on her Instagram in which she expressed a variety of mixed emotions toward the October 7^th attacks. In the stories, she both expresses grief for the lives lost and anger at the Israeli government. While Aveyard felt Israel has a right to exist, she also expressed that she felt that the current Israeli administration ‘goes against everything Jews should stand for’.

I’ve been trying to put into words the complexity of feeling as war takes over Israel. First it is grief, but there is also a sort of paralysis. As an American Jew, I find myself in this position often. Trapped between my desire for social justice, for the basic human rights that the Palestinian people have been routinely denied, and my belief that Israel has a right to exist.

To witness the fall of Israel’s democracy over the last year has been devastating. The ultra right extremism of the current administration goes against everything Jews should stand for. I have been inspired by the hundreds of thousands of Israelis who have taken to the streets for the last ten months in protest of their government. It is important that we make these distinctions on a day like today. The distinction between a people and their government. As Americans, we should hold this distinction dearly, as we were all too recently under the terrifying leadership of the Trump administration, and their hateful legislation. As we abject condemnation of the murder and kidnapping of Jews.

This is not a wholly uncommon opinion for ‘centrist’ or ‘liberal’ Zionists who, despite acknowledging that the Palestinian people are suffering, fail to fully recognize the depth of oppression at the hands of the occupation. While Aveyard appears dismayed at the current state of the Israeli government, she seems either unwilling or unable to acknowledge that Israel has been committing ethnic cleansing and apartheid since its inception. The Palestinian plight resulted from the actions of both the current and previous administrations.

Aveyard received significant backlash from readers on social media because of these stories, as well as additional posts in which she shared articles and posts critical of the Palestinian resistance. One article titled “Israeli and Palestinian Activists Ask Americans to Take Side of Peace” attempts to play both sides, while subtly blaming the lack of ‘peace’ on Palestinians.

They have called Hamas, the group that controls the Gaza Strip, both “the enemy of the Palestinian people” and a “fertilizer for radical Jewish extremism.”

This article largely ignores that the reason that there is a lack of ‘peace’ is because of the occupation’s ethnic cleansing that has been happening for decades. There would be no need for resistance if the occupation was not slaughtering, abducting, torturing, and sexually assaulting Palestinian people. Placing the blame on the shoulders of those fighting against oppression is simply another tool the occupation uses to justify their crimes.¹

At this time, Aveyard also shared a thread in which she stated, “There is a way for people who don’t agree to speak calmly and objectively about anything no matter how different we think we are.”

This positions Aveyard as the victim in the situation, despite the harm she caused through sharing Zionist propaganda. In doing so, she has emboldened others to discredit anyone who calls her out on her views and furthers the idea that supporting the Palestinian cause is an inherently violent act. Her statement demands that those harmed only express their hurt in ways that are acceptable to the oppressor and ultimately is a method of shutting down the criticism.

In researching, I have been told by fellow readers that Aveyard posted a TikTok in November 2023 in which she spoke of educating herself and shared that she would donate a box set to the Books for Palestine auction. I have been unable to locate the video in question, but since then Aveyard has shared a few posts that potentially show that her views have changed.

• (10/29/24) A quote of a Thread regarding Ryan Girdusky’s beeper threat toward Mehdi Hasan in which she added, “This was WILD.”
• (2/4/25) A quote of a Thread regarding Trump’s intent to take over the Gaza strip in which she added, “Despicable.”

Regardless, many Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim creators feel that her ‘education’ is a performative response to the backlash.

Note: Sources for some information/opinions will remain anonymous by request. To submit a clarification or source, please use my contact page.

The Red Queen Controversy

Towards the end of 2024, controversy surrounding Aveyard reignited when readers accused the author of plagiarizing Lauren Roberts’ book Powerless. The controversy appears to have begun when the author posted a TikTok describing her book Red Queen. Readers began commenting on the video stating that the book ‘sounds like Powerless’ and that the book was a ‘dupe of Powerless’.

Reasons for this include:²

• The main character is a girl without powers living in a kingdom ruled by those with powers.
• She must become a thief to survive; being ordinary is illegal.
• She accidentally steals from a prince, who she later saves.
• From there, she must compete in ‘trials’ for the entertainment of others.

While there are many similarities between the books, Red Queen’s publication date was 2015, and Powerless was published in 2023. Accusations of plagiarism are serious and readers should take the time to verify details before lobbying such accusations.

Unlike authors such as Sarah J Maas, Aveyard is incredibly interactive with her fans on social media. She regularly video replies to comments about her books, writing, politics, and more. While many of her fans delight in their ability to interact with their favorite authors, others feel her interactions are an ‘invasion of reader spaces’.

An ‘unspoken’ rule of online book spaces is the separation of authors and readers. This largely applies to authors interacting (unsolicited) with reviews or content about their books. For many readers, this can place them in a precarious situation if the interaction is not entirely positive. For example, extreme horror author Matt Shaw went on a misogynistic tirade against a reviewer who disliked his book. This resulted in extreme levels of harassment toward the viewer, who simply included the book in a roundup video.

However, from my research, Aveyard sticks to her own social media when interacting with fans. Meaning, she replies to and interacts with comments on her videos and posts, and she replies to posts that tag her. We cannot consider this ‘invading reader spaces’ because her platform is not a reader space.

One issue some readers take issue with is that Aveyard has expressed in her videos that she reads reviews of her books when they’re first released. Many readers are uncomfortable with authors sharing this information, as it creates a sense of being ‘watched’ when reviewing books. While it does not appear that Aveyard has attacked reviewers for negative reviews, other authors have done so both online and in person³, creating a distrust of authors who read their reviews.

Aveyard is not an author who is shy about sharing her political beliefs. From her strong distaste for the current U.S. Administration to a dislike of fundamentalist religions, she regularly shares her beliefs across multiple social media platforms. A few highlights include:

• (11/4/24) A video response to a comment calling Aveyard’s ‘obsession’ with being ‘anti-Christian’ being weird in which she declares she dislikes all fundamentalist religions.
• (12/1/24) A Thread that reads, “WICKED was great but every Trump voter cheering on Elphaba needs to take a long look in the mirror.”
• (12/10/24) A TikTok video using the Jennifer Lawrence ‘What do you mean?’ template with text that reads, “When a woman says they are going to cancel out their husbands vote.”
• (1/28/25) A Thread reply to a now unavailable post that reads, “Does Donald Trump promote [understanding] and dialogue? Why is the bar lower for the man you voted into presidency than it is for private citizens who happen to be authors?”

For many readers, this was likely a highly conflicting read. On one hand, Aveyard has said and done many things that readers would support. On the other, her response to the backlash regarding her stance on Israel reads incredibly white feminist. The ability to educate oneself and see little repercussions is an immense privilege not afforded to the Palestinian women who suffer due to the belief that Israel has a right to exist.

While it is incredibly important to allow people the space to learn and grow, it is equally important to understand that the harmed party is not required to do so. While Aveyard appears to have made some attempt at educating herself, it’s difficult to say just how far that ‘education’ has extended.

Due to this, many will be unable to bring themselves to read her works and rightfully so.

Citations

1 Propaganda vs. Truth: Israeli Propaganda and Palestinian Demonisation

2 https://www.reddit.com/r/RedQueenVA/comments/16b6pfz/powerless/

3 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-35128139