Novelist Meg Rosoff, author of How I Live Now says that minorities don’t need to be represented in literature.

Her comments were directed at Large Fears, a new book that follows the life and challenges of a queer African American boy.

People have been commenting on social media in opposition to Rosoff’s opinion:

Indeed, her argument that “books are here to teach kids about the world” but they don’t have “a job” seems a tad contradictory.

Representation of minorities in literature, film, and culture helps expose people to new ideas, backgrounds, and points of view. Having a well rounded cast of experiences in literature seems to be a high level of importance if your goal is to write about a truly authentic society.

In her defense, however, Rosoff did just retweet someone totally ragging on her, which is impressive in a weird sort of way.